Maxemole
Resident Potato
This is the last episode in the first week of the show, so that’s pretty cool. Alright time for the news.
* The JRPG Ni No Kuni II is coming to PC! The first game was originally a Nintendo DS exclusive before coming to the PS3 in Japan in 2011, and then the PS3 and PS4 in 2013. There were some big differences in development between the DS version and the PS3 version. The games were very highly regarded and news of the sequel coming to PC is awesome. More and more JRPG’s seem to be coming to Steam and that is a trend I would like to see continue.
* Codemasters revealed that Dirt 4 is coming in June. Dirt is a critically acclaimed off-road racing series with a dedicated following. Not much more is known, but it was revealed that the sequel will feature a rally route creation tool called “Your Stage”.
* A new Avengers game is coming from none-other than Square-Enix! Two of it’s studios, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, seem to be working on the title. The press release states "The Avengers project is being designed for gamers worldwide and will be packed with all the characters, environments, and iconic moments that have thrilled longtime fans of the franchise. Featuring a completely original story, it will introduce a universe gamers can play in for years to come”. Well i’m f*****g hyped for whatever comes out of this. There hasn’t been any gameplay shown, but i’m going to guess the game will be open-world due to the sorts of games these studios work on. Square-Enix says we can expect more information in 2018.
* Obsidian Entertainment teased a Project Louisiana the other day. Because of Fallout: New Vegas, we all thought that we were going to get a Fallout: New Orleans. Yesterday Obsidian revealed that the project was actually Pillars of Eternity II. The first game was regarded as one of the best games of 2015, and was talked about well into last year as well. I can’t really say us Fallout fans are disappointed, as this announcement is equally as awesome. Like the first game, the sequel is being crowdfunded - only this time on Fig instead of Kickstarter. It asking for the same amount of 1.1 million. The first game ended up raising just under 4 million, and we can probably expect the second to raise a similar amount if not more.
* The new Mass Effect Andromeda trailer showcased the main villain of the game as well as some squad mates and an unknown alien race. There isn’t much to say except get hyped. If you haven’t watched it yet, please go do so. Remember, the game drops on March 21st.
* The first screenshot for the new Oddworld game was revealed. This sequel - or maybe prequel, entitled, Oddworld: Soulstorm, is slated to be released in the second half of 2017. I sadly have never touched one of these games, but I have heard very good things. Hopefully i’ll be able to play one of them at some point.
* Microsoft has released some new Xbox Live stats. The number of monthly Xbox Live users has just reached an all time high of 55 million. According to the article, this is a much higher number than they were at last year, so that’s a nice win for Xbox. They could use the good news, because who the hell knows what they are doing with Scorpio or upcoming games.
* Former Rockstar North President, Leslie Benzies, has announced his new project under the working title “Everywhere”. The game sounds like an interesting concept, with Benzies himself stating: “I am proud to have been part of past advancements in gaming, but I am even more excited about what we have in store for the future. The working title of this new game is “EVERYWHERE” and the vision is long term,with the capacity to develop and grow forever. Our goal is to create a platfom where players can be entertained, and also entertain others while blurring the lines between reality, and a simulated world.” Benzies is going to use the Amazon Lumberyard platform to develop his game, which is a free cross-platform 3D engine with deep integration into Twitch. He is joined by other Rockstar alum Colin Entwistle and Matthew Smith.
* A rather unknown game by the name of Overwatch just hit 25 million players. I’m sure this is a big surprise to everyone, but of course it’s nice to see Blizzards game doing so well. I still need to get in there and try out that Year of the Rooster event.
* And finally, The ZeniMax vs. Oculus case goes to the jury with ZeniMax asking Facebook for a total of $4 billion dollars. I have hardly given the case more than a passing glance over the past few weeks, but from my understanding, it’s that ZeniMax is accusing Oculus of using a bunch of it’s code brought over from former ZeniMax employees. Facebook, who owns Oculus, is denying that.
Alright folks that it for yesterday’s news. Make sure to like the video if this recap helped you and subscribe for daily news updates straight to your inbox! Remember, the show runs every week from Tuesday to Friday. I’ll see you guys next week. This is Max signing off.