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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice wins “Game of the Year” at the 2019 Game Awards
Geoff Keighley and his co-presenters shotgunned their way through dozens of awards during tonight’s Game Awards, but in between all the World Premiere Trailers, they managed to shine a brief spotlight on a wide variety of titles. Unlike most years when a handful of titles dominate the conversation, this year’s Game Awards spread the wealth among a lot of worthy winners, including Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, this year’s recipient of the “Game of the Year” award.
From Software’s ninja adventure also claimed the “Best Action/Adventure Game” trophy, but it wasn’t able to sway the jury for the other three nominations it was up for. Instead, ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium became the most-honored game of the night, winning “Best Narrative,” “Best Role Playing Game,” “Best Independent Game,” and “Fresh Indie Game.”
Some of the ceremony’s other winners included Kojima Production’s Death Stranding (“Best Game Direction,” “Best Score/Music,” and “Best Performance” for Mads Mikkelsen), Remedy’s Control (“Best Art Direction”), Beat Games’s Beat Saber (“Best VR/AR Game”), Respawn’s Apex Legends (“Best Multiplayer”), and Activision’s Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (“Best Sports/Racing Game”).
In addition to a rousing speech by their former President, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo had a great night too, taking home trophies for “Best Fighting Game” (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), “Best Family Game” (Luigi’s Mansion 3), and “Best Strategy Game” (Fire Emblem: Three Houses).
A complete list of winners from the 2019 Game Awards can be found at Video Game Canon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Game Awards 2019, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Bethesda will bring John Romero’s Sigil and Final Doom to Doom and Doom II on consoles
Bethesda has promised that Doom and Doom II will soon become a little bit more complete on consoles and mobile ddvices. Yesterday, the publisher hosted a 26th Anniversary Celebration for the seminal first persona shooter on Twitch, and they confirmed during the livestream that four of the franchise’s more famous fan-made expansions will soon be available to download on the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, iOS, and Android.
These expansions will be available to download, for free, through a brand new Add-Ons tab in both games. According to Bethesda, the list of “curated” add-ons will initially include Sigil, which was released just this year as the unofficial “Fifth Episode” for Doom by co-creator John Romero, and No Rest For the Living, a Doom II expansion that made its debut on the Xbox 360 in 2010.
Final Doom, a 1996 retail repackaging of TnT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment, will also be available to download in Doom and Doom II as part of the update. Best of all, Bethesda confirmed that more add-ons will be added to both games at a later date.
On top of all that, Bethesda is also planning a few quality of life updates for the shooters, including bumping the graphics to 60 FPS and adding options for additional aspect ratios.
It’s currently unknown when the add-on update or the quality of life update will be available, but Bethesda said that it’ll be “soon.”
Geoff Keighley has announced the nominees for the 2019 Game Awards
We’re getting closer and closer to the end of the year, and that’s means that it’s finally time for the Game Awards. The nominations for the annual awards show were announced earlier today, and Remedy’s Control, Kojima Productions’s Death Stranding, Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, Capcom’s Resident Evil 2, From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will all be competing for “Game of the Year.”
Host Geoff Keighley isn’t involved in the nominating process, but it still feels strange to realize that he actually appears as a non-player character in Death Stranding. Hideo Kojima’s latest game, and first as an independent developer, ultimately received nine nominations across eight categories (both Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen were nominated for “Best Performance”).
Fans are once again encouraged to vote for their favorite games at the award show’s official website, and fan votes will have a real effect on the outcome, as they’ll count for a 10% share of the voting jury.
The 2019 Game Awards will be held on Thursday, December 12. In addition to all the winners, we can also expect to see a lot of World Premiere Trailers for upcoming games, some of which will be announced in the coming days.
In the meantime, you can find a complete list of all the nominees after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Control, Death Stranding, Game Awards 2019, Resident Evil 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Outer Worlds
Square Enix’s Romancing Saga 3 is now available in English for the first time
It’s been a struggle for RPG fans in North America and Europe to experience Square Enix’s long-running Saga franchise over the years. While the earliest Saga games were brought West under the Final Fantasy Legend banner, many of the later entries were only released in Japan by the publisher.
Thankfully, Square Enix has recently begun filling in those missing piece with a handful of Saga-related re-releases, including today’s launch of Romancing Saga 3.
Originally released for the Super NES in 1995, Romancing Saga 3 follows eight different protagonists, “each with their own motives and unique personalities.” This HD remaster of the game will give players outside of Japan their first chance to try out the turn-based RPG, which will include upgraded graphics, new areas to explore, and a New Game+ option:
Romancing Saga 3 gives players the freedom to forge their own path, choosing to play through eight different narratives led by eight protagonists, each with their own motives and unique personalities. Developed by industry veterans, including renowned developer Akitoshi Kawazu (Final Fantasy, Romancing SaGa, SaGa Frontier), this HD remaster will feature optimized graphics, a new dungeon called the Phantom Maze to explore, and a New Game+ function. Romancing Saga 3 adds new storylines to the game original game, making it the perfect time for both new and veteran players to experience the SaGa series.
Romancing Saga 3 is now available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One, and mobile devices. A Launch Trailer for the RPG re-release has been embedded above.
Blizzard provides an updated look at Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon 2019
It might be hard to believe, but Blizzard executives didn’t include a single mention of Diablo Immortal during BlizzCon 2019’s Opening Ceremony.
OK, it might not be that hard to believe, as the RPG franchise’s upcoming mobile spinoff received a very rough reception in 2018. But with Diablo IV taking center stage this year, that gave Blizzard the chance to quietly update fans on Immortal’s progress with a new trailer.
There’s a lot to digest in this video clip, including the introduction of Ultimate Abilities and our first look at the Demon Hunter class, and Blizzard shared a few more details on their official website:
Last year’s demo revealed the Barbarian, Monk, and Wizard, playable in a streamlined dungeon experience. This year, attendees will also be able to take the Demon Hunter for a spin (or Strafe) through a slice of open-world gameplay through the town of Wortham and the outdoor zone of Ashwold Cemetary.
We’ve added a new base game mechanic: Ultimate Abilities. All classes gain charge for their chosen Ultimate by using basic attacks. Once this charge has been built up, players can choose to augment their basic attack for a short time in a face-meltingly powerful display of strength, guile, or raw magical potential.
We’re also sharing a first look at our equipment system, including the first batch of skill-altering Legendary items. Turn your Scorch’s burning fireball into an icy Frozen Orb, change up how Exploding Palm targets foes and dishes out damage, or transform deadly arrows into grenades when using Strafe.
Though it was first unveiled more than a year ago, Blizzard still isn’t ready to talk about a release date for Diablo Immortal, but we do that it’s “currently planned” for iPhone and Android devices.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Diablo Immortal
EA: Multiple unannounced games coming in 2020, next Battlefield scheduled for 2021, and Dragon Age 4 is in the works for 2022 (or later)
Executives from Electronic Arts had a lot to talk about yesterday during their latest quarterly financial report. So let’s dive right in…
CEO Andrew Wilson kicked things off by confirming that the next game in the Battlfield franchise is being prepped to launch sometime during the company’s 2022 Fiscal Year (which runs from April 1, 2021 – March 30, 2022) for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. In the meantime, developer DICE will spend 2020 creating updates and new content for Battlefield V:
Our Battlefield franchise and its community are also a major focus for us, and we’ll add new content and new ways to play Battlefield V in FY ’21. Targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms and a growing install base on the new consoles, our next Battlefield game is set for FY ’22.
With one of the company’s strongest developers taking an extra year to polish their next game, you might be wondering what EA has on tap for 2020. Thankfully, COO Blake Jorgensen used his portion of the presentation to fill in the gaps.
Jorgensen said that EA has multiple unannounced titles scheduled for release in 2020, including a pair of games from the publisher’s EA Partners program, and possibly at least one remaster (which would release alongside the already-announced Command & Conquer Remastered). He also talked quite a bit about Apex Legends, and confirmed that EA’s shooter will be coming to “new platforms and mobile” in the near future. While it’s possible he’s referencing the Switch in that quote, he’s more likely referring to the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett.
Looking further out, Jorgensen even mused about the status of Dragon Age 4. According to the executive, fans shouldn’t expect the next entry in BioWare’s acclaimed RPG franchise to arrive before EA’s 2023 Fiscal Year (which begins on April 1, 2022).
Finally, Andrew Wilson came back around to comment on the recent decision by the NCAA to allow college athletes to receive monetary compensation for their name or likeness. While many fans are hoping this means that EA will resume production on the NCAA Football franchise, Wilson would only say that the company is watching the situation closely:
With respect to NCAA Sports in general, yes, we have been in that business before as well. We saw the news today as did you, said by the NCAA Working Group. That news today was new to us. We’re still digesting it. We would anticipate that there is still a number of things that would have to happen over the coming years before we will be able to get back into that business, but certainly we’re watching closely.
EA’s next major releases, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Need For Speed Heat, will both be released in November.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Tagged Apex Legends, Battlefield V, Command & Conquer, Dragon Age 4
League of Legends will come to consoles and mobile devices in 2020 as League of Legends: Wild Rift
League of Legends helped kickstart the frenzy for free-to-play gaming after its launch in 2009. But for the past decade, Riot Games has kept it locked up tight on the PC… until now.
Earlier today, the developer announced League of Legends: Wild Rift, a new version of the 5v5 MOBA rebuilt and redesigned specifically for consoles and mobile devices. Wild Rift will feature a brand new map designed for “faster games and revamped controls,” and it’ll include roughly 40 Champions at launch (with more on the way):
Features
- Welcome to Wild Rift – Skillful outplays. Brilliant maneuvers. The occasional throw. League of Legends is coming to mobile and console!
- Real-Life Roaming – Keep your winstreak alive wherever you go. Jump into a match with your Wild Rift party in seconds, even when you’re away from your PC.
- The Rift, Rebuilt – Team up to take down the enemy Nexus on a new 5v5 map designed for new platforms, with faster games and revamped controls.
- Familiar Faces – Blast the bad guys with Lux’s laser or outplay the opposition with a pixel-perfect windwall. Champions play authentically to League, with slight changes for more thumb-friendly casting. League of Legends: Wild Rift will launch with around 40 Champions. More will follow over time.
Like the original game, Wild Rift will be available as a free-to-play download. As of right now, Riot expects to make the game available for Android and iOS devices by the end of 2020, with a console debut sometime after that (and no, they’re not ready to announce which consoles Wild Rift is in development for).
In the meantime, an Announcement Trailer for League of Legends: Wild Rift has been embedded above.
Fortnite relaunches with a new map and new features as Fortnite: Chapter 2
Fortnite blipped out of existence on Sunday, as Epic Games closed out Season X of the battle royale shooter with a barrage of missiles that sucked players (and the entire game world) into a black hole. But this fiery end also gave players the chance at a new beginning, and Fortnite returned this morning after a 36-hour maintenance period as Fortnite: Chapter 2.
The world of Fortnite has changed in Chpater 2, thanks to a new map with 13 new locations to explore (including a power plant and a dam), and new features to play with.
Players interested in getting wet and wild in Chapter 2 can go fishing, pilot a motoboat, or swim for shore. Teams can also interact like never before as players can carry fallen teammates to safety, celebrate with a group high five, or get healthy with the new Bandage Bazooka. But players looking to cause a little mayhem will also get their shot in Fortnite: Chapter 2. Hiding places (like haystacks) now dot the map and Epic Games remembered their 90s-era roots with the addition of exploding barrels and gas tanks.
Fortnite: Chapter 2 is now available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices. A trailer showcasing many of the new features and locales has been embedded above.