Sometimes it feels like I've done it all. I've been a military man, I've been a wizard, I've been a space traveler, I've been a space wizard. Then something like Lichtspeer comes along with its own unique aesthetic and reminds me how many different experiences there are out there.
Never before have I been a neon laser Viking with a javelin made out of pure energy. Check that one off the list. But although Lichtspeer is oozing with style, it's limited in scope. It only does one thing, but it does it well.
Through some weird twist of fate, Nintendo has managed to pull off a chart topping hit with the theme song for the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey. As spotted on Reddit, there was a brief period where "Jump Up, Super Star" was actually in the top 40 All Genre category on the US iTunes store, but it as since fallen a little.
That doesn't mean other countries aren't also rocking out to this jazzy song by the oft-forgotten Pauline. Japan and Hong Kong have the song listed in their top ten and another eight countries still have it above the top 40. The lowest tracked spot is in Germany, where the song is currently resting around #146, which is still damn impressive.
Video games have come a long way since their inception. What was once seen as mere children's toys has morphed into a multi-million dollar industry with big name actors and musicians lending their talents to developers. Now a days, its just as viable to jump into gaming to start your career as it is in Hollywood or the music industry. While we've seen stuff from more established artists in the past, news like this warms my heart.
Inazuma Eleven: Ares, the reboot a the series that has had a huge presence in Japan and Europe but barely made a scratch in North America, has been teased for a few months now with the only thing known about it is it's a reboot and it's coming to the 3DS. Earlier this year another platform was mentioned, one with more power, and we just assumed it was the Switch.
That assumption is right, but the initial idea this would be hitting the 3DS was wrong. During a livesteam, Level-5 confirmed Inazuma Eleven: Ares will hit the Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS and the PlayStation 4 within the next year.
The highly anticipated multiplayer expansion for Final Fantasy XV, called Comrades, will not be launching in time for Halloween like previously stated. Square Enix hasn't given us a new date, but is assuring fans that it will be out sometime in early November. Their reason for the delay is to make "final adjustments" to the game and to create the "best possible online experience." I'll believe that when I see it.
According to Siliconera, the price of the expansion for Japanese gamers will also be increasing from its previous 1500 ¥ (roughly $13.21) to 1980 ¥ (roughly $17.44). Season pass holders won't have to pay more, but that is bizarre to change price at such a late stage and with barely any notice. Does this mean the expansion will be containing more content than we all thought? I doubt it, but I'd like to be proven wrong.
It took other publishers a long while to get on Koei Tecmo's Warriors train. While their studio Omega Force was pumping out hit after hit, no one really dared to ask "hey, can we collaborate?" for a number of years. Now it's hard to imagine a series that wouldn't work with the current crown prince of console hack and slash. Because Zelda ended up being one of their absolute best, the sky is the limit.
Fire Emblem Warriors brings the whole idea back to Earth.
It has been announced by Bandai Namco that B.B. Studio, developer of Super Robot Wars series, have begun work of a new Full Metal Panic RTS game, which will touch down on the PS4 next year.
Full Metal Panic: Fight! Who Dares Wins, will see epic battles take place between Mithril, Amalgam and the humanoid weapons Arm Slave. The strategy title has not been given a release date, or any information on forthcoming localisation, but an English dialogue teaser has been released, as seen below.
Full Metal Panic: Fight! Who Dares Wins will launch on PS4 in Japan in 2018.
Routers are kind of an overlooked part of most of our day-to-day activities. You set it up, the magic internet signal fills the air, and then you're online. Routers only get attention when they aren't doing their job.
Ubiquiti has a more unique and high-end solution to wireless networking. It created the AmpliFi HD home WiFi system -- a slick package of a router base and two antennas that extends wireless coverage in homes that have dead spots. Here's what it looks like:
Many Twitch streamers dream of turning pro, but getting there is a fuzzy process. How do you know you've 'made it' and can apply to become an affiliate or partner? And how do you make a big deal out of staple events like channel raids and new viewers without using special tools? Twitch just answered both of those questions. It's rolling out tools that not only track your progress toward getting paid, but streamline some of the tasks that previously required chat bots or outside streaming software.
Anyone of a certain age remembers playing Konami's 1989 TMNT coin-op. Hell, there's still one operable just 10 minutes from my house. Even those they may not have experienced it in the glorious arcade centres of the 90's likely played the SNES Turtles in Time game, or the Xbox Live Arcade adaptation.
Well, get your quarters ready because, believe it or not, a brand new TMNT cabinet will be returning to your local arcade... umm... or wherever arcade cabinets are found these days, real soon.
Developed by Raw Thrills, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an all-new scrolling brawler based on the current iteration of the Turtles franchise, showcased on Nickelodeon TV. It will feature fast-paced four-player action, but promises more depth than brawlers of yore, with an emphasis on environmental attacks, team-up moves, special powers and full voiceover from the show's original cast.
The monster cabinet boasts a 55-inch HD screen and what seems to be a three-button control system. The game will be unveiled at the IAAPA 2017 convention in Orlando, a trade show for amusements and theme park attractions. Here's hoping it isn't completely terrible and sees reasonable financial success, perhaps leading to further arcade designers stroking their chins and picking up their pencils once more.
Lately, I've had a bit of a rabbit problem in my backyard, the little buggers have dug out a nest under my shed. So I decided the best way to approach this situation is to first think like a rabbit. Thankfully, with the release of Overgrowth from Wolfire Games, I now have that opportunity. But, what I've learned in my time spent with Overgrowth this past week, is that once rabbits evolve and become bipedal, they become the true masters of horror.
These terrifying creatures will kill anything in sight, including other bipedal creatures, without compassion. To do this, they'll use crude and basic tools, such as knives and swords, they'll jump incredible distances, and have the ability to climb almost any structure. From my observations in this game, I've come to the conclusion that we need to deal with the rabbit problem now -- before it's too late.
Welcome to the weekend. We'll recap this week's news highlights, plus big stories from Friday like Project Loon-distributed internet going live in Puerto Rico.
Ever since the day Destiny 2 launched, there have been hints of seasonal content here and there. Scrolling to the clan tab shows off your current clan rank, as well as the associated rewards for the current season. Bungie is at Twitchcon this weekend and its panel on Friday was all about the plans for how its loot-shooter will evolve over time.
The big takeaway message for how Bungie is treating seasons is that it wants to be more consistent in its delivery of new content. Destiny 1 saw an unpredictable smattering of live events, like how the Valentine's-themed Crimson Days showed up in February of 2016 but was absent this year, or how Sparrow Racing League showed up out of nowhere in December of 2015 but evolved into the much more substantial Dawning the following year.
For Destiny 2, the team wants to release new content on a roughly quarterly basis. We're in season one right now, but the stream showed a lot of what to expect when season two hits in a couple months.
Hello again! It's time for your mandatory Comments of the Week session where everyone is required to spend time with me, Gmana. Yes, it's really me this time. I had to redo my office a little bit after someone trashed it and tarnished my name even more than it already had been.
We're up to 21 entries now, which means that Mr. Cothew is now legally allowed to drink in the US. We had a drunk theme last week? Honestly, every week is a drunk week for us. How else would we be able to deal with all of these awful comments and think they're funny?
Razer is known as a gaming laptop, mouse and keyboard maker, but it actually offers a wide variety of products, like Xbox controllers, power banks, and even an upcoming phone. Razer also makes webcams like the Stargazer, which is built for streaming video games. Now Razer is upping its streaming game with two new "streamer certified" peripherals, a webcam with a built-in ring light called Kiyo as well as a USB condenser mic named Seiren X.
We’ve all been there. A game presents us with a moment or situation that fills us with dread. It could be the inexorable approach of a supernatural menace or looking down from the top of an impossibly tall building. Games will play on your fears and push you. But how do you overcome and prevail?
Nintendo Switch-owning game collectors will have even more feeds to keep their eye on next year. Limited Run has come out with some cool limited-edition physical copies of digitally-distributed PS4 and Vita games and, starting in 2018, the company will be set up to publish Switch titles as well.
Excited to announce that we've been approved to publish retail games on the Nintendo Switch.
So, that's a cool thing for folks who are good about getting their orders in fast. I'm impressively unlucky when it comes to that stuff, whether it's tickets to a show, sought-after posters, you name it.
This Switch announcement also prompted questions about Xbox One publishing. Sadly, that's looking like a no-go for Limited Run. "Microsoft's minimum order quantities are too high, unless they drop them drastically it's not likely we can hit the platform," the company said. "It's also keeping companies like [NIS America] off the platform. We'd love to help preserve digital games on disc for Xbox One."
There has been a surprising amount of Star Control news lately and it's good news, at that.
If you missed it, the original creators of Star Control II -- Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, whose studio Toys for Bob has understandably kept busy with the Skylanders franchise in recent years -- have drawn up plans and gotten approval for a "direct sequel" to the 1992 sci-fi game. This new project, Ghosts of the Precursors, will be a "passion project" developed on their "own time." Here's where they're at:
"For four years, people asked me why we weren't going to touch the Star Control 2 story," Stardock CEO Brad Wardell wrote following the Ghosts of the Precursors news going public. "Now you know."
In the mean time, there's Stardock's own Star Control: Origins. The space-adventure game is slated for 2018, with a "Super-Melee" closed beta arriving next month for folks who pre-order. Here, you'll be able to toy around with the Ship Crafter and compete against the AI or others in unranked multiplayer.
There's also a bundle with Origins and the original three Star Control games. That has popped up on GOG.com, Steam, and Stardock, and the old games are available separately if you prefer.
If you're the type of Destiny 2 player who gets way into Trials of the Nine, it's time for me to play my part as the bearer of bad news. The PvP event will be absent from the game this weekend and next, and the earliest we'll be able to participate again is November 3, 2017, according to Bungie.
This postponement is the direct result of an emote glitch that has enabled players to reach otherwise-inaccessible areas. It's one thing to glitch your way through walls in a social space or in a PvE setting, but when it comes to competitive multiplayer, yeah, that's going to be a huge problem.
For its part, Bungie says it's "investigating a fix" right now that should be ready during the first week of November. The studio also shared its launch-window event calendar for Destiny 2 on PC:
On that note, one final reminder: the PC version will go live at 10:00am Pacific on Tuesday.
I'm glad I got my first -- and so far only! -- Trials win last weekend.
Last week I woke up at the crack of dawn to grab an extra Super Nintendo Classic to give away on Destructoid and, sure enough, I was met with a line of people at every location I went to -- and few shy about their intent to list it on eBay the second they got home. While I have to hand it to these lanky youngsters for their enterprising attitudes, it royally fucks over the fan on a tight budget. Thus, this contest is for you.
Destructoid is giving away a very small Super Nintendo in 2017 in very high demand, a concept that still baffles the mind and puts a smile on my face. It's my favorite childhood system and I want more people to have them. I'll probably continue to give them away until the price returns to sanity.
How to enter: Just tell a friend about our humble blog and you're entered to win. If you're overseas we can't ship you one but you'll get the cash equivalent instead. If I'm lucky we'll also have the imported Super Famicom mini to give away as well next month, because Mystical Ninja was a criminal omission. No purchase necessary, see rules below for more details. The winner will be randomly drawn by the Gleam widget below. Good luck!
