June 11, 2019

Square Enix is a publisher unlike any other. On one hand it has a library of classic Japanese role playing games, on the other it has Western studios making conventional AAA blockbusters. No more was this dichotomy made clear than with the staging: On a raised platform over at East of the stage stood its Japanese studio staff, whilst on the West was a producer from the American office. It was slightly uncomfortable, which is apt given the publisher’s handling of these two halves. Everyone looked to this live show for more details on Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Square Enix delivered. The g...

June 11, 2019

For whatever you think about Ubisoft and the kinds of games it releases, there’s usually one constant: it has always put on an entertaining E3. Whether it’s high energy dance numbers or concentrated doses of cringe, you can reliably count on Ubisoft for having a worthwhile E3 conference. And while there were some highlights this year, Ubisoft delivered something without much spark or warmth, something that was sorely missing compared to last year’s show. Part of the problem was starting with the showstopper. After being leaked last week, Ubisoft revealed Watch Dogs Legion. Set in a post...

June 10, 2019

For its fifth E3 press conference, Bethesda wanted to take a page out of Time Magazine and celebrate…you! With its most die hard and vocal fans in the audience, Bethesda didn’t quite match the delirium of last year’s E3 showcase, but instead presented a slew of updates from its studios, plus a pair of exciting new IPs that made for an interesting, if not slightly safe, presentation. Throughout the show, Bethesda representatives made it clear that the presentation was about the fanbase, with developers thanking their communities at every turn and fans recalling their favourite me...

June 10, 2019

Microsoft came into this year’s E3 with a spring in its step. It had won the hearts and minds of gamers with its Xbox Game Pass and commitment to gaming, it was bringing a brand new console and its main rival Sony was nowhere to be found. Microsoft should have luxuriated in the glory and the free space; instead it had 90 minutes to reveal a console and cover 60 games. Let’s cut straight to the biggest announcement: Project Scarlet, the next Xbox console. It will feature a custom CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture, and will use GDDR6 RAM; this will translate into ...

June 7, 2019

It’s been a hell of a year for Destiny 2 developer Bungie. Aside from facing its biggest competitor yet in the form of Ubisoft’s The Division 2, the developer announced back in January that they were splitting from publisher Activision after eight years and taking Destiny with them. We haven’t heard much of what Bungie plans to do with Destiny as an independent publisher/developer since then, but after a detailed livestream today, the company has revealed some massive changes to the way Destiny 2 operates. And that’s on top of also announcing a brand new expansion pack...

June 6, 2019

The Final Fantasy series is one of the few franchises out that has a litany of music as famous as the games themselves. However, for the longest time Square-Enix have made it difficult to listen to the soundtracks legally unless you’re open to the idea of important music from Japan. That’s changed from today as Square-Enix have uploaded a treasure trove of Final Fantasy music onto Spotify & Apple Music. While you can find most of them by searching for Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack into your service of choice, that won’t provide everything that’s available, because i...

June 6, 2019

With E3 2019 mere days away, Nintendo have gotten out early to discuss one of their more anticipated titles – Pokémon Sword & Shield, with a special Pokémon Direct to fill in a few more details as to what the next generation of Pokémon games will be like. Running only 15 minutes, it didn’t go into excruciating detail unlike some other specialized Nintendo Directs, but it gave enough detail on the Galar Region and its inhabitants that was sorely needed. More importantly, we have a release date! You’ll be able to play Pokémon Sword & Shield on November 15th 2019! First off...

June 5, 2019

With Microsoft making some big inroads in expanding the Xbox brand across all devices and barriers, it’s only fair to think that their next logical step is to combat another barrier for gaming – foul odours and smells. Which is why Xbox Australia & New Zealand are teaming up with Lynx to bring an Xbox product line of deodorant, body spray and shower gel. Known as Lynx Xbox, the scene is described as a pulsing green citrus, with notes of kaffir lime, winter lemon, mint sage,  patchouli and clearwood. “We see Xbox fans achieve incredible things every day, and we wanted to celebra...

June 5, 2019

After its initial reveal in 2018 and several streams this year announcing its lineup, Sega has confirmed the full lineup for its Mega Drive Mini console, due for release later this year. The lineup, totaling 42 games, is as follows: Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Alisia Dragoon Altered Beast Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Castlevania The New Generation Comix Zone Columns Darius Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine Dynamite Headdy Earthworm Jim Ecco the Dolphin Eternal Champions Ghouls ‘n Ghosts Golden Axe Gunstar Heroes Kid Chameleon Landstalker Light Crusader Mega Man: The Wily ...

June 4, 2019

The next Watch Dogs has been rumoured to be set in London for the longest time, but an Amazon UK listing (now removed) may have revealed a bit more ahead of time! Titled Watch Dogs Legion, the game sees you playing in a post-Brexit London where you’ll be able to control any NPC in the game, who have their own individual set of animations, character traits and voice over. How this is handled will be fascinating. How far will the control go? Can you complete the game as an NPC (which makes them not an NPC any more)? Will you have to “jump” from NPC to NPC to complete tasks as ...