We recently got some hands-on time with TT Games' third stab at telling a new tale in the Marvel universe to see how things are shaping up for Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. We played through the first level and got to take some of the new characters for a spin, including Spider-Gwen, Drax, and Groot.
Here are our big takeaways:
The Guardians Of The Galaxy Are Front And Center This Time While the last Lego Marvel game centered on The Avengers while roping in a huge cast of Marvel characters, the Guardians seem to be the motivating force this time. The game begins on Xandar, with the Guardians trying to repel an assault from the game's main villain, Kang the Conquerer.
Time Travel Plays A Big Role Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is all about time travel, which is fitting given Kang's knack for playing around with timelines in the comics. Expect to bend time during battles with bosses and to solve puzzles, such as slowing down the action to gain a strategic advantage.
The Game Plays Basically The Same As The First One Like the first game, you're running through levels as various characters, using abilities to fight enemies and solve puzzles in order to progress.
Every Character You Control Has More Unique Abilities We played around a lot with the Guardians and like the first game, each character has their own ability and unique animations. However, those abilities have also been expanded with functional emotes. For example, Star-Lord has his trademark gravity grenades and can fly around and shoot baddies with his blasters. However, he can also use his Walkman to make all enemies and friends in the area dance, allowing him to walk past them without getting into combat.
We Still Don't Know What The Open World Is Like The first Lego Marvel Super Heroes featured a sprawling version of New York City for players to run around in. It's unclear if we're returning to NYC if there will be a wider series of environments to explore with 2.
Expect More Fan Favorite Characters Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 isn't just bringing back the big names from the first game. We're also going to see some fan-favorite characters, like Spider-Gwen, who can stop to take a selfie in battle. You can upload that selfie to the internet, too!
Movement Is Still Clunky One of the biggest issues with TT Games is the clunky movement of their characters. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 doesn't seem to fix that. While movement was mostly fine, it still felt like my character was wobbling everywhere.
Battles Are Chaotic The battle sequence we partook in as The Guardians of the Galaxy was frenzied, with loads of enemies on screen and so much action it was hard to see the characters we were controlling at points. This was rather frustrating for the demo but could also be something that's easy to get used to during the full game.
For most Crash fans, the last time we got to spend time with our favorite bandicoot was in an Uncharted 4 mini-game.
In a tweet from Wednesday, PlayStation asked its followers to respond with what level they wanted to see from Crash Bandicoot: Warped of the upcoming remastered Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Responses were so overwhelming, PlayStation had to put it to a vote. Watch the winner below:
The votes have been tallied — time to show off some remastered Crash Bandicoot: Warped! Get ready for Tomb Wader. pic.twitter.com/vlDDHf0eeN
The N. Sane Trilogy is scheduled to be released for PS4 on June 30.
For a playthrough of Crash 2's Sewer or Later, click here. To get a look at the development of the trilogy, check out our interview with producer Kara Massie and game director Dan Tanguay from Vicarious Visions, here. To see our impressions about the game so far, head here.
Ubisoft just unleashed a barrage of trailers today for Far Cry 5, revealing a wealth of information on the upcoming game that takes place in a much less exotic location than its globetrotting predecessors. You won't have to wait too long to play the game, which is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 27.
Here are the key points we know about the game so far.
Storytelling and Setting
The game is set in Hope Country, Montana.
Far Cry 5 takes place in modern times.
The trailers and images for Far Cry 5 showcase a lot of green valleys and plains, as well as small towns. It's not clear how big these towns are.
According to creative director Dan Hay, the game was inspired by both chaotic international political conditions as well as the 2016 occupation of the Masher National Wildlife Refuge, in which armed militants took residence in the Oregon-based National Park for 40 days.
You play a junior deputy police officer. You can select your gender and skin color, though the character's name has not been revealed.
The deputy is going after Joseph Seed, the leader of an armed cult in Hope County.
Seed runs the cult with his family, including sister Faith and brother Jacob.
The cult is called The Project at Eden’s Gate. The cult believes "The Collapse" is imminent and target people who have fallen on hard times looking for salvation. They are heavily armed.
The reveal trailer showcases cultists rounding up civilians of the county, forcing some to be baptized.
Ubisoft has revealed three ally characters who will be helping you out. Pastor Jerome, Mary May, and Nick Rye. All of them have their own motivations for helping you fight against Seed, like Jerome's desire to steer his flock back to Christianity. You can watch trailers for all three characters here.
Gameplay
Ubisoft says that the Far Cry 5 open world is "the biggest one yet."
From the moment you start the game you can go anywhere you choose.
You can fly planes, a first in the series. Some of these planes can be equipped with weapons like miniguns, and you can get into dogfights.
Other vehicles include muscle cars, big rigs, and tractors.
Melee weapons are up front and center. Gameplay footage we saw included the main character hurling pitchforks like spears and beating in skulls with sledgehammers. The game also has the largest selection of weaponry the series has seen yet.
Far Cry Primal's animal companions make a return, with you able to call animals like bears and cougars to help you fight enemies. Or you can bring along a trusty canine companion.
One sequence we saw had the main character commanding his dog to steal an AK-47 away from an enemy and bring it to the player.
Co-op is returning, but this time players can play through the entire game with a friend.
A resistance meter features heavily in the game, with the militia responding to your attacks. According to Ubisoft, "Far Cry 5's dynamic A.I. tracks the effect you’re having in the game, and alters the enemy's strategy against you."
The choices you make during gameplay affect the opportunities presented to you.
You can call allies into battle via the Guns For Hire recruitment system.
Each Gun For Hire has special skills, and you can have three fighting by your side at once.
The game has outdoorsman-oriented side activities like fly fishing and hunting.
For more on Far Cry 5, check out the reveal trailer here.
Last week Warner Interactive and TT Games announced the upcoming Lego Marvel Super Heroes game, and the news was accompanied by a teaser trailer. Today, they've released the whole dang thing.
Take a look at the full trailer below to see a slew of familiar faces – good and bad – and see how the game's time-bending story may affect gameplay. In one quick section, we see Star-Lord hurl Baby Groot into a weird time anomaly, where he sprouts into the full-sized Groot we know and love.
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Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on November 14.
Far Cry has always made a point to include strong allies to help its players out. 5 appears to be no different on that front.
Ubisoft just released a bevy of trailers, introducing us to three side characters who will do everything they can to help our protagonist best accomplish their mission.
There's Pastor Jerome:
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Mary May:
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And Nick Rye:
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You can check out the release date trailer for Far Cry 5 here.
After several mysterious tidbits, Ubisoft has finally revealed significant news about Far Cry 5. Specifically the game's release date and footage of the game in action.
You can watch the trailer here:
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For more on Far Cry 5, check out the character trailers that Ubisoft just released.
The final episode of The Walking Dead's third season releases next week, but right now we're still dwelling on explosive ending from the previous episode.
The decisions made throughout the series have strained every relationship, calling even family into question. With each corrupt leader, painful betrayal, and horde of zombies, we've been forced to make increasingly difficult choices that force us to reevaluate our morals and reasoning. It will be interesting to see the impact of last episode's choices and where the story will ultimately end up.
With Richmond on the verge of collapse, and a confrontation between Javier and his brother David imminent, the finale promises more of the intense decision-making that's permeated the series. New faces look to make an appearance in the final installment as well, bringing with them the potential for more brutal decisions that come standard with any relationship in the zombie apocalypse. Telltale released a trailer that teases how it may all come together.
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You can see what we thought about the previous episode here. To catch up on what's happened with Javier and Clementine so far, click here.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - From the Gallows releases on Tuesday, May 30 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and iOS.
Rime feels a bit like someone telling you the only way you can see the Mona Lisa is by first having to unlock a heavy safe--the painting is beautiful, but my god, why did you make seeing it so bloody difficult? Although Rime looks and sounds gorgeous, its visual splendor is locked behind frustrating, shallow puzzles and an incomprehensible story, meaning you spend more time figuring out where to go than taking in the world around you.
Much like Journey or Ico, Rime features no text and only a basic, unfamiliar language--your blank-slate child character communicates through nondescript calls and facial expressions. Similarly, you're given no hints, there's no HUD, and in-game cues are portrayed through abstract audiovisual signals such as cave paintings and animal cries. When the game opens with your character waking up on an unfamiliar island, the absence of these typical gameplay themes lends Rime's environment a sense of mystery. You'll ponder where you are, how you got there, what you're supposed to be doing--and you'll want to explore the island to discover the answers.
This is Rime at its best: the first of its four worlds is a mini sandbox of places I wanted to go, animals I wanted to pet, and objects I wanted to touch. The wind in the trees and distant sound of wildlife, in addition to a slow, classical soundtrack and no enemies or time pressure makes it a pleasant, relaxing experience akin to taking a walk around a summer park. One beautiful sequence sees you illuminating a cave's darkened floor beneath you using your singing voice--at times, Rime is magical.
Before long you'll stumble across the game's first puzzles, which mostly involve shouting to release bursts of energy that activate platforms and doors. These puzzles are expanded upon later in the game as light manipulation and pressure plates are added into the mix. But while more mechanics are added, the puzzles remain simplistic to the point of being shallow. The majority involve figuring out the one action required to unlock whichever door is needed to progress. Maybe you missed a key item off the beaten track. Maybe it's a matter of trial and error. Or maybe you're overthinking it, and there's a much simpler solution that you just haven't seen. One example tasks you with manipulating a large stone pillar to cast light-sensitive switches in shadow to open a cave door. Once I'd triggered a mid-puzzle cutscene featuring a giant enemy bird, I spent a further 15 minutes fiddling with the pillar, only to realise I'd not seen a small ledge I could use to climb out of the cave. These tiny, often obfuscated solutions make the process of figuring out the puzzles frustrating--and the one-step victory hollow.
Rime's poor signposting carries through to its exploration segments, which often left me clueless as to where to head next. In comparison to Journey, which orientates the player superbly using a consistent goal--the shining mountain--Rime has no such targets. This is exacerbated by the repetitive world design. Each level has its own theme--the first is a sunny island, the second a sandy desert, the third an abandoned city, and the fourth a rainy abyss. But within each world, there is little architectural diversity and the game does little to explore each theme in interesting ways. Additionally, the lack of distinct, recognizable landmarks to draw the eye means it's very easy to get lost. I was constantly ambling forward, not really knowing where I was going or why.
And this is reflected in the emotional journey Rime has you follow. The story is told through a series of flashbacks, but the abstract nature of both the world and its lack of language meant it was never clear what my driving force was--I was playing for progress's sake, rather than because I was desperate to turn the next page of a story I was engaged in. Two threads Rime does lay down--a hooded figure dressed in red and a strange, magical fox--are never properly resolved, and the ending is as confusing as it is pretentious. The twist introduced at the story's close also comes far too late to inject the emotional weight the game sorely needed up until that point--there's no real struggle, little bonding time with other characters, no huge sense of loss, and few moments of elation, making this emotional rollercoaster more of a monotonous merry-go-round.
Rime's artistry is unquestionable. Each world is enchanting in its own way, from the naturalistic peace of the first to the abstract doom of the last. Its soundtrack is similarly beautiful, capable of evoking wonder, tension, and fear in equal measure. But when compared to its influences like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Journey, it doesn't hold up too well. Consistent navigation problems, some frustrating puzzles, fiddly platforming, and severe frame rate dips make Rime feel like a well-dressed tribute act.
Since the series took its first hiatus back in 2010, the NBA Live has never regained its shooting form. From 2013 to 2015 the development seemed to be moving in the right direction, but the progress wasn't significant enough to challenge the NBA 2K series in any serious way. After taking another year off, EA Sports is finally ready to show us what NBA Live 18 has to offer.
These screenshots and video are our first look at EA's latest attempt to rebuild its NBA brand. Check them out:
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The graphical attention to detail is impressive, from the small sweat beads on players foreheads to individual touches. Some of the dribble animations and drives to the hoop look great, but that was the case with the last title as well. The true test comes when we see extended gameplay clips and a look at the wider feature set. Is there more animation variety in the paint? Does the ball still warp to hands? Are any of the game modes built up enough to prove a compelling alternative to NBA 2K? Those are some of the questions the series has to address with this entry.
EA hasn't announced a release date for NBA Live 18 yet, but if the past is any precedent you can expect it to arrive on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sometime this fall.
Larian Studios has announced that the long-awaited sequel to Divinity: Original Sin is coming September 14, 2017.
In addition to earlier announcements about the inclusion of a Game Master Mode, Larian Studios is celebrating this announcement with an Early Access patch featuring a brand new companion relationship system, upgraded character creation and crafting, and other additional content discussed below.
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Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a tabletop-style RPG with five playable races and a tag system which allows players to shape their character's background and motivations – choices that will dictate how they play the game. Players will also have the option to play with friends with the introduction of a co-op mode, allowing up to four players to work together to achieve goals or compete with individual priorities in mind.
Tactical combat returns from Divinity: Original Sin with improved elemental interactions and more powerful skills. The sequel also introduces a new spellcrafting system and the possibility to challenge other players to PvP combat in demanding battle areas.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is available for Early Access play here.
To see what we thought about Divinity: Original Sin, check out our review.
