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New trailers for Gears Tactics and Ori and the Will of Wisps will debut at the 2019 Game Awards
This year’s Game Awards will be held on December 12, and as usual, Geoff Keighley and company are busy gathering a mind-bending collection of World Premiere Trailers to debut during the broadcast. Yesterday, they revealed two trailers that fans can expect to see on Twitter… and they both hail from Microsoft.
Though the consolemaker just revealed a ton of new stuff at their X019 event in London, Keighley confirmed that World Premiere Trailers for both Gears Tactics and Ori and the Will of Wisps will make an appearance at the 2019 Game Awards. Both games are currently in development for the PC and Xbox One, and both are expected to be released in 2020.
The nominees for this year’s Game Awards will be announced on Tuesday, November 19, which will probably be followed by a few more trailer announcements over the next month, but we can surely look forward to a few surprises on the big day as well.
Obsidian’s Grounded is coming in Spring 2020 and it looks like “Honey I Shrunk the Kids: The Game”
For those of us of a certain age, the pint-sized dangers of Honey I Shrunk the Kids will always stick with us. In the movie, a small group of kids are forced to fend for themselves against a giant scorpion, a swarm of bees, and a super-powerful lawnmower after they’re accidentally shrunk down to microscopic size by Rick Moranis. There was also a heroic ant named Antie who saved the day years before Paul Rudd joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re a Disney Plus subscriber, you should absolutely check it out.
This is all just my way of preparing you for Grounded, a new game from Microsoft and Obsidian that is basically “Honey I Shrunk the Kids: The Game.”
According to Xbox Wire, players will be “shrunken to the size of an ant” and dropped into a suburban background teeming with life. They’ll need to survive by scavenging “everybody objects” that have been lost among the grass, and up to four players will be able to undergo missions together:
In Grounded, players are shrunken to the size of an ant and tasked with surviving in the unique micro-world of a suburban backyard. Players must gather, craft and build bases with everyday objects found within the yard, searching for life-saving resources and living alongside giant, peaceful insects while fighting to survive massive hostile inhabitants.
Grounded provides a mix of environmental and narrative driven story telling. Set in a versatile, handcrafted sandbox structure it allows players to create their own experience from the ground up. Tasks that may seem approachable when human-sized become a challenge in this dangerous backyard landscape. This familiar yet fantastical world can be navigated solo or in four-person co-operative multiplayer, where players work together to complete missions or explore the intricately detailed world.
Grounded will be available to download in Game Preview/Early Access for the Xbox One and PC in Spring 2020.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare blows away the competition as the best-selling game of October 2019
According to The NPD Group (via Twitter), yet another Call of Duty game has debuted as the best-selling game in the US during its first month on sale for the 12th straight year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare blew away the competition in October, and it has also settled in as the best-selling of 2019 (so far). And if history is any guide, it will likely remain in that spot throughout November and December.
But there were plenty of other titles that debuted last month that also managed to resonate with gamers.
Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds debuted at #2, and it was followed closely by Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 at #3. Rounding out the top ten (at #10) was Nintendo’s exercise RPG, Ring Fit Adventure. Going further down the list, Overwatch‘s Switch debut helped push it back into the spotlight (and the #16 slot).
Overall, the game industry has tallied $9.3 billion in sales through the first ten months of the year, a roughly 10% drop from 2018.
You can find the full list of best-selling games from October 2019 after the break. (more…)
Minecraft Dungeons will launch in April 2020
Microsoft very briefly turned the spotlight on Minecraft Dungeons at their X019 event today, but it was a big moment for everyone wondering when we’ll finally get the chance to play Mojang’s multiplayer dungeon-crawling spinoff.
According to Microsoft, Minecraft Dungeons will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in April 2020, which is right smack in the middle of the game’s previous “Spring 2020” launch window.
A (very) short Release Date Trailer for Minecraft Dungeons has been embedded above.
Sindel will be added to Mortal Kombat 11 later this month
Sindel will strut her way into Mortal Kombat 11 later this month, but a Queen requires a proper entrance, and so NetherRealm Studios unveiled a brand new Gameplay Trailer for the character earlier today.
Sindel still serves Quan Chi as one of his revenants in Mortal Kombat 11, and as you might have guessed, her moveset features plenty of hair-raising attacks, as well as her debilitating Banshee Scream. You can see her in action in the video embedded above (be sure to stick around for a pretty gruesome Fatality at the end).
Mortal Kombat 11 players who have purchased the Kombat Pack will receive access to Sindel (as well as the Gothic Horror Skin Pack and a Klassic Cassie Cage Skin) on November 26. All other players will be able to purchase the character as a standalone download beginning a week later on December 3.
Only 12 games will be available to buy through Google Stadia at launch
Back in June, Google said they were expecting to launch their Google Stadia game streaming service with at least 25 games, but it looks like the search giant has had to cut that number as we get closer to the service’s November 19th launch.
All Stadia Pro subscribers will still receive a free copy of Destiny 2: The Collection as part of their subscription, but according to the official Google Blog, the Stadia Store will only include 11 other games for purchase on “Day One” (on top of the $10 per month subscription cost). This launch lineup will include a Stadia-exclusive horror game from Tequila Works, Gylt, as well as Mortal Kombat 11, Red Dead Redemption 2, and a handful of other titles:
Games Available at Launch for Google Stadia
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
- Destiny 2: The Collection
- Gylt
- Just Dance 2020
- Kine
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Samurai Showdown
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Thumper
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
While they won’t be available on launch day, Google has promised that an additional 14 titles will be added to the Stadia Store before the end of the year:
Games Set to Launch Before the End of 2019 for Google Stadia
- Attack On Titan 2: Final Battle
- Borderlands 3
- Darksiders Genesis
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
- Farming Simulator 19
- Final Fantasy XV
- Football Manager 2020
- Grid
- Metro Exodus
- NBA 2K20
- Rage 2
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- Trials Rising
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Google Stadia’s “free” tier, Google Base, will be available sometime in 2020. However, users will still need to purchase titles on an individual basis before they can stream them.
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.
Jamestown+ blasts its way onto the PC and Switch on December 12
Jamestown, a steampunky space shooter from Final Form Games, was originally released for the PC all the way back in 2011. It eventually slid onto the PS4 (as Jamestown+) in 2015, and now its on the move again. Earlier today, Final Form announced that Jamestown+ will be available to download for the PC and Switch on December 12.
Strap in for a rocket-fueled, bewilderingly imaginative adventure across 17th-Century Mars and her moons. Escaping a death sentence on Earth, Sir Walter Raleigh sets a course for Mars, home to his only refuge: Jamestown. Absolve Sir Walter by uncovering the truth behind the disappearance of Roanoke and defending the good peoples of the New World from a Conquistador hellbent on conquering the colonies using an ancient, terrible power.
Soar through the skies aboard one of twelve Conveyances, rocket-sleds with mighty weapons. Tear through oncoming enemies with the simple but reliable Beam ship. Experiment with the Ghost ship, capable of summoning a duplicate ship to maintain support fire while daring pilots get up close and personal with the legendary sword Excalibur. Roll the dice with the Fortune ship, which mimics other ships after death and requires a high degree of adaptability.
Rise up and rebel against the malevolent Conquistador and his army of robots and Martian Warriors by weaving through streams of bullets. Dodge, dip and dive out of the way while fighting to end tyranny on Mars. Every aspect of Jamestown+ — from lush pixel landscapes to enemy design to gameplay mechanics— was hand-designed with an emphasis on presenting something fresh every 10-15 seconds. An emotionally-stirring orchestral score raises the stakes and makes victory all the sweeter.
The top-down shooter features four-player simultaneous play, and players new to Jamestown+ will receive an improved game with two new levels, four new ships, new background and enemy artwork, and remastered music and effects. A new trailer for the game has been embedded above.