Hand of Fate is one of the great videogame explorations of how to use cards to spin out a game, to tell a story, and to create a sense of progression. I can’t say enough good things about it. Actually, I guess I already have.
It is no longer content being inside your computer! The developers have teamed up with some boardgame developers to make a tabletop version. As was the case with the videogame, they’re not mucking about with nonsense like publishers. They’re doing what all indie developers do with their boardgames and hoping you’ll buy it before it’s actually available. So today they launched a Kickstarter campaign and more than doubled their goal on the first day. If you want in on the action, it’s a straight-up $60 buy-in. No deluxe editions with a ton of tiny plastic figures, or stretch goals for cobbled-on gameplay elements that they had to think up, or even T-shirts or mousepads or oversized bonus cards. Just the game. Due to be delivered in November. Which is Kickstarterspeak for early 2018.
So, can I be that guy and say it looks weird to see so much color on the cards? In the videogame, the cards are black-and-white, as if they were woodcut prints, like you might find in a volume of Blake poetry. But now they’re all sorts of gaudy colors like you might find in a comic book. I don’t like it and I think they should have–
Okay, who am I kidding? I’m not going to be able to hold out for another 29 days no matter what rationale I invent.
Besides being a whip-smart fighting game with an almost embarrassing amount of content, Injustice 2 is a high water mark for character models and animation. One of the biggest draws for fighting games are the campaign stories. (A lesson painfully learned by Capcom and Street Fighter V.) In a genre that must jump through hoops and twist logic to a painful degree to make sure each fighter battles against as many characters as possible, NetherRealm Studios leans on great facial expressions and cinematics to sell the various face-offs. Mind control! Kryptonite poison! Double-cross! Triple-cross! But how and why did the studio spend so much time and care on the faces of Injustice 2? A casual look at Injustice: Gods Among Us or Mortal Kombat X shows that while NetherRealm weren’t slouches at crafting mugs before, the work in Injustice 2 is leagues ahead of the competition.
Motherboard asked NetherRealm’s Brendan George, the Character Art Lead on Injustice 2, the very same question. According to George, fan feedback of early footage played a pivotal role in upping the studio’s face game. Rather than ignoring the criticism or becoming dispirited, the team used it as motivation for changing the lighting model, honing in on troublesome model areas, and fixing animation issues. With regards to the female characters specifically, NetherRealm made careful, minor adjustments that included the digital make-up they applied to the faces. The next time Harley snarls at you, keep in mind that there was probably a lot of discussion about exactly how much face paint and lipstick she should be wearing.
The PC version of Destiny 2 will be exclusively on Blizzard’s network. For the first time since its inception as Battle.net in 1996, Blizzard’s back end will be used to host a non-Blizzard game. In their statement, Blizzard explained that creating a new networking system for the PC version of Destiny 2 “would needlessly extend the development period” of their sister company’s game. Blizzard noted that they have no plans to add any other Activision titles to their platform, but they are “potentially evaluating” other opportunities for synergy.
In related news, the PC build of Destiny 2 will support an uncapped framerate, 4K resolution, and configurable controls. By being integrated in Blizzard’s network, Destiny 2 players will also have all the cross-game social features people get in titles like Overwatch, StarCraft 2, and World of Warcraft. Plus, they’ll be able to use their Blizzard Balance to purchase Destiny 2, and presumably that will extend to the in-game purchases as well. Destiny 2 will be available worldwide on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 8th.
You probably don’t remember James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game from Lightstorm Entertainment and Ubisoft Montreal. No one really does. Despite using the same engine as Ubisoft’s more recent Far Cry games to serve up otherworldly visuals, the game was kind of a dud. It sold 2.7 million copies, but it never rose above its throwaway movie tie-in reputation. It was quickly dismissed and disappeared from everyone’s consciousness. When Ubisoft announced earlier this year that they were working on a new Avatar game, reactions were mixed. Partly, this was because the idea of four more Avatar movies sounded bonkers. Interest was piqued when it was revealed that Massive would be developing it and they were using Snowdrop as the engine – the same one currently powering The Division. If anything, The Division does some interesting things with co-op gameplay. Perhaps it could be good?
Alas, the next Avatar game will not be coming any time soon. Savvy analysts noticed that Ubisoft’s investor report included no mention of the game. There was news about the next South Park game, the upcoming sequel to The Crew, and there was even a new logo to herald the next Assassin’s Creed. For Avatar? Nothing. When asked by IGN, Ubisoft explained the omission. The Avatar game won’t be released before the next movie, and since Avatar 2’s premiere was pushed back to 2020, we can’t expect the game before then. That leaves plenty of time for Massive to model floating islands and ill-fitting loincloths.
When the major studios option a franchise, that doesn’t mean much. It just means they paid someone for the privilege to say “we call dibbs!” Screenwriters might be hired, talent might be courted, directors might be talked to. But in the end, an optioned property is just as likely to sit on a shelf as it is to become a movie. That’s Hollywood for you. But Netflix isn’t exactly Hollywood. So when they announce they’re producing a Witcher series, I’m inclined to think it carries more weight than the usual videogame adaptation announcement.
Consider that Netflix dumped a boatload of money into their international Marco Polo production. I suspect they see The Witcher as having a similar international appeal, but this time with some Game of Thrones cachet because it’s fantasy instead of boring ol’ history. They furthermore announced the participation of a couple of partners that suggests money is already moving beyond just licensing deals. For instance, this Polish effects studio and these guys who helped shepherd a Tom Cruise mummy movie to the big screen and The Expanse to the small screen. Seems to me a Witcher series might actually be happening.
For Geralt, I’d like to suggest anyone but Vin Diesel.
Here at Quarter to Three, we try to keep our heads above the fray and not report on rumors or baseless stories. So what if Ubisoft told investors that they can expect “the exciting returns of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, The Crew and South Park” this year? Maybe the next Assassin’s Creed will be a prequel called Origins and use ancient Egypt as its setting, but we can’t know for sure. Not even if we’ve been seeing this rumor since last year. What we do have is a spiffy new Assassin’s Creed logo, and that’s good enough to start some discussion.
Let’s do a deep-dive into the new Assassin’s Creed image after the jump!Continue reading →
Microsoft is giving away a remaster of Phantom Dust for free. That’s free for everyone, starting today on the Xbox One and Windows Store.
The 2004 Xbox game from Yukio Futatsugi and Microsoft Studios was based on deck-building and multiplayer third-person arena action. If that sounds like a bit of a puzzle to you, then you weren’t alone. While Phantom Dust got some critical nods, it just didn’t sell well. It remained a bit of a cult hit, so fans were delighted when a remaster for the Xbox One was announced at E3 2014. Nothing is ever simple though. The remaster by Darkside Game Studios was cancelled in February 2015 due to monetary issues and miscommunication between Darkside and Microsoft. While the cancellation resulted in Darkside’s liquidation, the project was quietly moved to an internal team at Microsoft. The only indication that the project was still alive in some form came from a quick blurb at E3 2016, but most took it as an optimistic projection.
That brings us to today. Microsoft is releasing the HD remaster for free to download and keep. Upgraded assets, new networking code, and widescreen support come with the re-release of the niche green machine original Xbox title.
Maniaplanet is still a thing. This is probably more news to gamers in the United States than in Europe, but Nadeo and Ubisoft haven’t given up on the shared universe of Maniaplanet games. You may not hear much about the titles stateside, but Nadeo has been chugging along quietly on their “planet” games and the studio is rolling out a major update across the network. Maniaplanet 4 brings a slew of improvements to the service like user-made channels, content creation, and enhancements to the games’ editors.
Along with the free update, Trackmania2 is getting a for-pay Lagoon expansion that adds 65 solo tracks and six new multiplayer game modes in a tropical setting. It’s palm trees, blue water, six-story tall looping tracks, and impossible stunt car acrobatics jammed together. It’s like being in The Crew’s version of the Bahamas. Trackmania2 Lagoon launches on May 23rd.
Shootmania Storm isn’t getting a new installment of paid content, but it is getting some upgrades. New weapons, new map assets, new modes, and vehicles have come to Shootmania. Specifically, Trackmania cars can now be used in a Car Elimination game mode in Shootmania. If running around on foot in the ruins of Shootmania while shooting a magic gun is your thing, you might enjoy six-story tall looping tracks and impossible stunt car acrobatics mixed in. It’s like being in the Ghost Recon Wildlands’ version of the Bahamas.
Here’s something to mull over while you’re waiting for the level to reload in Prey: 26% of game players prefer a mobile device over a console or PC as their primary game platform. Only 7% of non-gamers even know what a Nintendo Switch is for, while 29% of gamers do. According to the Nielson Games 360 2017 U.S. Report, 69% of console gamers still prefer physical media. There’s a lot of interesting, if non-specific, data in the report and it gives a good high-level look at the state of gaming. Check out this tidbit: In order of importance, people admit that the factors that influence their game purchases are genre interest, then graphics, and finally storyline. Good news for publishers! On the bad news side, 34% of gamers don’t buy more games because the games they already own are keeping them busy, 30% say they just play free stuff, and 24% of you cheapskates are waiting for better prices.
Larian Studios has unveiled Game Master Mode in Divinity: Original Sin 2. The feature, originally a $2 million Kickstarter stretch goal, adds a suite of tools to the upcoming video game that allows an asymmetrical multiplayer session in which one player guides the others through an adventure like a traditional tabletop roleplaying game. It’s a proposal that games like BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights and n-Space’s Sword Coast Legends have delivered with varying degrees of success over the years. Larian’s take on the design blends their proprietary setting and rules with easily configured custom modules that allow players to create their own scenarios, and even handle unexpected situations with on-the-fly tools. There’s even a generic dice roller!
As with previous efforts to create a video game version of sitting around a table eating pizza and Cheetos while arguing over dice rolls, the tools’ flexibility and ease of use will be a big factor in how widely the community adopts it. How does Game Master Mode in Divinity: Original Sin 2 measure up? Keeping in mind that it’s still a work in progress for an early access game, this video shows Larian’s Swen Vinke putting the mode through it’s paces at Wizards of the Coast’s headquarters – the home of Dungeons & Dragons.
Rising Star Games, best known for publishing No More Heroes and the more recent Harvest Moon games in the west, has announced Deadly Premonition: The Board Game with a cryptic video. The web site gives almost no details except for a countdown timer that has about a day left on the clock. A tabletop version of the 2010 cult release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 seems like an odd fit, but it’s as logical as a Japanese developer making a survival horror title with a strong Twin Peaks vibe thanks to sometimes intentionally campy dialogue.
Smite is getting a cosmetic DLC pack themed around Bob Ross. The Bob Ross Bundle, created in cooperation with his estate and Twitch, will give Smite players a skin that turns Sylvanus into the late artist, a special loading frame, and a spray or “jump stamp” that looks like Bob Ross’ smiling face coming out of a paint splatter. While the themed skin has a number of effects like changing Sylvanus’ attacks into paint throwing and happy tree summoning, ASMR addicts will likely not want to watch Smite for their relaxation fix.
The Smite Bob Ross Bundle will be available for $9.99, or 700 in-game quatloos on May 9th.
When Treyarch last updated the PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, the company hinted that they were working on more content for the game, but declined to share details. There have been rumors for a few days that something was coming soon, and now we have the official confirmation. Zombie Chronicles is an upcoming DLC pack for Black Ops 3 that features eight zombie maps from World at War, Black Ops, and Black Ops 2, but rejiggered to work with the popular (and revenue generating) GobbleGum mechanic. The PlayStation 4 will get the pack first on May 16th, while the PC and Xbox One release will be later thanks to the standing exclusivity deal with Sony.
There’s no denying that the Zombies mode in Treyarch’s Call of Duty games is popular, and the Black Ops 3 player count remains healthy despite the game being almost two years old. More zombie maps for Black Ops 3 is a no-brainer. (Sorry, undead fans.) If you’re confused by the zombie time-traveling, hidden secrets, and celebrity guest star shenanigans, there’s a timeline that can confuse you further.
The Digital Deluxe Edition of Civilization VI is getting more content. Originally, the Civilization VI Digital Deluxe Edition came with the game, the soundtrack, and four DLC packs. The Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack released in April should’ve been the end of the obligation, but 2K Games and Firaxis now say they’re going to give Digital Deluxe owners two more DLC packs.
It’s important to us that wherever Civilization fans live around the world, that the Digital Deluxe edition provides a great value. We saw that prices with certain currencies didn’t live up to the savings we’re looking to deliver, and so we are excited to offer this new content at no additional charge to those who purchase, or already own, the Civilization VI Digital Deluxe edition.
The two packs coming in the next few months will contain three new leaders for African and Southeast Asian civilizations.
This is a real thing that comes out on May 18. It is not a joke. Nor is the fact that the publisher’s other game is called Fist of Jesus: the Bloody Gospel of Judas.
