Yearly Archives: 2020

Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Gets October Release Date

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope has received a release date of October 30. The next entry in the anthology series will arrive later in the year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game can be played through solo or online with another player via its shared-story multiplayer system. This is the second entry in Supermassive Games' The Dark Pictures Anthology following 2019's Man of Medan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/the-dark-pictures-little-hope-release-date-announcement-trailer"] This entry in the series focuses on an abandoned New England town and stars four college students haunted by Little Hope's murky past. The game's cast includes Will Poulter (Midsommar, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and Pip Torrens (Preacher, The Crown.) To learn about the witch trials that inspired the game's plot, you can check out this dev diary from Supermassive Games. We reviewed The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan last year, calling it an "unnerving horror adventure." For more on Little Hope, check out our preview of the game from earlier this year, in April. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The Umbrella Academy Season 2: First Trailer Released

The first trailer for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 has been released. The trailer (below) marks our first proper look at the plot of the second season, after Season 1 ended radically differently to its source comic. The trailer comes alongside a new synopsis for Season 2 (spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 1 follow):
"Five warned his family (so, so many times) that using his powers to escape from Vanya’s 2019 apocalypse was risky. Well, he was right - the time jump scatters the siblings in time in and around Dallas, Texas. Over a three year period. Starting in 1960. Some, having been stuck in the past for years, have built lives and moved on, certain they’re the only ones who survived. Five is the last to land, smack dab in the middle of a nuclear doomsday, which - spoiler alert! - turns out is a result of the group’s disruption of the timeline (déjà vu, anyone?). Now the Umbrella Academy must find a way to reunite, figure out what caused doomsday, put a stop to it, and return to the present timeline to stop that other apocalypse. All while being hunted by a trio of ruthless Swedish assassins. But seriously, no pressure or anything."
The soundtrack is backed by a brand new song from Umbrella Academy co-creator and My Chemical Romance frontman, Gerard Way. Titled 'Here Comes The End', Way said: “I was originally inspired to write this track when series one of The Umbrella Academy was being shot; by the time I finished it 2020 was in full swing, the world had taken a profound turn and the song was finished in a surreal new reality.” Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on July 31. We've already seen a set of character posters and first-look images. Here's everything we know about Season 2 ahead of its release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=umbrella-academy-season-2-30-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The Umbrella Academy Season 2: First Trailer Released

The first trailer for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 has been released. The trailer (below) marks our first proper look at the plot of the second season, after Season 1 ended radically differently to its source comic. The trailer comes alongside a new synopsis for Season 2 (spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 1 follow):
"Five warned his family (so, so many times) that using his powers to escape from Vanya’s 2019 apocalypse was risky. Well, he was right - the time jump scatters the siblings in time in and around Dallas, Texas. Over a three year period. Starting in 1960. Some, having been stuck in the past for years, have built lives and moved on, certain they’re the only ones who survived. Five is the last to land, smack dab in the middle of a nuclear doomsday, which - spoiler alert! - turns out is a result of the group’s disruption of the timeline (déjà vu, anyone?). Now the Umbrella Academy must find a way to reunite, figure out what caused doomsday, put a stop to it, and return to the present timeline to stop that other apocalypse. All while being hunted by a trio of ruthless Swedish assassins. But seriously, no pressure or anything."
The soundtrack is backed by a brand new song from Umbrella Academy co-creator and My Chemical Romance frontman, Gerard Way. Titled 'Here Comes The End', Way said: “I was originally inspired to write this track when series one of The Umbrella Academy was being shot; by the time I finished it 2020 was in full swing, the world had taken a profound turn and the song was finished in a surreal new reality.” Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on July 31. We've already seen a set of character posters and first-look images. Here's everything we know about Season 2 ahead of its release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=umbrella-academy-season-2-30-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Story Of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town Review – When The Seasons Change

Harvest Moon, and now Story of Seasons, have thrived on their personality above all else. With each entry in the series offering fresh story and minimal improvements to gameplay, replaying one of the older titles is asking for disappointment, even if it has a new coat of paint. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town brings the 2003 Game Boy Advance title into 2020 with enjoyable cutesy graphics and personality, but does little to add depth to the already outdated gameplay..

After choosing from an extremely limited set of character customization options, you set out to take over a farm left to you by your late grandfather, where you once spent the summer 20 years ago. It's unclear why your character left whatever life they had behind, but you are quickly thrust into the day-to-day work of maintaining a farm, starting with crops.

Growing crops is one of the main methods of making money, but progression is slow. You can't improve your crop yields in any meaningful way until the option to buy better farm soil becomes available in the second year, which is 25 to 30 hours into the game. Upgrading the watering can allows you to tend to more crops at once, but the increased stamina usage makes for minimal improvement to your crop yield.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise Review

Warning: This review contains spoilers for the first Deadly Premonition.

The first Deadly Premonition was an anomaly, a seemingly unintentional oddity that enjoyed cult success by happenstance. It was an oxymoron of character development and unpredictable storytelling accompanied by a clunky, unintuitive gameplay experience. Its sequel, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise, follows suit; however, though the return of the original's off-kilter writing, outlandish characters, and disturbing twists is an exciting prospect, it all feels diluted this time around, missing many of the flavor notes that defined its predecessor. There are incredible moments worth experiencing, all of which are held together by the game's protagonist, Francis York Morgan. But inexcusably poor performance issues (even by Deadly Premonition standards) make it hard to recommend to anyone outside the existing fandom. And even then, Deadly Premonition 2 stumbles in some of the places that made the first truly special.

The game flips between the past and the present, first beginning in 2019, which is 10 years after the Greenvale case from the first game. FBI agent Francis York Morgan, now Francis Zach Morgan, has neither fully recovered from the tragic loss of his love, nor the revelation of his dual identity, and is now a retired recluse in his Boston, Massachusetts apartment. Seeing Morgan for the first time is jarring; he looks frail, sick, and alarmingly grey. He doesn't come off as slick and charming as he once did, but rather deranged and unstable, murmuring and talking to himself in the midst of a hoarder's dirty apartment--it's a stark contrast from the agent we know and love. The once illustrious agent, regaled for his inexplicable, and rather supernatural, investigation techniques, is now under scrutiny by the very bureau he once worked for.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Story Of Seasons: Friends Of Mineral Town Review – When The Seasons Change

Harvest Moon, and now Story of Seasons, have thrived on their personality above all else. With each entry in the series offering fresh story and minimal improvements to gameplay, replaying one of the older titles is asking for disappointment, even if it has a new coat of paint. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town brings the 2003 Game Boy Advance title into 2020 with enjoyable cutesy graphics and personality, but does little to add depth to the already outdated gameplay..

After choosing from an extremely limited set of character customization options, you set out to take over a farm left to you by your late grandfather, where you once spent the summer 20 years ago. It's unclear why your character left whatever life they had behind, but you are quickly thrust into the day-to-day work of maintaining a farm, starting with crops.

Growing crops is one of the main methods of making money, but progression is slow. You can't improve your crop yields in any meaningful way until the option to buy better farm soil becomes available in the second year, which is 25 to 30 hours into the game. Upgrading the watering can allows you to tend to more crops at once, but the increased stamina usage makes for minimal improvement to your crop yield.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise Review

Warning: This review contains spoilers for the first Deadly Premonition.

The first Deadly Premonition was an anomaly, a seemingly unintentional oddity that enjoyed cult success by happenstance. It was an oxymoron of character development and unpredictable storytelling accompanied by a clunky, unintuitive gameplay experience. Its sequel, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise, follows suit; however, though the return of the original's off-kilter writing, outlandish characters, and disturbing twists is an exciting prospect, it all feels diluted this time around, missing many of the flavor notes that defined its predecessor. There are incredible moments worth experiencing, all of which are held together by the game's protagonist, Francis York Morgan. But inexcusably poor performance issues (even by Deadly Premonition standards) make it hard to recommend to anyone outside the existing fandom. And even then, Deadly Premonition 2 stumbles in some of the places that made the first truly special.

The game flips between the past and the present, first beginning in 2019, which is 10 years after the Greenvale case from the first game. FBI agent Francis York Morgan, now Francis Zach Morgan, has neither fully recovered from the tragic loss of his love, nor the revelation of his dual identity, and is now a retired recluse in his Boston, Massachusetts apartment. Seeing Morgan for the first time is jarring; he looks frail, sick, and alarmingly grey. He doesn't come off as slick and charming as he once did, but rather deranged and unstable, murmuring and talking to himself in the midst of a hoarder's dirty apartment--it's a stark contrast from the agent we know and love. The once illustrious agent, regaled for his inexplicable, and rather supernatural, investigation techniques, is now under scrutiny by the very bureau he once worked for.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

WWE 2K Battlegrounds: Story Mode Explained

WWE 2K Battlegrounds isn't just bringing a different look and feel to the mainline WWE 2K wrestling sims, it's also bringing a story-based campaign. Speaking to IGN, executive producer Sean O'Connor explained that the spin-off game's Campaign mode will see legendary WWE agent Paul Heyman on the search for the next WWE Superstar, with help from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Players will pick from 7 new hopefuls - specially designed for the game - and compete to earn a contract across multiple maps and arenas. "It's told through these really cool comics, "says O'Connor, "and you take them through trying to earn a contract, and eventually get to Wrestlemania." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-first-gameplay-details"] O'Connor adds that the mode isn't just a linear set of matches: "I can't even remember exactly how many matches and nodes there are - it's kind of a branching thing. There's some things you can do off on the side and earn different rewards, or you can just do the golden path straight through the middle to finish it sooner if you want." Playing the campaign will earn you new elements to use throughout the rest of the game, too. Per O'Connor: "We unlock a lot of arenas, vanity items for your created characters, different power-ups, things like that as you go along through the campaign." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wwe-2k-battlegrounds&captions=true"] As for what the game will actually play like along the way, Battlegrounds will mix familiar wrestling moves with slightly wilder moves and even power-ups like Flaming Fist, Ice Breath, and an Earthquake that can destroy the ring itself. The game takes inspiration from WWE All-Stars, among other WWE games over the years. "We're trying to be over-the-top, arcadey, easy to pick up and play," explains O'Connor. "A lot of stuff to master, though, so you can really take your game to the next level. It goes very much with the art style [...] where it's kind of a wider appeal - it's clearly not realistic, right? And our moves are not realistic, as you've seen. Think about throwing somebody into a crocodile! That's not very realistic, but it's super fun and it's super over the top, and the power ups play really well into that as well." WWE 2K Battlegrounds will come to PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and Stadia on September 18. We learned that release date, and a lot more new details today. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds: Story Mode Explained

WWE 2K Battlegrounds isn't just bringing a different look and feel to the mainline WWE 2K wrestling sims, it's also bringing a story-based campaign. Speaking to IGN, executive producer Sean O'Connor explained that the spin-off game's Campaign mode will see legendary WWE agent Paul Heyman on the search for the next WWE Superstar, with help from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Players will pick from 7 new hopefuls - specially designed for the game - and compete to earn a contract across multiple maps and arenas. "It's told through these really cool comics, "says O'Connor, "and you take them through trying to earn a contract, and eventually get to Wrestlemania." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-first-gameplay-details"] O'Connor adds that the mode isn't just a linear set of matches: "I can't even remember exactly how many matches and nodes there are - it's kind of a branching thing. There's some things you can do off on the side and earn different rewards, or you can just do the golden path straight through the middle to finish it sooner if you want." Playing the campaign will earn you new elements to use throughout the rest of the game, too. Per O'Connor: "We unlock a lot of arenas, vanity items for your created characters, different power-ups, things like that as you go along through the campaign." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wwe-2k-battlegrounds&captions=true"] As for what the game will actually play like along the way, Battlegrounds will mix familiar wrestling moves with slightly wilder moves and even power-ups like Flaming Fist, Ice Breath, and an Earthquake that can destroy the ring itself. The game takes inspiration from WWE All-Stars, among other WWE games over the years. "We're trying to be over-the-top, arcadey, easy to pick up and play," explains O'Connor. "A lot of stuff to master, though, so you can really take your game to the next level. It goes very much with the art style [...] where it's kind of a wider appeal - it's clearly not realistic, right? And our moves are not realistic, as you've seen. Think about throwing somebody into a crocodile! That's not very realistic, but it's super fun and it's super over the top, and the power ups play really well into that as well." WWE 2K Battlegrounds will come to PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and Stadia on September 18. We learned that release date, and a lot more new details today. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds Gets September Release Date

WWE 2K Battlegrounds will launch for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and Stadia on September 18. The over-the-top throwback wrestling game will feature over 70 playable wrestlers at launch, both Superstars and Legends. Executive producer Steve O'Connor told IGN that more wrestlers will be added as free updates after launch. There's also a Superstar Creator function to build your own character. Mauro Ranallo and Jerry Lawler provide commentary. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-official-trailer"] The game includes 4 modes:
  • Campaign: 7 new wrestlers (created specially from the game) are competing for a WWE contract - you'll pick one and fight across multiple maps (unlocking them as you go), with guidance from 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and Paul Heyman along the way. You can learn more about the Campaign mode in our explainer article.
  • Exhibition: Local and online multiplayer matches featuring up to four players.
  • King of the Battleground: An online last-man-standing mode sees four players begin in the ring, with four more waiting outside it to enter. You'll need to take them all down to win.
  • Online: Aside from King of the Battleground and Exhibitions, online tournaments are also promised.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wwe-2k-battlegrounds&captions=true"] The game will feature 8 locations to fight across, which include ludicrous interactive elements (from helicopters to alligators), and a variety of melee weapons. You'll also be able to customise your own arena. So far, confirmed wrestlers include:
  • The Rock
  • 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin
  • Ronda Rousey
  • Roman Reigns
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Becky Lynch
  • Asuka
  • Daniel Bryan
  • Kofi Kingston
  • Randy Orton
  • Andre the Giant
  • Undertaker
  • Mankind
  • Shawn Michaels
  • Yokozuna
  • Sgt. Slaughter
  • John Cena
  • Nikki Bella
  • Sasha Banks
  • Braun Strowman
  • The Fiend Bray Wyatt
  • Big Show
  • Samoa Joe
  • Kalisto
  • Edge (Pre-order/Digital Deluxe edition bonus)
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/08/wwe-2k-battlegrounds-first-gameplay-details"] Battlegrounds will be the only WWE 2K game this year, after the mainline simulation series went into extended development due to negative feedback on the last installment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.