Fellow mischief-makers, a new toy of soft destruction awaits our consideration. It’s called the SpyraThree, and it claims to be the world’s most powerful water gun. Based on its specs, I’m inclined to believe it. With a “tactical display,” three firing modes, and an auto-pressurizing reload feature, this thing looks like it was pulled straight out of Apex Legends. I need one yesterday, damn it.
Actual Italians Tell Us What They Think About Super Mario
Spyra first hit the tactical water gun scene back in 2018 with a Kickstarter for its first model, the SpyraOne. The battery-powered device was notable for its ease of reloading: Simply dip it into any body of water and it would refill itself automatically—no pumping required—and it boasted a firing range of 25 feet. The new SpyraThree, however, has a base range of just over 30 feet, with a “PowerShot” that’ll expand the range to 50. I’m surprised you don’t need a license to use this…then again, it resembles a gun, so living in America at least, I probably shouldn’t be surprised at that. It does cost $179, so it ain’t cheap, but uh, summer’s around the corner folks, so start saving your chewing gum money.
At just under five pounds, it weighs about half of a PlayStation 5 and has a total length of 27 inches. The tactical display positioned just below the iron sights (plastic sights?) should be familiar to most gamers and will let you know how much battery juice and ammo (water) you’ve got left.
According to The Verge, that battery life will get you through 100 reloads of 22 shots, each blast packing 30ml of water. Volume wise, that’s about half of an average-sized 5-Hour Energy Drink per shot, or about the size of a standard NyQuil dose cup. (No word from Spyra as to whether the SpyraThree is recommended for administering medicine. I’m going to assume yes.)
You’ll get three fire modes: “freestyle” fires a single shot; burst fires a three-round burst that’d make Master Chief very happy; and a “League mode” simulates ammo clips and occasionally needs “reload” periods. Spyra adds on its page that, “Individual shots are strong but not painful. Part of the fun factor is that you feel the hit, but shouldn’t be knocked out by it.”
That’s nice. I think it’s great when water guns don’t cause you to lose consciousness. Really good feature. And, side note, those M. Night Shyamalan aliens are fucked.
Spring is a time of awakenings and new opportunities. In celebration of the season, Wild Hearts is adding new content all month, from new Kemono and Karakuri, to new quest types. If you’ve yearned to join the hunt, Xbox players can now try Wild Hearts for 10 full hours. Explore the beautiful but dangerous land of Azuma right up to the gates of Minato for free now through April 13, 2023.
Plus, you can get up to 20%* off either the Standard or Karakuri Edition (which includes the base game and six exclusive items: the Karakuri Samurai and Karakuri Ninja armor sets, a decorative Tsukumo Lantern, and three Emotes) through April 20, 2023.
New Kemono
The falling cherry blossom petals that once delighted the people of Azuma now fill them with dread. For they are delicate harbingers of a deadly foe, the beautiful but destructive Murakumo. Don’t be beguiled by its loveliness, this massive fox-like Kemono dances through the air and unleashes a whirlwind attack that can bring a quick end to almost any battle.
How will you overcome the ferocious power of this beast and protect the people of Azuma? Mastery of a new Karakuri may be your only hope…
New Karakuri
The spinning top is a cunning and powerful addition to your Karakuri toolset. Though it may appear quite simple, it has the power to banish Murakumo’s savage winds. But it’s also important to know that the spinning top gains power each time it ricochets off any surface. The more objects (or Kemono) it hits, the stronger it becomes, so choose your hunting grounds wisely and you will be able to stagger almost any foe.
Other Updates
Wild Hearts is also introducing a new Limit Break system for weapons and armor that will allow you to enhance your equipment with core orbs you obtain after defeating Volatile Kemono. The addition of Marakumo also means new materials for your weapons and armor, both every bit as beautiful as the beast that inspired them.
And, of course, there will be bug fixes and overall game improvements coming as well. You can visit the Wild Hearts website for a look at the latest Patch Notes for more details.
More Coming April 20
The new content doesn’t end after this first update. Be sure to check back for more information on the new Deeply Volatile Kemono, the Deathhaze Gloombeak, as well as challenging Serial Hunts, and new Emotes and Chat Stamps.
Serial Hunts will push your skills to the limit as you pursue a succession of Kemono in time-limited hunts – and without the ability to draw upon the healing water from wells. These new quests will be risky indeed, but with great risk comes great reward. But only if you make it to the end of your quest.
Now is the time to hone your skills and prepare for everything April has in store for you in the world of Wild Hearts.
*Conditions and restrictions apply. See here for details.
WILD HEARTS™ Karakuri Edition
Electronic Arts
☆☆☆☆☆ 654
★★★★★
$89.99
$71.99
WILD HEARTS™ is a twist on the hunting genre where technology gives you a fighting chance against giant nature-infused beasts.
For a while, none could stand against the Kemono’s overwhelming might. But hope arrives in the form of a formidable hunter, armed with deadly weapons and ancient technology called Karakuri that could turn the tide of battle.
HUNT GIANT NATURE-INFUSED BEASTS
Survive their attacks, learn from their behaviors, and use your Karakuri and your weapons in combination to cut these creatures down to size.
CRAFT YOUR HUNTING GROUNDS
You are the only one in Azuma able to wield the Karakuri technology. This ancient tech enables you to adapt your environment into creative hunting grounds ideal for taking down the giant Kemono.
HUNT IN A PACK, OR BE A LONE WOLF
In WILD HEARTS you can face the Kemono alone or unite with up to two friends (or fellow players) to stalk and hunt your prey.
GEAR UP TO HUNT, HUNT TO GEAR UP
The more you hunt, the more you progress. Create your character, then gather materials from each hunt and build an array of armor and weapons to bring down even bigger beasts.
EXPLORE A FANTASY FEUDAL JAPAN
Experience four season-based hunting grounds – each region with its own beautiful landscapes and dangers.
Leave a lasting impression on your fellow hunters with the WILD HEARTS™ Karakuri Edition which includes the base game and six items: Karakuri Samurai and Karakuri Ninja cosmetic armor sets, a decorative Tsukumo Lantern, and three Emotes.
WILD HEARTS™ Karakuri Edition includes:
– 2 x full cosmetic armor sets (Karakuri Samurai + Karakuri Ninja)
– Decorative Tsukumo Lantern
– 3 x Emotes (Fighting Spirit, Grovel, Conch)
Developed for this generation of platforms by Omega Force, the Japanese studio behind the DYNASTY WARRIORS franchise, WILD HEARTS™ takes you on an epic adventure set in a fantasy world inspired by feudal Japan.
WILD HEARTS™ is a unique twist on the hunting genre where technology gives you a fighting chance against fearsome beasts infused with the ferocious power of nature itself. Take on these creatures alone or hunt with friends in seamless co-op.
No one remembers why the Kemono began their rampage through a once prosperous Azuma. Fueled by desperation, they wield the power of primal nature at its most destructive. For a while, it seemed that none could stand against their overwhelming might. But hope arrives in the form of a formidable hunter, armed with deadly weapons and ancient technology called Karakuri that could turn the tide of battle.
HUNT GIANT NATURE-INFUSED BEASTS
Survive their attacks, learn from their behaviors, and use your Karakuri and your weapons in combination to cut these creatures down to size.
CRAFT YOUR HUNTING GROUNDS
You are the only one in Azuma able to wield the Karakuri technology. This ancient tech enables you to adapt your environment into creative hunting grounds ideal for taking down the giant Kemono.
HUNT IN A PACK, OR BE A LONE WOLF
In WILD HEARTS™ you can face the Kemono alone or unite with up to two friends (or fellow players) to stalk and hunt your prey.
GEAR UP TO HUNT, HUNT TO GEAR UP
The more you hunt, the more you progress. Create your character, then gather materials from each hunt and build an array of armor and weapons to bring down even bigger beasts.
EXPLORE A FANTASY FEUDAL JAPAN
Experience four season-based hunting grounds – each region with its own beautiful landscapes and dangers.
Developed for this generation of platforms by Omega Force, the Japanese studio behind the DYNASTY WARRIORS franchise, WILD HEARTS™ takes you on an epic adventure set in a fantasy world inspired by feudal Japan.
For April Fool’s Day, Sega released a game where the company finally went and did the unthinkable: they killed Sonic. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a real visual novel in which you investigate the death of Sega’s beloved mascot, currently free on Steam. Here’s the game’s description via the publisher:
It’s Amy Rose’s birthday, and she’s hosting a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express! When Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the game’s victim, everyone is off to get to the bottom of things. However, something feels a bit off – is this really an innocent game or is something more sinister afoot?
Surprisingly, the free game has proved very popular. As told by Sonic social media manager Katie Chrzanowski (via GameSpot), more one million people have played the game. Going a step further, it’s apparently the 61st highest-reviewed game on Steam right now, and as GameSpot points out, the best-rated Sonic game on Steam (though that’s not the highest margin to clear, all things considered). As of this writing, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog has over 11,000 user reviews on Steam, netting it an “Overwhelmingly Positive” ranking. You can check the game out for yourself right here.
Over 1,000,000 of you have grabbed The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and it’s currently the #61 highest rated game on Steam of ALL TIME.
Developer Tursiops Truncatus just announceed that the over the top physics based shoot ’em up The Day We Fought Space!($3.99) will be getting a major 2.0 update next week. If you’ve not played The Day We Fought Space yet, it was originally announced in 2019, and finally made it to iOS last year. Next week’s update will bring in a new zero-gravity planet, Comet. The update will also bring in precision targeting challenges, the new Zen mode, and more when it arrives on April 13th. In terms of new weapons, 20 will be added with over a hundred unique combinations. Watch the trailer for the game below:
As of this writing, The Day We Fought Space! is available on iOS for $3.99. This update will go live on April 13th. If you’d like to grab the game before the update, check it out on the App Store for iOS here. Head over to our forum thread for The Day We Fought Space!here for more impressions. Have you played The Day We Fought Space! before or will you be trying it once this 2.0 update hits next week with the Zen mode and other additions?
Ahead of its April 28 release date, publisher EA has revealed the PC requirements for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. And most notably, it’s going to take up a big chunk of your computer’s storage space, weighing in at an eye-watering 155GB.
Here are the minimum and recommended spec requirements, as posted by EA:
The prequel to the critically acclaimed Road 96 is finally here! In Road 96: Mile 0, you play as Zoe and Kaito, who have set out to find out the truth their country is trying to hide, and do it through a unique gameplay with the new “psychedelic rides” mechanic. Do you want to know what is inside the minds of these teenagers? Allow me to show you how.
How do the game mechanics work and what are the psychedelic rides?
At DigixArt, we love frenetic rides and fast paced gameplay. With Road 96: Mile 0, we wanted to keep the core feeling of Road 96 – the key to its success – but add a whole new feature, something fresh that could please players who like more skill-based gameplay.
In one of our previous games, Lost in Harmony, we had a skill-based cooking mechanic, and we took a similar approach when we developed Mile 0’s “psychedelic rides”. The rides are designed to be highly replayable – there is a score system that shows your precision like rhythm games, but also some narrative choices and hidden shortcuts. But don’t worry, for the more chilled players, you can skip those rides so that you’re not blocked from story progression.
What is the message behind the psychedelic rides?
These “psychedelic rides” represent impactful moments in Kaito and Zoe’s minds: their fears, their joy, their traumas, their questions. Some of them are really dark and represent well what could not be shown in reality. They are all unique, crafted by hand, with wonderful composers and even famous licensed songs like The Offspring’s ‘No Brakes’ – that song defines a facet of Zoe’s personality at this moment of her life Before everything changes for her…
How do the rides change the characters?
Each psychedelic ride contains narrative choices that have a big impact on the “belief gauges” of the two characters. These moments represent choices that you have to make in your life – like a crossroad, would you go here or there? Do you prefer the comfort of your certitudes or the scarier direction of new beliefs? The rides offer this metaphor, and continue the strong narratives of the first Road 96 game in an all-new way.
What was the most challenging aspect for the studio when developing these rides?
Developing the rides’ gameplay was not easy – it was meant to be frenetic but still emotional. We wanted them to be challenging but not too hard for casual players. We did a lot of tweaking, again and again, and day after day it became more and more fun to play. We are really happy with the result. We know it will be surprising to players but we hope they like this addition to the brand.
Road 96: Mile 0 is out now for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
Road 96: Mile 0
Ravenscourt Games
☆☆☆☆☆ 33
★★★★★
$12.99
Road 96: Mile 0 is a Narrative-Adventure game with a musical component created by DigiXArt, the French studio behind the successful Road 96, 11-11 Memories Retold and 5 Pegases Awards winner. Published by Ravenscourt, players will alternate between the roles of Zoe and Kaito, two teenagers with different backgrounds and beliefs. They live and explore White Sands, a luxurious condominium where Petria´s elite reside and where Kaito´s parents work.
Zoe is one of the characters of Road 96. She comes from the rich side of the city and her father works for the government. Kaito, a character from Lost in Harmony, lives in the less privileged area. They’re good friends, but that could all change quite soon.
Their journey in Road 96: Mile 0 will challenge their friendship and everything they believe in. They say money doesn’t buy happiness, nor friendship. These teens are dreamers and they are going to learn where they belong. Will they remain friends?
ROAD 96 WORLD
Understand the previous event of Road 96 and what made Zoe flee from her home. Play as Zoe and Kaito to shape the evolution of their fate. Besides this, you will run into many of the colorful characters from Road 96. Get to experience another side of the troubled country of Petria.
IT’S ALL ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
This is a story about conflict and difference of opinion between two friends. Zoe and Kaito come from two different worlds, but they are unified by a powerful friendship. They will face many challenges, can they overcome them?
MUSICAL RIDES
The musical segments of the game are a real emotional experience that put you into inner worlds of Zoe and Kaito. You will have to make choices and ride and dodge to find your way through these beautiful psychedelic trips.
Dlala Studios recently shared an extensive hands-off presentation of its upcoming game, Disney Illusion Island, where we got a chance to see some of the game’s early cutscenes and a substantial gameplay demo. Seeing the game in action answered a number of questions and presented a handful of intriguing new ones. For one, the game can be played alone, and though their animations differ, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy all play the same. It’s not a Super Mario Bros. 2 situation where they all run at different speeds and jump different heights. No matter who your favorite character is (Donald being an early contender in the cutscenes we saw), you will have the same experience.
The biggest surprises we saw, however, were blink-and-you-miss-it during the presentation. We watched Minnie progress through an area riding on air flows while making her way north, but she did not engage in combat with any of the enemies. And in one quick instance, which Dlala did not linger on, they paused the game briefly to reveal a gigantic, detailed Metroid-esque map. To find out more about these details, and others, we spoke with Dlala Studios’ CEO & creative director AJ Grand-Scrutton. You can check out the interview below.
The biggest surprise for me was seeing that map. Is Illusion Island a Metroidvania? How do you feel about that term? It’s a great question. That term, it really depends on the room, you know? I think it’d be silly to shy away from the reality that, structurally, we’re super influenced by Metroidvania. It’s a big seamless weld, there are gates that are locked off by abilities, and you unlock those abilities to get through there and open up new content. So, we love a lot of Metroidvanias, and they had a big influence. But I think a big difference is Metroidvania is quite combat focused, whereas our main focus here is platforming.
So while Metroidvania influenced our structure, it’s much more influenced by a lot of traditional platforming. So as strange as it sounds, what we’ve really created is like this big open-world platform experience, where it’s all about the joy of movement and mastering those mechanics. I think that whilst some classic Metroidvania is an influence on us, I think we took a lot from the classic ’90s, Mickey games, and modern stuff like Rayman Legends, as well. I think it’s kind of just as much platform influence as the Metroidvania side of things.
When there are enemies in the world you just have to get away from them rather than fight them. Is there no combat in the game? That’s exactly it. From the start, the joy of movement was important to us. And at the same time – and this is a super fluffy, creative-director kind of answer for you – but Mickey and friends didn’t necessarily scream combat to me. We’ve got this brand-new world and these new characters, and what didn’t sit right was this isn’t like a big evil world. This is a world that exists about Mickey and friends. I didn’t really want the characters to come in and just start jumping on people’s heads when all those people are doing is hanging out in their houses, basically. It didn’t really fit the vibe of the story; it didn’t really fit the vibe of the characters for us.
And as soon as we started getting in the abilities, that’s what the game was to us. The platforming magic – those abilities – that’s where we were having fun. Even in our thought processes where we sat in a room, and combat almost, whenever it was in a conversation, it was almost like this side thing of us being keen, “Ah, we probably have to put combat in the game.” And I think at some point, we’re just like, “Why do we have to?” Who’s sitting there saying, like, “We have to do this.” And I’ll say that Disney supports us doing that [laughs]. We just looked at it, and we realized, you know, if the game doesn’t need it – and it doesn’t – the game isn’t sitting there going, “I’m missing something,” then let’s trust our guts and build this experience around the movement.
Is Illusion Island considered a Castle Of Illusion sequel? Or is the word Illusion just associated with Mickey video games? It’s kind of an homage, I think, is the best way to put it. We always kind of viewed this as our spiritual successor in our minds. We made this game because we love those games. It’s not technically a sequel to any of those titles, but you can see a lot of that imprint in the game. In multiplayer, players can drop a rope to each other, which was very inspired by those World of Illusion moments when Mickey and Donald work together. We’ve got a kind of seesaw-style mechanics in some areas. But more than anything, to be honest – not just this game – but I think a lot of us, especially Grant [Allen, lead designer] and myself… we probably wouldn’t be making games if we hadn’t played Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, Magical Quest. I actually had my childhood copy of Castle of Illusion and Quackshot at my desk at work. We’re not a mechanical sequel, but this game only exists because those games came before.
Dlala is making all the cutscenes. You are creating new Mickey Mouse animation. How do you feel about that? Even hearing you say it, it sounds like you’re wrong. I’m sitting here ready to correct you, but you’re 100 percent telling the truth. It’s been amazing. We have the authentic voice actors. I got to watch them read our script. There aren’t really words for it, right? Like, it’s one of those things where I don’t think we ever dreamed because you don’t sit there as a kid and go, “One day, I’m gonna get to make a Mickey Mouse game! And basically do an entire season of shorts for it!” Because it just doesn’t seem believable. We basically got to do 30 to 35 minutes of fully animated cutscenes, which is the same length as the first season of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. And we got to wrap it in this brand new world with all these new characters we’ve created, and they’re all playing with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, and it’s absolutely surreal. Even at this point, it genuinely feels like I’m lying to people when I say it.
What is the relationship to the new Mickey animated shorts? Were those the baseline for approaching modern Mickey and friends? We are completely unrelated, besides the fact that we’re all Mickey Mouse. I think, in terms of style and tone, we’re both very inspired by the same stuff. I think the new shorts are very inspired by the early stages of Mickey when he was quite cheeky. Mickey is very much this beacon of hope and joy, but he’s also this wonderful slapstick character. We see that a lot more in some of the early stuff, like Lonesome Ghosts and Steamboat Willie, and I think the shorts are influenced by those same moments. Obviously, our designs – we both obviously loved the white base version of the character and that classic kind of Mickey look.
We love those new shorts, and there are elements to our game, without us giving spoilers, that give nods to all of Mickey’s heritage, and it includes those modern shorts, as well, as we see them as kind of a key part of the timeline of what has come before. But there is actually no direct connection between us. Those Mickey shorts are made by people of our age who grew up loving Mickey Mouse, and this is a game from a bunch of people who grew up loving Mickey Mouse, and I think you’re kind of seeing that all come to fruition together at the same time.
How did this game come about? Was Disney in search of a platformer? Did you pitch to Disney? I keep saying it’s been collaborative since before day zero. We obviously had an existing relationship with Disney years ago, but we were making Battletoads.
What was the existing relationship? We looked into a title together previously, and it never came to release. It just so happened that we moved on to new things, and we were doing Battletoads. And then, about a year before the release of Battletoads, we decided we reach out and see if they wanted to have a conversation. And that ended up being this really lovely two- or three-hour call where we were talking about where is Dlala is as a studio, what we’ve been doing, and Disney was talking to us about what they’ve been doing.
There wasn’t like a firm agenda, but they kind of just ended that call with us all kind of going, “Hey, should we think about maybe doing like a Mickey thing together?” It wasn’t like we said bye, and I went off and just focused on a pitch. It just stayed collaborative while we worked on the pitch together. I was thinking about this the other day… I don’t even really remember a formal greenlight or anything to that effect. It was just kind of like, “Cool, we could do this, and we could do that.” And then the next thing I know, I am on a call with you talking about the game that is about to be released.
Hopefully, they know at this point, right? Yeah, I mean, I think it’s been greenlit by now, right guys? It just kind of happened very naturally. And for us, we love those old Illusion games, so we knew we wanted you to do something with platforming, but we want you to try something for four players that’s bigger. I don’t think we’ve ever really thought about it until those conversations where we were like, “What if we just did a big thing with a seamless world? What about if the loading screen you get when you press start is the only loading screen you see unless you opt into one?” It just became this wonderful project than it should have been.
This certainly sounds like marketing spin when it’s really not. It has just been this wonderful collaboration between us where we’ve had access to stuff that, you know, we never thought we’d get access to. Working with writers for Disney games who wrote for TV or helped us find the voices of the characters. We’ve just had this relationship where we chatted every day because we liked each other. Sometimes in these publisher situations, you’re forced to do meetings that you don’t want to do. Whereas with this, we requested meetings we didn’t have to do just so we could be like, “We drew some cool pictures. Have a look!” This was a long-winded answer to a very simple question you asked, but it kind of just came about through serendipity. Like, it was the right time for us. It was the right time for Disney, and we were just as excited about a Mickey Mouse game as we were excited about working with each other.
How does Disney handle new characters? How does that process work? How do you create Uncle Steve, a now canonical Mickey universe character that appears in Illusion Island? I won’t lie to you – I like to stay away from the word ‘canonical’ at all costs. That’s a scary word when you’re working with Mickey. To be honest, I’d love to tell you it’s a really horrible and painful and torturous process, but I think, because we speak so often, Disney has been fully aware of what we’re trying to do with the story, and we show them character designs, even when they’re just these scratchy little things, or we give them a shotgun blast of paper. It’s not a lot of back and forth over notes or anything like that because Disney has been collaborating the whole time. It’s kind of just natural.
We kind of go, “Hey, this is what we’re looking to do. We will try this.” And they will be like, “Oh, that’s awesome.” They even like to help us find the identities of those characters. How to sculpt out a new character that’s going to interact with Mickey and friends. Then before you know it, they’re in the game. And they exist in the world. Disney has seen it, Dlala has seen it, but there’s no kind of like, “Okay, to Dlala, here are 25 forms to fill out.” It’s just kind of like a natural thing. Like we’re one big team, as opposed to, like, a publisher/developer formal sign-off.
All the characters functionally control and move the same – I assume that is a way to appeal to younger, less experienced players? For us, the way we view is, it’s for family, not children. It’s not a kids’ game. It’s a family game. What that means is it is difficult at times. There’s some complicated platforming. But then we give people the tools to be able to customize the experience. Every time you start the game on the character select screen, each player can individually set their starting health. For those players who just want to enjoy a story, or for younger players, you can actually set yourself to infinite health from the beginning.
If I was playing with Charlotte [Nangle, marketing manager, Dlala Studios], we might do like a two or three hearts balance and play. Whereas if I’m playing with Grant, I’d let him have infinite health so that he doesn’t have to worry about dying. We try and give options to other things, as well, like slowing down elements of the world, so that those younger players, or those players with slower reaction speed, can still enjoy the experience. But those players who are looking for that kind of punchy platforming challenge will still get that.
My first reaction to the very first time I saw Illusion Island was, “This reminds me of Rayman Origins.” I love Rayman Origins and Legends. Are those games a major inspiration? Or are these just in the pool of all the other platformers that have inspired Illusion Island? The Rayman games are definitely in the pool. The modern ones. We love them. Those Rayman games are some of the best 2D platformers ever made. They’re just incredible. For us, it’s a real, like, food mixer, where it’s got that in it, it’s got the IIlusion series and Magical Quest. It’s got a lot of those classic ’90s SNES- and Genesis-era titles.
Mickey Mania? Is that one in there? [Points to Grant] He loves Mickey Mania. Yeah, Magical Quest, I think, was mine. And Mickey Mania was yours. There’s a lot of that in there. Those are masterpieces like those Rayman games are masterpieces. We love them. We love playing them. And they do a great job of doing four-player cooperative platforming, as well. All those games we have played are massive inspirations for us to make this title.
Disney Illusion Island debuts exclusively on Nintendo Switch on July 28.
The system requirements for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are out, and they’re mostly reasonable. Cal Kestis’ next adventure doesn’t want much from your rig, just a 4 core/8 thread CPU, a recent(ish) GPU, and anywhere from 8 to 16 gigs of RAM. Oh, and 155GB of hard drive space. I guess Morgan did warn us it was going to be a bigger sequel than we’re expecting (opens in new tab).
That’s more space than Red Dead Redemption 2, more than Microsoft Flight Sim, and more than Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (which currently occupies more space than anything else on my SSD), according to our own list of the biggest game install sizes (opens in new tab).
It’s also literally more than I can currently install on my machine—I have about 80GB of space free at the moment—meaning I’ll either have to buy a new SSD or clear out some of the enormous games I haven’t played in ages, which is tantamount to admitting defeat.
I don’t know what it is about Jedi: Survivor that mandates such a huge amount of room. It’s a good-looking and expansive game, but it doesn’t look dramatically different to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, its predecessor game that weighed in at a mere 55GB. My money’s on the rich collection of beards for Cal that now occupy the game’s previously poncho-filled crates.
If that’s the case, then it’s all 100% worth it, and I regret that I have but one hard drive to give for Cal’s multitude of facial hair options. I guess we’ll find out when Star Wars Jedi: Survivor hits Steam (opens in new tab) on April 28. Until then, here are those system requirements in full:
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, previously only available on Steam and mobile platforms, is coming to PS4 and Switch on April 19.
This series comprises Final Fantasy 1 through Final Fantasy 6 and all content from the original games combined with quality-of-life upgrades.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series releases for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on April 19.
Content in the console versions includes the option to switch between the rearranged and original-based soundtrack for the game and a choice of in-game fonts.
You can now play using the game’s default lettering or pixel-based font. Additionally, boost features to expand gameplay options, including switching off random encounters and adjusting experience gained multipliers between 0 and 4, are included in the PS4 and Switch versions.
All six titles will be available to digitally purchase individually or as a complete series in the Final Fantasy 1-6 bundle from the PlayStation Store and eShop starting today.
If you purchase the Switch version by May 25, you will receive two themed wallpapers based on the individual games purchased from the pixel remaster series. If you purchase the complete series in the bundle, you will receive all 12 themed wallpapers.
Purchasing the digital edition of the game(s) on PlayStation 4 between April 19 through May 25, you will receive a Theme and Avatar per the individual games(s) purchased from the pixel remaster series. Buying the complete series will reward you with every theme and avatar included with the games for a total of six.
The list of celebrities that Italy has gifted to the world is definitely quite long: Dante, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci. But, obviously, the most famous of all remains a short and stocky mustachioed plumber by the name of Mario. But how Italian is he, really, and what exactly is his story?
I talked about it with a few Italian developers and found out that, in the end, almost everyone loves “doing the Mario”.
If this doesn’t do something to you, you have no soul.
In the early 80s, video game characters did not really have a well-defined backstory or, even less, a national identity. Character design was all about the art that decorated the arcade cabinet, the manual or the magazine ads. Overall, the most important design choice was using a few pixels to design instantly recognizable characters on screen. When Miyamoto was finishing the design on the human protagonist for Donkey Kong, he recalled not having any clear ideas on who he should really be. The hero had placeholder names such as Mr. Video or Jumpman – having a great big charismatic gorilla probably seemed colorful enough. But, then, Italy happened. Or, rather, an Italian-American businessman.
The story, originally reported in David Sheff’s classic book “Game Over”, goes that it was a small incident which ended up inspiring Miyamoto to give the character his definitive name. Minoru Arakawa, president of Nintendo at the time, was, apparently, berated in front of his employees by Italian-American businessman named Mario Segale, owner of the warehouse which Nintendo was renting. Apparently, there was a problem with overdue rent. That’s how Mario finally completed his… jump… to the Belpaese, embracing his name as a homage to one hotheaded warehouse owner. Reportedly, Segale was later interviewed and said to be unhappy for not having ever received “his royalty checks”.
But this story might be a small detail in a bigger picture. A quick look at the original Jumpman sprite, which was basically already a short and stocky plumber, seems to tell a slightly different story. Since its original version, before the Segale incident, the character already looked very much… Mediterranean? It seemed to be designed after a widespread stereotype for Mediterranean men in Japan in the 70s. They were short, slightly pot-bellied, and sported luxurious mustaches. References can be found in anime, such as Isao Takahata’s 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. Clearly, Segale was just the inspiration for the name, the character seemed to already be on his way to “bella Italia”.
Japanese woman meeting European visitors in 1860.
Still, in his original appearance on Donkey Kong and its sequels, Mario’s Italian descent seemed to just be a vague personal trait. Japan always had a great fascination and respect for Italian culture, so we could assume they would have kept it that way. Things changed, basically overnight, when Mario reached US soil. We can easily pinpoint the moment that he transformed from a vague Italian stereotype drawn by Japanese developers, to full-on Italian American descent: Super Mario Bros.’ release in the US.
In the original Japanese manual, the first enemies you encounters in the game were called “kuribo”, which we would translate as “chestnut guy”. The name which everyone is familiar with nowadays is, instead, “goombas”. The term was made up for the American version of Super Mario Bros. and it was a play on the now mostly-forgotten, racial insult “goombah”. The term is modeled after “cumpà”, a term used in Italian-American culture, sometimes between friends, but also among fellow Mafia associates.
Interestingly, around the same time in Italy, NES and Nintendo were not huge names. It would take several years for Nintendo to take hold of the game market in the Belpaese, therefore not many originally got to know Mario in the 80s. I asked a few people that were there at the time, like developer and graphic artist Daniele Giardini, designer of Still There. He recalls:
“I knew Mario only as a distant cousin that you hear a lot of stories about, but never really met. I don’t remember which game I first played, it was many years ago”. Giuseppe Navarria, associate technical design director at Splash Damage, agrees, and shares a similar story, how he got to know Mario only years later on the Super Nintendo.
A 1983 Mario’s Cement Factory ad which clearly references the “Chicago overcoat”, technique used by the Mafia to get rid of unwanted subjects.
Going back to the US, a few years after first stepping off the boat, Mario finally received a voice. In 1989, the Super Mario Bros Super Show would debut on American TVs with Italian-American wrestler Lou Albano voicing the character – and even impersonating him in live-action segments. Albano was actually born in Rome, so he definitely had the pedigree for voicing Mario. Of course, let’s not forget the infamous 1994 CDi Hotel Mario animated segments where our dear plumber was voiced by Marc Graue, who also did voices for Luigi and Bowser. As silly as the material was, both Albano and Graue really did not go all in in mocking the typical Italian-American slang, but rather kept their original accents mostly intact.
But before the CDi, Mario already had received his official voice. Years before, Californian actor Charles Martinet had sent in an audition tape to Nintendo. He remembers that, after thinking about using a mobster-like voice, he settled for spouting vague Italian gibberish. Despite many remembering Martinet in Super Mario 64, he was voicing the character well before the 1996 release of the classic platformer. He can be heard, for example, in the Interplay-developed minigame collection 1993 Mario’s Game Gallery, where the voice of Mario is already quite close to the one we’ve all grown to love, perhaps even a tad sillier.
While surely in good spirit, Martinet’s interpretation of the character does feel like a vague mockery of Italian culture. Strange to feel that it is still living strongly in this era where national stereotypes are carefully being avoided by many companies. So it’s not entirely surprising that, for the movie, Chris Pratt is just using his normal voice and accent.
So what do Italians think of Mario’s historic jibing? Speaking of the plumber’s tortellini and “fettuccini” dreams he has in Odyssey, Giardini, of Still There fame, comments: “I always say that us Italians love to be made fun of… I mean, don’t we? I just wish Nintendo would think about trolling our politicians too!” While finding plumbers wearing that outfit and sporting a moustache in Italy is indeed quite difficult, Navarria does remember his uncle Antonio having a similar facial hairstyle. “But, at least, he worked in banking!” he laughs.
Italy’s relationship with the plumber is both strange and fascinating. One of the character’s most remembered appearances was in a 1990 NES TV ad, starring singer/rapper Jovanotti (see above) – an artist whom we could define as Italy’s answer to rapper Vanilla Ice. In the curious commercial, the singer is seen playing with Super Mario Bros (“I’m just here with Mario!”), inviting a girl home which he immediately puts the moves on, while pretending to teach her how to play Super Mario Bros.
But, alas, he doesn’t even know her name, as we discover in the final seconds of the commercial. Still, it is a relationship which some people like Pietro Polsinelli (developer of Football and Rollerball Drama) do remember fondly. “I won’t hear of anyone complaining about Mario, he was the mascot of Fiorentina, my home team from Florence!” he comments.
Fabio Capone, NAPS team co-founder and developer of RPG Baldo: The Guardian Owls, adds: “In a way I feel we are all Mario’s children, even in Baldo there is definitely his imprint! As a teen, I used to play Mario platformers on Super Nintendo and Game Boy, back when it was all about challenge and your personal ability. Today? Nintendo would never create a character like that!” Andrea Interguglielmi, game designer at Armor Games Studio, thinks it would be quite boring if they took away every bit of Mario’s Italian identity. “While I have to remember the character actually comes from Japan, it is still strange to think he might have relatives somewhere around in Italy!”
The We Are Muesli team remember their first encounter with Mario being a pirated Commodore 64 version of Mario Bros called Carlo. A limited edition of the Game Boy Pocket with Mario as a mascot of the Fiorentina soccer team.
But is today’s Mario actually Italian through and through? Not really, he seems more a vague representation of the more colorful and fun aspects of the country. On this, the We Are Muesli studio (Claudia Molinari and Matteo Pozzi) comments how cultural appropriation is quite a serious topic, but “Mario? We feel it is definitely not that serious. It actually helped us, as Italians working abroad, to be a little more self-deprecating about our national identity. Especially because Mario doesn’t even seem to be that obsessed with food – perhaps Kirby might be the definitive Italian mascot?”
While it’s just wishful thinking, I think we can all agree that it would be quite interesting to see Nintendo letting Mario free to embrace the more aggressive aspects of Italian culture. For example, our perennial war against any food that is not “100% true Italian”, as vague as that statement may sound.
Personally, I would be quite interested to play a platformer where Mario is tasked with defending the Mushroom Kingdom from food that is not truly Italian. Nintendo, when can I put down my preorder for the “Mario Odyssey – Bowser’s Pineapple Pizza” expansion?
The Resident Evil 4 remake seems to be exactly what the fans have been waiting for since Capcom started to release their classic games reimagined with the RE Engine. The Resident Evil 2 remake was amazing, but not completely faithful to the original, while the third one divided fans by bringing a thrilling action game but it still lacked content. It seems that Capcom finally listened to the community and made a remake perfectly, keeping almost everything that turned the 2005 game into an instant classic with very few cuts that don’t change players’ experience in any way.
One of the many things that the Resident Evil 4 remake kept from the blueprint is its bosses. Although one of them didn’t make the cut (I won’t miss you, U-3), all of the other ones are back, and even more terrifying than they were in the original. With that said, here are all of the main bosses that will cross your path in the Resident Evil 4 remake, ranked by how much they made me want to rage quit.
11. Del Lago
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
The monster that haunts the lake by the village is a massive amphibian infected by the Plaga parasite. In the original game, it was a blast to find out that you’re about to fight a boss in the water. Not many games did this type of battle as well as Resident Evil 4 back in 2005.
Even though the Del Lago monster looks and sounds scary, especially because most of the time you can’t see it, it’s still very easy to defeat it. Just hang on to your boat, attack the monster with harpoons when it’s visible, dodge when it comes in your direction and you’ll have Del Lago floating dead pretty quickly.
10. El Gigante Armored
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
After defeating the classic El Gigante in the village, you will find another of their kind in the castle. More furious and now armored, this creature may look a bit more intimidating but it’s fairly easy to put down.
You have to reach a checkpoint outside of the castle, but the monster won’t stop throwing boulders in your direction, this can be used to your benefit since he can also eliminate some enemies in your way. Hiding at the right times shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to finally get to the canon and blast off the armored El Gigante.
9. El Gigante
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
El Gigante is certainly one of the most memorable bosses in the original Resident Evil 4 and of course, he couldn’t be left out of the remake. Unlike the 2005 game, now we only fight him once in the village.
El Gigante looks very intimidating at first, but as soon as you learn his moves it gets pretty easy to take this big bad out. In this battle, we also have one of the most iconic scenes in the game, when the white dog you saved earlier comes to give you a hand against the monster.
8. El Gigante & El Gigante Armored
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
The El Gigante and his armored twin make a return together in the mines, just like in the original. But there’s a twist in the remake: there’s a duo on each side now, but to make everything easier, Luis Serra will help you out.
He distracts one of the El Gigante monsters, leaving you the unarmored twin to deal with. Instead of shooting and wasting your ammo, it’s best to bring him to the trap door and open it at the right time. For the El Gigante armored, Luis will stick dynamite to his back and it’s up to you to shoot it before it’s too late, but overall it’s not too hard to get done.
7. Osmund Saddler
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
The final showdown of the Resident Evil 4 remake is Lord Saddler, the man behind it all. You’d expect an incredibly hard face-to-face battle against him, but new players would be surprised to know it’s not much of a challenge to take out the leader of the Iluminados.
Saddler is the typical Resident Evil boss in its essence, with many eyes to shoot at and a variety of sharp combos that take most of your health bar – there’s also acid included. Aim for his eyes, dodge his attacks, knock his flying parasites, and run around the area to avoid close contact and he’ll get weak pretty quickly. Ada Wong will come up with a rocket launcher to help you get the fatal hit against the monstrosity Saddler has become.
6. Garrador
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
The Garrador was one of the fiercest enemies you would find in the original Resident Evil 4, both for his gruesome look and the fact that he can’t see you, but can hear any minor noise you make. Somehow the team behind the remake managed to make him look and sound as terrifying as ever, giving the fans one of the creepiest battles in the game.
If you want to get this over quickly and not waste your ammo, playing stealth is the best option here. You can use the chains in the room to mislead him with noises to get a view of his back and be able to shoot the parasite coming out of it. The Garrador remains a pretty intimidating boss but he’s not so hard to deal with after all.
5. Bitores Mendez
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
Things start to get a little bit more complicated in the top 5. Father Bitores Mendez is the priest who runs the church where Leon finds Ashley. In my opinion, he is the scariest-looking boss in both the original and remake. Mendez crosses your path multiple times before you get to fight him at the warehouse where he shows his true mutated form, which is a million times scarier.
The small space you have to fight plus the warehouse burning in flames makes things way more intense in this boss battle. Not only do you have to wait for Mendez to turn around so you can shoot the eye on his back, but you also need to dodge all of his attacks. In the second stage of his mutation, you need to react fast and shoot the explosive barrels he throws at you to stay alive.
4. Twin Garradors
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
If you thought there was too much tension with one Garrador, wait until you face two of them at once. This encounter will definitely be harder than the first one because, besides the two Garradors, there are some Ganados too, making it very difficult to be quiet.
Luckily the room is plenty bigger now giving you more space to run and mislead the enemies on the way, but that doesn’t take away from how hard this fight is. There are many Ganados that are behind you to avoid, all while trying to shoot the bells around the room to get the Garrados’ attention. This battle will take some time but it’s a huge relief to get it over with.
3. Ramon Salazar
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
The last member of the Salazar family is quite a peculiar character. He may not look like a threat at first but after Leon tries to kill him, Ramon Salazar shows his true horrendous form.
Salazar’s carnivorous-plant-like form can be pretty tough to beat due to his agility, he will move around the room trying to bite you all while vomiting a lethal acid that stuns Leon and causes great damage. You basically have to make use of the second floor to play hide and seek with him. It’s also difficult to get a good angle and shoot inside the monster’s mouth.
2. Verdugo
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
If you ever wondered how Ramon Salazar’s bodyguards looked under that red robe, you finally find out in this terrifying fight. The Verdugos are an experiment of human and insect DNA resulting in a tall terrifying agile figure that scares anyone.
The Verdugo owns one of the deadliest skill sets in the game: extremely strong tail attacks, sharp blade charges, and fast movement between the vents, making this boss battle quite intense. The good news is that you don’t actually have to kill him, but there’s plenty of anxiety while waiting for the elevator to come.
1. Jack Krauser
Image Source: Capcom via Twinfinite
In the original game, it was implied that 2 years before the events of Resident Evil 4 the experienced soldier Jack Krauser fought alongside Leon in a mission for the U.S. government called ‘Operation Javier’. Things changed in the remake when Krauser is now shown as the man who actually trained our protagonist for the top-secret government program Leon was invited to. They fight each other for the first time in the mines where the master calls his old pupil for a knife duel, an introduction worthy of what’s to come.
Krauser remains the toughest boss in the remake and can also be considered the longest battle as it takes multiple steps to face his final form. Thisboss keeps you on edge as you constantly try to get parries to make him weaker, and if your knife breaks it’s all over for you.Just when you think things are finally over, Krauser mutates and gets his lethal-bladed arms, making it all the more difficult.
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores takes Aloy to the ruins of Los Angeles. The past millennia has seen the metropolis wracked by tectonic and volcanic activity. The result: a dangerous archipelago populated by deadly machines. Among these islands, a large settlement of Quen fight to survive.
Spoiler Alert: Please note this article may contain some spoilers for Horizon Forbidden West and its storyline.
A look at The Quen
Aloy first encountered the tribe in Horizon Forbidden West, during her search for one of GAIA’s subordinate functions. “The Quen are a seafaring tribe from across the Pacific ocean,” Annie Kitain, Lead Writer at Guerrilla explains. “Unlike other tribes Aloy’s met, the Quen have built their society around their ability to use the Focus, which enables them to access and read ancient data. This technological advantage has given them an edge against other tribes in their homeland, the Great Delta, but it has also shaped their culture in interesting ways.”
“Knowledge from the ancient past has allowed the Quen to build an impressive empire. But unlike, say, the Oseram tribe, whose technological prowess is due to their creative inventions, the Quen rely solely on the knowledge they’ve unearthed to drive their advancements. As a result, an important part of their culture revolves around protecting the few Focuses the tribe possesses, as well as strictly controlling who can access the valuable information these devices reveal.”
“To that end, Diviners play a special role in the tribe. As a highly esteemed class of Quen, only Diviners are allowed to use a Focus to read data. Their job is to find and record ancient knowledge that may benefit the empire, ensuring that it doesn’t fall into the hands of outsiders.”
But the Quen’s view of the Old World is skewed. Unlike Aloy’s Focus, we find out when playing Horizon Forbidden West that the devices that the Quen use can only view information up to a certain point in history – anything after that is unreadable. This limitation has led them to misinterpret much of the data they’ve found. Over time, they’ve come to revere a pantheon of Old World paragons, consisting of 21st century CEOs and business tycoons.
The Eastern Expedition
Much like the lands of the Forbidden West, the Quen homeland has suffered from environmental collapse over the last twenty years. Desperate to find a solution, the Quen came to believe that data from the ancient tech hub of San Francisco might be the key to saving their lands.
“Unfortunately, the Expedition faced many hardships,” Annie points out. “Early on, they lost half of their fleet in a violent storm. Then, after the remaining ships managed to make landfall in San Francisco, their search for the data they were after stalled, preventing them from making a triumphant return home. Things weren’t looking so good for them… until Aloy came along.”
On her mission to recover DEMETER from the ruins of an ancient Faro research facility, Aloy meets one of the Expedition’s Diviners. “Brilliant and curious, Alva is the first Quen that Aloy could call a friend,” says Annie. “The two bonded over their exploration of Old World ruins and the discoveries they made of the ancient past. During their adventures, Aloy helped Alva uncover a trove of data that could help her people. In return, Alva helped Aloy in her mission and even joined her growing crew of companions in the Base.”
“At the end of Forbidden West, Alva chose to stay behind with a handful of soldiers while the rest of the Expedition set sail for home. Thanks to Aloy, she has a new understanding of the world. And with a new threat to life on Earth on its way, she’s determined to do whatever she can to help.”
Heading to the Burning Shores
When asked what else players should know about this tribe before diving into Burning Shores, Annie answers: “I think it’s important to remember that we know much less about the Quen than any other tribe. We only got to scratch the surface in Forbidden West, so get ready to discover much more about them and how the tribe’s rigid hierarchy affects the new characters you’ll meet!”
The Quen that ended up in the Burning Shores have been here for some time, and while survival has been a constant challenge, they’ve managed to establish an impressive settlement that’s a lot of fun to explore. Here you’ll meet new characters such as Admiral Gerrit. “We meet him early on in the story,” Annie explains. “He’s a highly decorated commander in the Quen Navy and the leader of this group of Quen. He’s responsible for keeping things together even in their dire circumstances.”
The key art for Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores shows Aloy accompanied by a new companion, recognizable by her Quen attire – Seyka. “We’re excited to introduce Seyka! She’s an ambitious marine who has stepped up to help her people survive. As a new companion for the DLC, Aloy will spend a lot of time with her throughout the story and rely on her help in many situations – a position she doesn’t often find herself in.”
“Confident, compassionate, and fierce, Seyka’s quite unlike anyone Aloy has ever encountered, and she plays an important role in the next chapter of Aloy’s journey.”
Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is available to pre-order on PlayStation 5 and will be available on April 19. Make sure to follow the team at Guerrilla on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to learn more about the next chapter in Aloy’s journey!
Last night ID@Xbox held their latest showcase to spotlight all sorts of indies. One of the highlights was the cute deduction game Lil’ Guardsman, a riff on Papers, Please where you work on a guard post, choosing to accept or refuse entry for fantasy folk wanting to get into the city. Or you can just jail them. It looks like lighthearted fun, and it’ll be hitting PC and consoles later this year.
A new Street Fighter movie is in the works at Legendary Entertainemnt, the studio behind Detective Pikachu, Pacific Rim, Godzilla vs Kong, and more.
This news comes from the official Street Fighter Twitter account. The response has been mixed, ranging from hype from fighting game fans and influencers, and dread from those old enough to have seen the awful 1994 film.
Watch the trailer for Cammy, Zangief and Lily in Street Fighter 6 here!
There’s no word on who is even working on it, nothing on a director, screen writer, or so forth. However, Legendary has some brilliant titles under their belt including some that would excite video game fans. Detective Pikachu was a surpisingly great flick for both kids and adults alike after all.
You have to wonder what sort of audience Legendary and Capcom would be aiming this film at. Street Figher is, forgive me, typically an IP for older folks. While Pokemon has that childlike appeal, I doubt a zoomer would know much about Street fighter other than the fact Ryu and Chun Li popped up in Fortnite a while back. Maybe this film will attempt to fix that, or perhaps we’ll get something aimed at adult audiences as we saw with the recent Mortal Kombat movie.
Crime Boss: Rockay City takes Payday’s potent formula and plops it in the middle of the decade that brought us bleached hair, dial-up internet, and the ’92-’93 Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, just like bleached hair, dial-up internet, and those 11-and-71 Dallas Mavericks, Crime Boss looks awful, is technically outclassed, and is full of embarrassing performances. Hard to outright hate thanks to the compelling, car crash quality of some of its cutscenes, it’s nonetheless impossible to recommend right now on account of regular bugs, repetitive missions, and bog-standard blasting that’s unmemorable at its best and exasperating at its worst.
At face value, Crime Boss looks like a hearty deal. There are three separate ways to play, including a dedicated single-player campaign and two co-op focused modes. On top of that, Bon Jovi’s second-best song about cowboys is on the soundtrack, and Michael Madsen is here as leading man Travis Baker – and in a dapper hat, no less. Madsen isn’t a prolific video game voice actor but he has demonstrated an ability to pick quality winners in the past – certainly with the likes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Dishonored, and a 2001 game you may have heard of from the makers of Christmas Lemmings called Grand Theft Auto III. Unfortunately, his winning streak is now broken.
Heist to Know You
It’s actually tricky to pinpoint precisely which pillar of Crime Boss is the weakest, although a shooter with combat as scrappy as it is here is always going to be on a hiding to nothing. Melee attacks are hopelessly unconvincing and the shooting itself is annoyingly imprecise and ineffectual, with the slimeballs of Rockay City capable of absorbing punishment like their chests are made of Kevlar. The explanation here likely has something to do with the fact the roguelike single-player rations out perks that negate aiming sway and increase the stopping power of your rounds as rewards for levelling up, but that doesn’t really help. If anything, it makes it seem like it’s just been arbitrarily made to feel like garbage until you can level up for the chance to make it less so.
The roguelike approach to the solo campaign, dubbed Baker’s Battle, is an interesting slant but it ultimately becomes exhausting. Completing Baker’s Battle requires us to take over all territories in Rockay City. Taking territories requires surviving a chaotic but largely vanilla turf war against a wave of opposition gang members. Defending territories requires surviving a chaotic but largely vanilla turf war against a wave of opposition gang members. Funding all this requires stealing stuff from a modest assortment of warehouses, strip malls, and other secure spots that always look pretty much the same. What I mean is that pushing through the campaign is already an exercise in repetition. Making it a roguelike feels like putting a treadmill in a hamster wheel. Beyond that the only real change to the formula comes in the form of some incredibly left-field side missions, like a Vietnam War flashback or a baffling trip to a snap-frozen Russian airbase, none of which have been particularly enjoyable thanks to tiny maps and unsatisfying action. Black Ops did this better 13 years and two console generations ago.
Making it a roguelike feels like putting a treadmill in a hamster wheel.
“
The other ways to play Crime Boss are either via a quick play menu where you can drop into random jobs, or a series of so-called mini campaigns called Urban Legends. Both of these can be played online with co-op partners or with bots. Both of these also seem like the missions I already played in Baker’s Battle, only this time with friends who’d probably rather be playing Payday.
Crime Boss unapologetically lifts most of its heist systems from its tried and true peer, even down to its automatic drills and saws with little computer screens (which would have seemed less wildly out of place in this ’90s setting had Michael Mann ever put one of them in Heat). The upshot of this thievery is that Crime Boss’s heists are easily the better part of proceedings, even if working with the lax AI often means bagging up the goods for them and tossing them a duffel rather than trusting them to do it themselves. It’s like going on vacation with a toddler.
For the most part, the shonky stealth means things descend into identical firefights time after time. Occasionally, and mostly in the final moments of a successful heist, I would get glimpses of Crime Boss at its most competent. There is a certain satisfaction to be gleaned from having the crowd subdued and the loot secured, even if it is highly derivative of Payday’s long-established formula. On one particular job my crew and I had quietly and completely cleaned out a jeweller, after some patient initial skulking about had rewarded me with a store full of dead CCTV cameras and trussed-up security guards. However, just when things threatened to go south, our getaway vehicle had what can only be described as a seizure as soon as I tried to climb in. This was an isolated bug but others are much less so, including random freezes that last for several seconds and regular instances where character models fail to load in at the start of a mission, leaving guns floating around and shooting you until their owners blink into existence.
[There are] regular instances where character models fail to load in at the start of a mission, leaving guns floating around and shooting you until their owners blink into existence.
“
At any rate, I was still able to successfully escape the jewel heist with the take a few minutes later, but having the van flap around like a Fallout corpse and peel away as we were literally trying to enter it isn’t exactly an elegant bow to tie on a mission.
Get Chucked
Equally inelegant are the lion’s share of voice performances from its otherwise highly recognisable cast, most of which feel like they were email attachments sent back to the studio the same day the contracts came through. I’ll happily admit seeing Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo digitally de-aged and straight off the set of Days of Thunder and Desperado, respectively, was a powerful novelty at first, but Crime Boss otherwise squanders its kitsch cast.
Crime Boss: Rockay City Cast
Vanilla Ice is here as a rapping drug lord who is either beatboxing between his sentences or has someone else doing it for him. I can’t tell. Danny Glover is here and doing his best, despite the fact they didn’t exactly push the boat out when naming his character, which is Gloves. The always terrific Danny Trejo is here, but I’ve only heard him speak once. He has a bigger presence on the box art than in the game itself.
The worst celebrity by a country mile, however, is Chuck Norris, who appears quite regularly – either gloating over your dead body at the end of a run, or showcasing his incorrigible lack of trigger discipline by continually waggling his pistol at his partner. I like Chuck Norris movies as much as the next guy who grew up lurking in video stores throughout the 80s and 90s, but the only thing Missing in Action here is his ability to speak naturally. I guess it makes sense for a game about stealing everything that isn’t nailed down; someone has pilfered half the punctuation from Chuck Norris’ script.
There is absolutely nothing about his delivery here that works. Indeed, he doesn’t sound like he’s even delivering it. He sounds like he’s either been Bowfingered in a restaurant, or is dictating handwritten napkins to his phone to print out in a larger font later. What’s particularly baffling, however, is somehow Norris still isn’t the worst sounding actor in most of his scenes – that victory belongs to his partner, who appears to be a Sonny Crockett cosplayer voiced by a Fraggle.
Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a big old list of all the best new releases of the past seven days. Back in the day the App Store would showcase the same games for a week, and then refresh those features each Thursday. Because of that developers got into the habit of releasing their games throughout Wednesday or very early Thursday in order to hopefully get one of those coveted features spots. Nowadays the App Store refreshes constantly, so the need for everyone to release all on the same day has diminished. Still, we’ve kept our weekly Wednesday night format as for years that’s the time people knew to check TouchArcade for the list of new games. And so without further ado please check out the full list of this week’s new games below, and let us know in the comments section which games you’ll be picking up!
A Pretty Odd Bunny is a 2D stealth platformer about a rabbit who likes eating pigs. You play as a red-eyed rabbit and help him reach the pig at the end of the levels without letting other rabbits see you!
Find the right path through the levels so your fellow bunnies don’t see you. They don’t approve of your food choices and will try to stop you if they see your intentions.
Walk, run and jump into a colorful but dangerous world full of beautiful graphics and smooth animations. Created frame by frame with love and passion.
Explore more than 80 levels in 4 unique worlds, collect hidden coins, unlock extra challenges with cute characters, gorey action, blood, and a lot of severed pig’s heads.
Solve the biggest mystery in the town of Riverstone surrounded by the Elmwood Forest. Find the missing girl and prove yourself to everyone.
It’s been 3 weeks since a young teen has gone missing and despite the town’s police’s best efforts, they hit a dead end and declared the case of 18-year-old Zoey Leonard a runaway.
For all the interactive-mystery game fanatics. Develop your own trail to unravel the secrets of the town of Riverstone! This is YOUR chance to help a detective regain his legacy, save the life of a missing girl and uncover the orchestrator behind such a sick crime.
Solve sci-fi mysteries with this AI-generated RPG. Interview folks to uncover their secrets! New characters and mystery every game!
Solve a mystery of a ring of spies, or a stolen alien artifacts. Play on an asteroid or at the edge of a black hole. This sci-fi whodunnit lets you chat naturally with AI-generated characters to discover the culprit of the mystery. Driven by ChatGPT, this mystery game gives you a new scenario and characters every time you play! Rank up as a detective to gain new characteristics of locations and suspects. Chat naturally with the characters as you hunt for clues. Even the artwork for each character is custom created by AI.
Defeat your opponents in the epic strategy card game Conclave by building a formidable army and leading it into battle. However, brute force isn’t the only path to victory – you can also support your Creatures with powerful spells such as Siren’s Song, which entrances your opponents’ units, or artifacts like Narrow Bridge, preventing your opponent from swarming you with many creatures at once. Every decision is crucial on your journey to victory. You will have to forgo some cards in order to gather the resources necessary to play your more powerful cards. Will you choose to overwhelm your opponents with raw strength, or outmaneuver them with clever use of spells and artifacts? The choice is yours in Conclave.
In this deep life simulator, create your own character and take them on a journey from birth to death. Swipe through life year-by-year and make difficult decisions, then watch the consequences unfold. Along the way, develop your personality, experience major milestones, navigate life’s ups and downs, and deal with unexpected drama.
Place towers, slide towers, combine towers, defend your treatment!
The Fighting Chance gamified client simulates every stage of your treatment, so you can take an active role in achieving a better you.
Our propritary simulated battlefield technology puts you in control. Place different types of towers, slide towers around the map, combine towers to unlock new abilities, and block monsters from advancing – to prolong your treatment as long as possible.
After all, its your health on the line but we can give you a Fighting Chance.
The popular game for the Playdate handheld console, now on iOS! Experience what IGN called one of the ten best games for the Playdate, but now on your phone! And in color!
No ads! No in-app purchases! It won’t even harass you to rate it (Though it would be nice if you did)! Just a super fun, meditative puzzle game. Don’t forget to pet the cat!
Higan: Eruthyll is a 3D real-time combat RPG that brings fantasy to theater. Planet Eruthyll is where you can use diverse tactics with dynamic instructions and enjoy the touching stories presented by fantastic cutscenes.
-Push the button to jump, spam the button to fly -5 game modes: tennis, ping-pong, arcade, karate and random -First to score 4 or more points with a 2 point advantage wins -Hit with the center of your racket for a turbo shot -Hone your skills against the bot player -No ads, no in-app purchases, no data tracking
Are you up for a cozy escape-room puzzle adventure…in a dream-like world? Let’s go now!
Linn (that’s you!) is going camping with Pam (Pandora, your best buddy) and Tammy (Pam’s sister) for the weekend. The game starts from Pam’s garage, then moves on to a mountain cottage and more mysterious places. In order to go on your adventure, you need to solve puzzles to find the way forward through multiple chapters!
You’re chosen by the gods. Fight demons, climb ruins and face destiny to save the human race in this lush action-adventure inspired by Indian culture.
In this award-winning adventure game set in ancient India, a young girl named Raji has been chosen to stand against the demonic invasion of the human realm. Her destiny? To rescue her younger brother and face the demon lord Mahabalasura.
Become history’s greatest rail baron in Sid Meier’s Railroads!, a classic of the tycoon genre now available for iPhone and iPad.
In this captivating mix of model train set and railway management simulator, lay tracks and optimise routes to establish lucrative networks of cities and industries, transporting passengers, raw materials and goods across continents.
Grow profits through efficiency, innovation, and shrewd business decisions as you acquire valuable patents, trade stocks, and build or buy industries. Compete with world leaders and industrial titans to achieve the ultimate goal — becoming the greatest railroad tycoon of the age!
Detective Ito’s partner is missing, but what starts as a straightforward case soon spirals into a twisted nightmare that causes Ito to confront her past and question her own sanity. Your decisions and actions change Detective Ito’s state of mind, opening doors to different possibilities as you attempt to find your partner and understand the dark and horrifying world around you.
Play this popular point and click adventure game, now with intuitive new touch controls for smartphones and tablets.
TOP PLAYER’S GOLF is a sports game released in 1990 by SNK. Three modes, STROKE PLAY, MATCH PLAY, and NASSAU GAME, are available along with two types of courses. You’ll find yourself fully absorbed in this game’s immersive graphics and strategic skill planning.
Show the world your legendariousness by conquering all 120 unique, obstacle-filled levels. – Conquer obstacles, bombs, springs, traps, chasms, and umm, spiders. – Some levels are easy. – Most levels are hard. – Become a legend.
It’s you against WordSpiral for the highest score. Find words by selecting neighboring letters and click on the last letter twice to accept the word. If valid, watch the word disappear a letter at a time and shrink the spiral down. Try to remove the entire spiral. Then reset the board and ask the AI to solve the same game to compare your scores.
Fallout fans are puzzling over changes made to Fallout 4’s backend on Steam after an update on April 4, visible on SteamDB (opens in new tab), added a branch labeled “newvegas2”. It’s the kind of change a developer might make in advance of new content being added, or a beta test beginning, but the way it was named has made players wonder (opens in new tab) if it could mean Bethesda is planning a sequel to Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas, or a remastered version in Fallout 4’s engine.
A day later, Bethesda deleted the branch, perhaps to quell all that speculation. Which it hasn’t succeeded in doing, because we’re still here, speculating away.
The most likely answer is that it’s connected to the Fallout 4 next-gen update Bethesda announced would be coming in 2023, and said will include “performance mode features for high frame rates, quality features for 4K resolution gameplay, bug fixes and even bonus Creation Club content!” When the similarly gussied-up Skyrim Anniversary Edition came out, as well as including all the Creations previously available for Skyrim, it came with 26 new ones, including several that referenced earlier Elder Scrolls games Morrowind and Oblivion.
So it could be that this branch was simply named in honor of a new Creation Club pack themed around New Vegas. There’s already a Creation in the store that adds an anti-materiel rifle direct from the NCR, so Bethesda clearly isn’t averse to popping a bit of Obsidian’s Fallout game into their own. You can even get a suit of ranger armor to dress up like you’re on the New Vegas box art in Fallout 76—something that would probably be quite easy to port from there into Fallout 4.
While a collection of gear and power armor paint jobs representing all the factions of the Mojave seems more likely, the idea of a New Vegas sequel, even if it comes as Fallout 4 DLC, certainly has appeal. Just last year, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said he’d “love to make another Fallout game.” And obviously there are people who’d like to see a remastered version of New Vegas made with Fallout 4’s engine, because the Fallout 4: New Vegas mod is essentially doing just that, while on a smaller scale the Project Mojave mod (opens in new tab) has recreated several New Vegas locations, with a companion mod bringing over some of its, well, companions—namely Veronica, Arcade, Raul, and Rose.
Here’s hoping that Bethesda learned its lesson from the launch of Skyrim Anniversary Edition and whatever ends up in Fallout 4’s next-gen update isn’t quite such a headache for modders. It’d also be nice if its new additions were a little more exciting. Back when the Creation Club was first added to Fallout 4, Chris took it for a test drive and was just sort of whelmed by its offerings.
Meanwhile, if you want to replay Obsidian’s entry in the series made all shiny and new, you don’t need to wait for a hypothetical remaster. Modders have got you covered, and we’ve got a guide to tweaking it so you can have the best Fallout: New Vegas experience.
Oh, hello there. I see you’ve got your phone out at the movie theater and you’re sitting in the credits for TheSuper Mario Bros. Movie. You’re probably here wondering if there are extra scenes worth sticking around for. Well, I’m here to answer that question and more, so let’s jump down the warp pipe and into the unknown.
The Team Behind Tetris On The New Movie And Gaming History
Does The Super Mario Bros. Movie have a post-credits scene?
In short, yes. It has two, actually. One happens during the credits, and another happens right at the very end. Let’s break down both scenes. And no, we’re not talking about the weirdly existential Luma that comes back around near the end. Hopefully the fact that Luma is in the movie at all, though, is a cause to hope for something more SMG-sized. Peach does tell Mario that there are a ton of galaxies out there while they’re waiting in a field of power-ups.
What is Bowser’s fate?
The first scene features Bowser reprising his song from earlier in the movie called “Peaches.” This is nice, because he was rudely interrupted while singing it before, and now he gets to belt out a few more lines about his unrequited love for the princess. Jack Black apparently wrote Peaches himself! However, it turns out he’s still shrunken down and in his bottle prison from the final fight. It’s unclear if the Mushroom Kingdom is just going to keep him locked up in there, but at least he’ll be able to serenade anyone who passes by.
If you wait a little bit longer after that scene and through all the names scrolling on the screen, there’s a second teaser.
Super Mario Bros. teases a very special Yoshi
While the Bowser scene is cute, the one of real consequence is the post-credits scene at the very end of the film. In it, we see a Yoshi egg has ended up in the Brooklyn sewers after Mario and Bowser’s fight brought parts of the Mushroom Kingdom into the movie’s depiction of New York. As the egg starts to crack, the screen cuts to black and we hear the little dinosaur’s iconic “yoshi” cry.
While this egg likely belongs to the iconic green Yoshi that’s accompanied Mario throughout several games, this isn’t the first time the movie references these dinosaur steeds. In fact, there was a huge herd of them earlier in the movie when Mario and Peach are on their way to the Jungle Kingdom to recruit Cranky Kong’s army. So if the movie is taking the time to single out this specific egg, it likely means the movie is teasing a specific Yoshi that might have a larger role in a hypothetical sequel.
Reception to The Super Mario Moviehas been pretty mixed. Those who have already seen the movie have called it overly referential and or found some of its performances lacking, while others have praised its gorgeous animation. Ultimately, I’m not too surprised given I’ve always found Illumination’s output to be lacking. But hey, at least we got to see Bowser be down bad and singing. That’s fun!
Square Enix has announced that the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series will be released for PS4 and Nintendo Switch on April 19.
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series contains remastered versions of the first six Final Fantasy games. Updates include rearranged soundtracks with original composer Nobuo Uematsu at the helm, modernized UI, auto-battle functions, and more.
Size:
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For the console release, players can switch between the original and rearranged soundtracks and if they’d like to explore the map, turn off random encounters. There are also boost features that speed up the amount of experience accumulated for faster and easier runs, and players can gain up to four times the amount of experience with adjusted settings.
Players can buy all six games as a bundle or individually. The Switch edition of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster I-IV bundle is available to preorder now for $75, but the PS4 editions are not yet. Square Enix says those will be available at a later date.
PS4 edition purchases come with a theme and avatar. If you purchase games individually during April 20-May 25, you’ll get a theme and avatar for every game. If you purchase the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster I-IV bundle, you’ll get a theme and avatar for each title–totaling six themes and six avatars.
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Aeronautica Imperialis Flight Command Direct Download:
Aeronautica Imperialis Flight Command is an exciting tabletop game developed by Games Workshop, the creators of popular games such as Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar. This game is set in the epic universe of Warhammer 40,000, where players take on the roles of ace fighter pilots battling for supremacy in the skies. The game has a strong focus on multiplayer, making it perfect for those who love to compete against others. The game is designed for 2-4 players, and each player controls a squadron of aircraft, including fighter planes, bombers, and ground attack aircraft.
The objective of the game is to complete various missions and objectives, such as destroying enemy aircraft or bombing enemy targets, while keeping your own aircraft safe. The game is played on a tabletop using a combination of miniatures and terrain. Each player takes turns moving their aircraft and attacking their opponents. The game also includes a range of special abilities and tactics that players can use to gain the upper hand.
Aeronautica Imperialis Flight Command Direct Play:
One of the most exciting features of Aeronautica Imperialis Flight Command is the detailed and intricate miniatures. The aircraft are beautifully crafted and highly detailed, making them a pleasure to paint and display. The game also includes a range of terrain pieces, such as buildings and ground installations, which add to the immersive experience Aeronautica Imperialis Flight Command is primarily designed as a multiplayer game. The game is fast-paced and dynamic, making it perfect for those who love to compete against others.
Features and System Requirements:
Equip your aircraft
Different challenge
Fun gameplay
1 :: Operating System :: Windows XP/7/8/8./10. 2 :: Processor: Intel Core i5-3450 (3.1 GHz)/AMD FX-6300 (3.5 GHz) 3 :: Ram :: 8 GB RAM 4 :: DirectX: Version 11 5 :: Graphics:: 2 GB, GeForce GTX 660/Radeon HD 7870 6 :: Space Storage:: 10 GB space
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
