Jun 12, 2017News
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e never get much of a break during E3 and Bethesda wanted to be sure that stayed true. Bethesdaland E3 2017 was reasonably short, but even then it seemed like they were almost struggling to fill it. If you like the games Bethesda has already put out, maybe you’ll find something to like, here. If not, it’s probably best to move along.
So Bethesda actually formatted the entire presentation into a single video, similar to a Nintendo Direct. They moved around their little theme park map explaining games that were represented there. To kick things off, they showed off their upcoming VR titles. Although “upcoming” may be the wrong word for it.What Bethesda has actually done is retrofitted two of their first-person games with VR technology.
What Bethesda has actually done is retrofitted two of their first-person games with VR technology. On paper, it sounds great, but when it gets right down to it, you’re still playing Doom and Fallout 4. It’s not a bad concept, though. Playing Doom VFR sounds and looks intense and Fallout 4 is a great time sink. Adding VR to either title helps greatly with immersion. There was no word on release timing, though.
There was actually a very noticeable presence of Elder Scrolls content. They started by reminding us of Elder Scrolls Online and how it just got a new expansion for Morrowind content. It’s great for fans of the third game in the series and it’s already out.
Next, they talked about possibly one of the sketchiest new additions to their content offerings. Creation Club is, for lack of a better description, essentially paid mods. There’s more to it, of course. Bethesda works with third parties and independent content creators to make sure the mods are fully integrated. However, you’re still buying what would be free on PC with real world money. It’s just bound to leave a sour taste in people’s mouths. Still, having more content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim isn’t bad on its own. It’s just the way they presented it.
After that, Bethesda reminded us of their attempt to cash in on the Hearthstone market. The Elder Scrolls: Legends will be getting a Skyrim expansion. There wasn’t too much to talk about, it seems, but this content will be available on June 29th.
Finally, to wrap up their Elder Scrolls content, they talked about Skyrim on the Switch. (Bonus points for their pun: “Now that’s a Switch!”) The big twist here is that Skyrim will have Amiibo functionality! In the trailer, they used the Breath of the Wild Link Amiibo to make a chest appear that gave the player character Link’s clothes and weaponry. Bethesda told us elsewhere that any Zelda or Smash Amiibo will get you some loot in Skyrim.
On top of that, we saw that Skyrim will have some basic motion controls. These will be simple stuff like raising a shield, swinging a sword, or firing a bow. These are likely negligible and can be done another way if it bothers you. It’s just nice to see that Bethesda put some effort into their Switch port of Skyrim. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a release date, but Bethesda once again stepped in elsewhere. Apparently, there will be more information at Nintendo’s E3 presentation on Tuesday.
Dishonored appears to be getting some new content. The expansion will release on September 15th. We didn’t see anything gameplay-wise, but the game shouldn’t have changed too much. The story is more important, but even that is left really blurry. There’s far too little information here to get excited for.
Quake Champions got a little bit of attention, as well. Bethesda seemed more interested in talking up the e-sports aspect of the fast-paced arena shooter, though. The big announcement for the game was the addition of B.J. Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein as a playable character.
Bethesda also appears to be organizing a Quake Championship tournament at Quakecon in Dallas on August 26th. There’s a hefty prize pool of $1 million. If you can’t wait, however, the beta is already available at quake.com.
The next trailer proved to us that it’s a bad idea to watch this direct before bed. The Evil Within is getting a sequel and this trailer is a trip, to say the least. There’s once again very little in the way of gameplay, but that will likely work in the game’s favor, in the long run. We do know that The Evil Within 2 will be released on Friday the 13th of October.
Bethesda finished with one last new game announcement. Wolfenstein II was announced last year, but now we have a full trailer and release date. The game appears to take place in 1961 or slightly after, based on the commercials shown at the start. (MCMLXI is 1961.) The game looks pretty crazy and packed full of crazy action. The game comes out on October 27th.
Bethesda didn’t have much of a sign-off. The showcase was short and mostly showed off stuff we already knew about. They told us at the end to stay tuned to Bethesda.net for more info.
Jun 11, 2017News
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]ethesda just announced that Zelda Amiibos can be used to spawn certain items in the game. Links iconic blue tunic can be summoned into the game. Treasure chests known from Zelda Breath of the Wild are also part of it. No release date has been provided, but Skyrim will feature full HD rumble support, and unique controls using the joy-con controllers. Below is the first gameplay trailer of Skyrim Switch.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch includes all-new gameplay features like motion controls for combat and lockpicking, outfits and gear from The Legend of Zelda. Take down enemies with the Master Sword, protect yourself with the Hylian Shield or look heroic in the Champion’s Tunic. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch also includes all official add-ons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. Plus tap other compatible amiibo to gain additional loot including those from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild series, 30th Anniversary – The Legend of Zelda series, Super Smash Bros. series, and The Legend of Zelda series.
https://youtu.be/_7980ZPK8Dg
Jun 9, 2017News
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ceanhorn Switch is the next big adventure game to be released on Nintendos latest hybrid console. The Zelda like action-adventure game, Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is set to release on Nintenod Switch on June 22nd. FDG the developer behind the video game has released a brand new gameplay trailer.
FDG assured the game would run in smooth 60 frames per second both in Handheld and Docked Mode! Check out the footage of Oceanhorn Switch below!
– 15+ hours of story driven gameplay
– Master magic and sword fight
– Find ancient items to help you on your quest
– Steam Achievements and Leaderboards
– Steam Cloud
– Steam Trading Cards
– Full controller support
– Enchanting original soundtrack
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is currently available on Steam for PC and Mac. The game will be released on Nintendo Switch on June 22nd. Check out this list of all the exciting games to be released for Nintendo Switch, 3DS and more in the month of June.
Jun 5, 2017Animal Crossing
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here some exciting new things to be redeemed in the My Nintendo Rewards portal. Members can now access these goodies and redeem their Platinum and gold coins for some exciting new things like Zelda, Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome Amiibo and more. You can find the full list of recently added rewards below.
Platinum
15% discount on Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) – 300 Platinum Points
15% discount on Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (3DS) – 300 Platinum Points
20% discount on Mario Kart 64 (Wii U) – 200 Platinum Points
Wallpaper – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Link – 50 Platinum Points
Gold
20% discount on Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS) – 30 Gold Points
30% discount on Mario Party 10 (Wii U) – 70 Gold Points
30% discount on Super Mario 64 (Wii U) – 30 Gold Points
20% discount on Tomodachi Life (3DS) – 30 Gold Points
30% discount on Punch-Out!! (Wii U) – 30 Gold Points
30% discount on Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U / New 3DS) – 20 Gold Points
30% discount on Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (Wii U / 3DS) – 20 Gold Points
Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 1 – 60 Gold Points
Jun 4, 2017Animal Crossing
[dropcap]N[/dropcap]intendo is spoiling fans with yet another treat. Only recently the company released some Animal Crossing Paper craft, including a DIY Animal Crossing Amiibo box. Beyond that Nintendo also released an adorable Animal Crossing Mothers day card. But today they have released some beautiful Zelda and Animal Crossing Wallpaper for your desktop or your mobile phone.
To spice up your background you can choose from either a Link and Zelda themed image, or an Animal Crossing Wallpaper, with Isabelle in the spotlight. The Animal Crossing Wallpaper can be found right here, while the Link one is located here.
May 24, 2017News
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ario kart 8 and the Nintendo Switch continue to break sales records. Last week we reported that the Nintendo Switch was the best selling console in Japan as well as in the United States. This weeks numbers from Japan show that Nintendo is still selling the console faster than any other Nintendo system in history. Check out this weeks software and hardware sales from Japan below.
And here are the hardware charts:
May 23, 2017News
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Zelda and Final Fantasy inspired Cat Quest is coming to PS4 and PC this summer. The developer Gentlebros has partnered with PQube to bring the game to these two platforms. It is already slated to release on mobile devices and the Switch but PQube is not rumored to be involved with bringing the games to those platforms.
According to the developer, Cat Quest is inspired by the overworld of Final Fantasy, the combat and exploration of Zelda, and the open world of Skyrim in one game with cats.
Here is the official overview of the game:
Cat Quest is an open-world top-down 2D RPG set in the wonderful world of cats. Engage in intense real-time combat and explore a massive continent and experience the ultimate catventure. Relive the good old days of exploring an overworld map as you raid dungeons for epic loot, complete quests and meet the many furry denizens of the world of Felingard.
After your sister is kidnapped by a mysterious cat known as Drakoth, you come face-to-face with your destiny as part of a long-lost race of dragon slayers called the Dragonblood. Joined by Spirry, your guardian spirit, you set off on a grand catventure to not only save your sister, but also the world that Drakoth has brought to chaos!
-The massive continent of Felingard to explore at will.
-Over 60 quests to complete.
-Over 50 dungeons to complete.
-An absolute litter of armors to collect!
-Real time combat with cat magic!
-Many monsters to fight each with their own attack patterns.
-An upgrade system for both the player and their items!
Here is the official announcement trailer:
Source: Link
May 23, 2017News
[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ikkei Trendy had an interview with CEO of Level-5 Games, Akihiro Hino. During this conversation, Hino praised the Nintendo Switch and said that Level-5 is working on games for the Switch. We’ve included the excerpt for anyone that wants to have a read.
Hino:“I think Switch is good. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is extremely fun. It’s almost dangerous. (Laughs.) Actually, playing with Switch myself, my impression [of the system] has changed a lot from when it was still in development. I was hesitant about its ‘play both inside and outside’ style, but I feel like there is a considerable potential there. “Anyway, Zelda is a lot of fun, so I personally carry it around and play it as much as I can, even on airplanes. The model that Nintendo gave me is the one with the red- and blue-colored controllers, so when I carried it around a lot, the looks I got made me self-conscious. I bought the black controller that they released myself and attached it. (Laughs.) “I think the Style of Switch is a wonderful fit for competitive games. You can play if you’re gathered in real life, as well as online. For example, I think the fact that the game lovers within a company can get together and play Mario Kart is really fascinating and interesting. And while I can’t say the content quite yet, we’re working on game(s)* that support [Switch].”
To quickly summarize, Akihiro Hino was hesitant about the Switch, at first. However, after playing Zelda on the finished product, he’s very enthusiastic about the new system. He chose not to give us details on the content but says that Level-5 is working on new games for the Switch after all.
Of course, if you know us, you know that’s not where we’re gonna leave the subject. Akihiro said two important things in his praise of the Switch that may help us better understand where he’s going with this. First, he says there is considerable potential in the play-inside-and-outside style of the Switch. Second, he claims that he thinks the Switch works well for competitive games.
This likely means that Level-5 wants to take advantage of the way you can bring console titles with you on the Switch. As well as using it for competitive titles, as Hino seems fond of the Switch’s capabilities for that.
We’re sure you’ve noticed these two traits are almost at odds with each other. How do you develop a competitive game that you can just pick up and play anytime? Well, you usually don’t. More likely, this refers to separate games. Not just one. Here are a few ideas that spring to mind:
These are, of course, just suggestions. We’re going off of just a few things that line up. We’d love to hear your suggestions, below. If you want to know more about Level-5 Games, we have an article about The Snack World for 3DS. Or you could read about Fantasy Life Online’s Japanese Beta.