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Skyrim Mod Adds Horrifying Cthulhu Quest to Game

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A new Skyrim mod plunges the game into the realm of Cthulhu and Lovecraftian horror.

Cthulhu Skyrim Mod
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 14, 2019

If you want to get back into Skyrim but remain disappointed by the game only offering teases of old-fashioned Lovecraftian horror, there's a new mod out there might just make your Cthulu dreams a reality. 

Here There Be Monsters - The Call Of Cthulhu is a Skyrim mod that's been in development for a few years now. It adds an end-game quest to the RPG that is vaguely based on some Lovecraftian story elements hinted at in Skyrim's Dragonborn DLC (specifically, the "Here There be Monsters" quest). The premise here is that there's a cult in Tamriel who seem to be tied to the appearance of some horrifying new monsters and a series of troubling rumors. It's your mission, should you choose to accept it, to find out what is going on. 

At the risk of spoiling the adventure, it turns out that you will eventually encounter Cthulhu and will have to decide whether or not to defeat him or join him. That might sound like a pretty big moment to include in the game's description, but it turns out that event is far from the most impressive element of this ambitious mod. 

See, Cthulhu is honestly one of the least impressive things this mod adds to Skyrim. That honor might go to the fully voice acted story, the surprising number of new weapons and armor sets, or the many new spells. Then you have incredible additions like giant new monsters which roam the land who are even bigger and more intimidating than the game's dragons. On top of all of that, you get a new continent to explore, a playable dreamworld, and a generous influx of Lovecraftian design elements and plot points designed to enhance the general eeriness of the game and its fresh plotline.

This isn't the first mod or even official piece of Skyrim content to tackle this particular subject matter, but it is one of the most ambitious mods of its kind by some distance. However, it is strongly recommended that you finish Skyrim and the Dragonborn DLC before you tackle this mod. Not only is it apparently quite challenging, but the events of the story can cause the deaths of certain major NPCs. 

In any case, this might tide you over during the likely eternal wait for The Elder Scrolls VI

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014


Gears of War 3 Nearly Featured Drake and Minnie Driver

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Rap star Drake and iconic actress Minnie Driver were both set for roles in Gears of War 3...

Gears of War 3: Drake and Minnie Driver Roles Revealed
NewsRob Leane
Jan 14, 2019

Epic Games and Microsoft Studios' big-hitting Xbox 360 game, Gears of War 3, nearly featured voice acting work from Drake, the rapper who cut his teeth as an actor in Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Minnie Driver, the movie star you saw and loved in the likes of Good Will Hunting and Grosse Pointe Blank.

This news has come about now because Minnie Driver waded into a Twitter thread about iconic video game dialogue. The discussion turned to Driver's work in Jurassic Park: Trespassers, which prompted the actress herself to chime in. While doing so, she revealed that she was fired from a Gears of War project...

"Do you know I was fires [sic] off Gears of War cause I couldn’t shout loud enough?" Driver said. "Only job I was ever fired from ... never liked the game tbh."

Further Reading: Dave Bautista Wants to Star in Gears of War Movie

The diligent folks at IGN then got in touch with Rod Fergusson, the head of the Gears of War franchise. He confirmed that Driver had been on board for the role of Sam, one of the Gear soldiers in the game.

As Fergusson recalled:

Our Casting Director, Chris Borders, was able to hire Minnie through her agent without an audition, because why would you audition an Academy Award nominated actress. I was shocked that she was willing to come in and I think it was because of a nephew or someone she knew that liked the game. Anyway, she was awesome on the normal dialogue but as we got to the in-combat heavily projected lines we realized that we couldn't get her to yell loud enough to cut through. And as we recorded, my mind kept flashing forward to the 500-1000 combat chatter lines we'd need to do later ('Incoming!') and it was clear that this was not the right role for her.

The decision was made "not to waste any more of her time," in Fergusson's words, and so Driver was removed from the project. Claudia Black stepped into the role and the rest seems to be history. 

Further Reading: Gears of War Movie Details

Fergusson went onto mention that Drake was also attached to the game at one point: 

It's happened the other way as well where an actor decides to quit after understanding what's required to record a Gears of War game. For example, Drake (yes, that Drake) was cast as Jace Stratton in Gears 3. He was amazing! But after the first session of yelling in-combat dialogue, his manager reached out the next day to say that Drake couldn't continue in the role because of the demands on his voice. Totally made sense and ultimately this led to Michael B. Jordan being cast as Jace.

And now all we want is to nip into a parallel dimension where we can play Gears of War 3: The Minnie Driver and Drake EditionWould it make a huge difference to the game? Who could say! But it's still an intriguing proposition.

Gears 5, the next game in the franchise, is due for release later this year. We'll be sure to keep our ears peeled for popular actor/singers.

Rocket League Now Supports Cross Play on PS4

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Rocket League becomes only the second game to fully support PS4 cross-play.

Rocket League PS4 cross play
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 14, 2019

Developer Psyonix has confirmed that Rocket League is now cross-play compatible with PS4. 

"With special thanks to all of our friends and colleagues at PlayStation, we are thrilled to announce that starting right now, Rocket League has entered the PlayStation Cross-Play Beta program," says Jeremy Dunham, Vice President of Publishing at Psyonix via the PlayStation blog. "Players on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam PC can now randomly matchmake with or against each other in all Online match types (i.e. Casual, Competitive, and Extra Modes)."

Psyonix reminds PS4 users that cross-play is on by default, but that you can head over to the PS4's main menu, select "Options," and make sure that Cross-Plaform Play is enabled under the Gameplay tab. As long as that is the case, you'll be able to play the PS4 version of Rocket League against Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam PC players. 

The system isn't quite finished yet, though. Psyonix says they're working on a simplified cross-platform party system but that it's still possible to create and join parties via the game's Private match functionality. Of course, that's assuming that you have enabled the PS4's cross-play features through the method noted above. 

While this will certainly be welcome news for Rocket League fans everywhere, even those who don't play the game should find reasons to be excited about this latest update. After all, this makes Rocket League only the second game to join the Cross-Play Beta program (the other being Fortnite). Of course, it was Fortnite that poured gasoline on the PS4 cross-play controversy when it was discovered that Nintendo Switch owners couldn't import their PS4 accounts to the Switch version of the game. 

Speaking of Fortnite and cross-play, Epic has previously stated they are working on a series of tools designed to help other studios incorporate cross-play into their games. That's handy, but the PS4's recently implemented cross-play program has restrictions that prevent certain older titles from taking advantage of cross-play without potentially compromising in-game data. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Steam: Valve Reveals 8 Major Updates for 2019

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Valve is looking to ward off some new competition with these notable upcoming Steam updates.

Steam Valve 2019 Updates
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 14, 2019

Valve has revealed 8 notable updates coming to Steam in 2019.

This information comes as part of a recently published 2018 "Steam Year in Review." While most of the information provided will only interest data hounds and investors, Valve also reveals some new features that will address some of Steam's lingering issues. 

The highlight feature of the planned updates is an updated machine learning system that is designed to improve a user's ability to discover new games on Steam. Details regarding how the system will work are thin at this time, but it sounds like the new program will be a little more versatile in terms of how Steam recognizes and manages which games it recommends to you. Ideally, this means that the algorithm won't be quite as reactive if you happen to check out the store page to a different kind of game that you're really not that interested in. Instead, it will create a series of recommendations based on your overall preferences and activities. 

Also of note is the Steam China update which will reportedly finally bring Steam to China in full. Previously, Valve has struggled to properly launch the service in China due to various restrictions and other lingering problems. It sounds like a recent partnership with a Chinese game studio named Perfect World might have made the process a bit easier.

Most of the other updates fall under the "quality of life" banner. For instance, Valve has promised an updated library system that should be more user-friendly, a new Steam Chat mobile app, expansion of the Steam Trust system (designed to recognize and combat in-game cheaters), an improved event system, and a renovated PC Cafe Program that will improve the Steam experience for those who use the platform at gaming cafes. 

All of these updates sound like they will be welcomed by Steam's still massive userbase, but whether or not such updates will be enough to challenge the rising threat of Epic's game store and their growing library of exclusives remains to be seen. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Blizzard Had to Convince DC That Superman Kicks People

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When developing Justice League Task Force, Blizzard and DC battled over whether Superman kicks bad guys.

Superman DC Comics Blizzard
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 14, 2019

There's no such thing as asking too many questions when you're adapting popular superhero characters. One wrong read of a character's mythology and you'll suddenly find yourself dealing with an army of surprisingly irate fans. Still, when developing the SNES fighting game Justice League Task Force, Blizzard found themselves trying to answer the rather bizarre question: "Can Superman kick?"

In an interview with IGN, Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham remembers having to submit their design decisions to DC in order to make sure they were true to the comic characters and universes. In the process, they found themselves in a rather awkward position when DC informed the developers that Superman isn't really someone who would kick anybody

“How do you make a fighting game where all of the characters can kick except for one?" asked Adham. In an effort to get around this rather awkward design problem, the team got their hands on as many Superman comics as they could in order to find an instance of Superman kicking that they could use as leverage. They didn't find any panels featuring a full kick, but they did notice something relatively close. 

"There's a panel in the Death and Return of Superman where Doomsday and Superman are fighting, and he knees Doomsday," said Adham. "We then pointed at that specific comic, [that] page, and we said ‘Superman does kick. Or, at least he knees. Can he knee?’”

The team got the go-ahead to put a knee attack in the game, but the process of having to get permission to design the simplest of fighting game features was one of the reasons why Blizzard decided to stop developing adaptations

“From that point forward, we knew that we would always want to create our own IPs,” said Adham. "The joy of making games goes hand-in-hand with creating worlds and creating characters.”

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Uncharted Movie Hires 10 Cloverfield Lane Director

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The Uncharted movie is back on track with Dan Trachtenberg, director of 10 Cloverfield Lane, in the director's chair.

Uncharted Movie: Release Date, Cast, and News
NewsJohn SaavedraMatthew ByrdJoseph Baxter
Jan 14, 2019

Uncharted, an adaptation of the acclaimed, top-selling adventure video game franchise, has been sitting on the movie adaptation backlog of Sony Pictures for several years. Previously circled by a wide and diverse array of would-be stars and directors, it appears that things are finally taking shape for Uncharted, notably with the acquisition of the new face of the film franchise: Tom Holland!

Most recently, Shawn Levy (Real Steel) was set to direct the Uncharted movie but backed out to helm the Ryan Reynolds action-comedy Free Guy. Taking his place is Dan Trachtenberg, the director behind the excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane, according to Variety. The latest draft of the script was penned by Jonathan Rosenberg and Mark Walker, with previous work done by Joe Carnahan, Rafe Judkins, David Guggenheim, and Eric Warren Singer.

The movie has already gone through a couple of other directors – David O. Russell, Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, and Sony even considered Carnahan himself, although he declined so that he could direct Bad Boys for Life, which he's no longer working on... Unchartedwas also set to star Mark Wahlberg at one point. 

We'll see if this production actually gets off the ground with Trachtenberg and Holland. Here's everything else we know about the movie:

Uncharted Movie Cast

Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) is set to star as Nathan Drake, an explorer and treasure hunter who journeys to ancient ruins for both trinkets and answers to humanity's biggest mysteries. Along the way, he shoots lots of bad guys.

Uncharted Movie Release Date

The Uncharted movie has no release date set.

Uncharted Movie Story

Here's a short synopsis of the film:

"A descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, a treasure hunter named Nathan Drake believes he has learned the whereabouts of El Dorado, the fabled South American golden city, a cursed golden statue. the search becomes competitive when a rival hunter joins the fray."

Producer Charles Roven also revealed to Deadline that the movie is actually an origin story for Nathan and his friend Sully:

We’ve come up with a wonderful origin story but it’s still based on the Uncharted video game. It doesn’t take place during any of the time period of any of the Uncharted video games. It actually takes place when Nathan Drake (who’s the lead of that game) and Sully, I guess you’d call him his surrogate father, were much younger. It’s an origin story that evolves out of the game but is not from the game.

We'll keep you updated as we learn more!

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9

Why GoldenEye 007 James Bond Isn't in Super Smash Bros.

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Ever wondered why GoldenEye 007's James Bond doesn't feature in Super Smash Bros. games? Here's your answer...

GoldenEye 007 Bond
NewsRob Leane
Jan 15, 2019

Part of the enduring appeal of the Super Smash Bros. series is the chance to pit iconic gaming characters against each other. But James Bond, despite his storied history on Nintendo consoles, has yet to make an appearance in the fighting franchise. 

GoldenEye 007 on N64, in particular, is considered to be a classic in Nintendo's back-catalog. Many nights have been spent among friends, running frantically around a map, slapping enemies as a pixelated approximation of Pierce Brosnan's James Bond and the other characters from Martin Campbell's 1995 007 flick. 

The idea of dropping Brosnan's Bond into a battle with Mario, Pikachu, and all the rest is an absolute doozie, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the concept has actually been considered by Nintendo. The suggestion of adding Bond to the Smash Bros. universe was apparently raised during the development of 2001's Gamecube-era Super Smash Bros. Melee

And now, we know why Bond didn't make it into the eventual game. This statement from creator Masahiro Sakurai cropped up on Nintendo Japan's official Smash Bros. website, Smash Dojo

“Showing realistic guns = no good! Character uses an actor’s likeness = no good! Since the original game is based on a movie, getting those rights = no good! He’s Rare’s property = no good! Blocked on all fronts.”

Sakurai also notes that using characters from games that Rare developed "would be difficult for various reasons." Banjo and Kazooie may seem like an "obvious inclusion" to fans, for instance, "but that’s unlikely for a variety of legal and financial reasons,” although Microsoft, which owns Rare, was keen on letting Nintendo use the characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Bond bashing Bowser with his Slappers Only special move is an image that lives only in our memories, then, and seems likely to stay that way. Shame.

Red Dead Redemption 2's Pinkerton Agents Cause Real-life Lawsuit

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Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations and Take-Two Interactive are in a legal battle over Red Dead Redemption 2...

Red Dead Redemption 2 Pinkerton Agents
NewsRob Leane
Jan 15, 2019

Red Dead Redemption 2's Pinkerton agents have caused a real-life legal battle, with Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations disagreeing publically with Take-Two Interactive over the Pinkerton company's presence in the game. The characters in question are Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, who are established as working for Pinkerton in the game.  

The Verge reports that the real-life Pinkerton kicked off this legal battle by filing a cease and desist notice against Take-Two. Pinkerton felt that, despite the "clear affection" shown towards Pinkertons in the game, that the usage of the company's name was trading on the "goodwill" of Pinkerton's trademarks and "creating a false impression that the game was made by or connected with Pinkerton."

Pinkerton requested that Take-Two "pay either a lump sum or ongoing royalties," but it seems that Take-Two sees matters differently. The game company is suing in response, arguing that the presence of Pinkerton in the game is merely an example of a historical detail and should be deemed fair use. 

As Verge notes, the Pinkerton Agency appears in many works of Western fiction, including the TV series Deadwood, the movie The Long Riders, and even the video game BioShock Infinite. It's interesting that the Pinkertons have chosen this moment to go after a work of fiction using the agency's name, but Take-Two says that Pinkerton's lawsuit could be damaging to the future of historical fiction.

“Historical fiction— television, movies, plays, books, and games — would suffer greatly if trademark claims like [Pinkerton’s] could even possibly succeed,” Take-Two argues in the suit's official documentation. “[Pinkerton] cannot use trademark law to own the past.”

We will be sure to keep you updated as this story develops. It could set some interesting precedents, whichever way it goes. In the meantime, you should check out our hands-on impressions of Red Dead Online, the game's online mode, which just received a big battle royale update


Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Release Date, Trailer, and News

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Evertything we know about Telltale's The Walking Dead season 4 episode 4, including latest news, release date, trailers, and much more!

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4
NewsJohn SaavedraMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has stepped forward to rescue Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The game's fourth season was set to bring a fitting conclusion to the company's epic tale of survival in a world ruled by the undead. But then mass layoffs at the company in September put the conclusion of Clementine's story in jeopardy. Telltale eventually had to place a hold on all ongoing projects and has formally shut down.

Now Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment will be taking ownership of The Walking Dead: The Final Season and ensuring that the project is completed. Skybound had just commenced work on the final episodes, according to a recent statement. Skybound had some more good news, too: "We’re excited to let you know that many of the talented, passionate team members who originally worked on the game are resuming development efforts today!"

The company also revealed that people who already purchased season 4 won't have to pay again for the new episodes now that they're coming from Skybound: "If you already purchased Season Four, you will NOT have to pay again; future episodes will be available to download as soon as they are released via your original point of purchase."

All good news. Now we're just left to wait to reunite with Clementine. Here's everything else we know about the game:

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Release Date

Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season will return with episode 4, which is titled "Take Us Back," on March 26.

The first three episodes are out now on XBO, PS4, and PC. The last episode is titled "Take Us Back."

Related Article: What Telltale's Stranger Things Game Would Have Looked Like

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Trailer

While we wait for the trailer for episode 4, here is the promo for the previous episode:

The first trailer is also below:

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Story

Here's the official synopsis from Telltale:

Clementine, now a fierce and capable survivor, has reached the final chapter in her journey. After years on the road facing threats both living and dead, a secluded school might finally be her chance for a home. But protecting it will mean sacrifice. Clem must build a life and become a leader while still watching over AJ, an orphaned boy and the closest thing to family she has left. In this gripping, emotional final season, you will define your relationships, fight the undead, and determine how Clementine's story ends.

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors.

Disney Infinity: Cancelled 4.0 Version Would Have Featured Aladdin and Yoda

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The cult classic Disney Infinity series lives on in this 4.0 trailer.

Disney Infinity 4.0 Yoda Aladdin
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

New footage of the previously cancelled Disney Infinity 4.0 has emerged online.

The footage seems to have spread via ResetEra where a user posted it alongside a couple of supposed screenshots from the game. While that user didn't share where they acquired this footage - or if they are the same person who originally uploaded it - the consenus at the moment seems to be that it is legitimate.

It seems that Disney Infinity 4.0 was to be titled "Kingdoms" and seemingly take place largely in an expanded version of Agrabah from Aladdin. Aladdin, Jasimine, and other notable characters from the film would have made an appearance, but much like the other Disney Infinity titles, Kingdoms would have featured characters from a variety of Disney properties. In the trailer alone, we see Yoda, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, characters from Zootopia, Rocket, and more.

Actually, it looks like the plan was for this game to focus on Aladdin and Yoda as primary characters. The developer narration in the trailer references establishing the relationship between these two, and they share much of the screen time. On top of that, it seems that Kingdoms would have eventually seen storm troopers and other Star Wars characters invade Agrabah.

Aside form the plot specifics, the most interesting thing about this trailer is how far along the development of 4.0 was. While the narrator notes several times during the presentation that there are aspects of the gameplay that aren't finished yet, the team clearly had the basic story structure in place and were seemingly pretty close to having a final product on their hands.

Of course, that's before the Disney Infinity series was cancelled in 2016. Those who remember the ambitious toy/video game crossover series fondly will no doubt look at this footage and wonder whether or not the concept was scrapped too soon. After all, it looks like the developers were just starting to understand how this concept could become something more substantial than a marketing campaign.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Just Dance Movie Adaptation in Development

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Popular rythmn game series Just Dance is getting an ill-advised movie adaptation.

Just Dance movie adaptation
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

Believe it or not, someone is making a film adaptation of Ubisoft's Just Dance.

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that film company Screen Gems has acquired the rights for Just Dance. Remarkably, it sounds like there were multiple studios bidding for the rights to the same franchise.

At the moment, it seems the plan is for Ubisoft Film and Television and Olive Bridge Entertainment to develop the planned adaptation. While producers from both parties have been named, there's no word on whether or not there is a director or writer in mind. In cases such as these, though, it's hardly uncommon for the rights to be acquired before any practical work is done on the film itself.

Interestingly, it's being implied at this time that final product could feature quite a bit of liscensed music from Sony's music label despite the fact that Just Dance is not a PlayStation exclusive title. It seems that Sony has an interest in expanding pretty much anything related to PlayStation via other mediums, though. However, that could just be speculation as it seems that much of this project is still up in the air so far as creative specifics go.

It's honestly not all that surprising to hear that this project is in development. The Just Dance series remains an almost unbelivable success despite the fact that the golden age of rythmn games seemingly ended a long time ago. On top of that, it's not like this has to be some strict adaptation of a narrative-based game. Some kids dancing on-screen and the generic Just Dance title would still largely be true to the series.

All that being said, we also think that it's just a bit ridicolous there's a Just Dance movie in production. Not only will it theoritically be competing against that previously announced Dance Dance Revolution movie that will supposedly be about a global disaster that can only be resolved "through the universal language of dance." We're also more than a little wary of Ubisoft's Film and Television projects after the mess that was the Assassin's Creed film.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Review: A Fun Platformer for the Switch

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New Super Mario Bros. U has been revived on the Nintendo Switch and we're pretty happy about it. Our review...

Release Date: January 11, 2019
Platform: Switch
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer

The latest Wii U game to get a second chance on the Switch is New Super Mario Bros. U, a well-regarded 2012 launch title that far too few people had the opportunity to play on Nintendo’s ill-fated tablet console. Luckily, the Switch has given the game a new lease on life and it's to our delight.

New Super Mario Bros. U doesn’t stray far from the classic Mario formula. Levels, enemies, and even music are liberally borrowed from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, but with a fresh coat of HD paint and the addition of simultaneous four-player co-op. That so much of what’s here is based on previous Mario games isn’t a bad thing. Spitting out shells while riding Yoshi and making your way through a tricky lava-filled castle to face a Koopaling never get old, but the level design and power-ups here never quite reach the same heights as the old 2D Mario games.

Further Reading: The Brilliance of 1983's Mario Bros. Arcade Game

The original New Super Mario Bros. U and its expansion, New Super Luigi U, are here largely intact with two big additions: playable characters Toadette and Nabbit. Toadette is the game’s “easier” mode. She stops and turns on a dime, controls better on ice, and naturally swims like she’s wearing a penguin suit. She can also grab the game’s new Super Crown item, which turns her into Peachette, basically the super floaty version of Peach we all know and love from Super Mario Bros. 2.

Nabbit was previously playable in New Super Luigi U, but here he’s available throughout the entire game as the ridiculously easy mode. Nabbit can’t pick up power-ups, but he’s completely invincible to everything but pits. If you just want to breeze through the game in a couple hours (or play co-op with an extremely young child), Nabbit is the way to go.

While New Super Mario Bros. U does have some challenging levels, it’s not exactly Dark Souls when it comes to difficulty. It’s a game that’s easily beaten in a weekend with a little perseverance. Outside of letting inexperienced players join in with Toadette and Nabbit or grabbing a particularly difficult star coin, there’s little reason to spend much time with them. The real difficulty spike comes from New Super Luigi U, with its redesigned levels, 100-second time limits, and looser controls. It’s an expansion best saved for after the main game and more experienced players.

Further Reading: 10 Remarkable Facts About the Super Mario Bros. Movie

Still, New Super Luigi never quite lives up to its source material, filling an odd niche where it’s too similar to the base game to please those looking for a new experience, yet just different enough to turn off those who want more Mario. I wasn’t a huge fan of the expansion when it came out, and this port hasn’t really changed my mind.

Probably the best thing about New Super Mario Bros. U on the Switch is that at long last it’s finally playable anywhere, thanks to the console's handheld capabilities. The Wii U always felt like it was on the cusp of portable greatness until you tried to take its tablet controller to the other room and realized just how limited it was. Now, I can finally play New Super Mario Bros. U on the train or while staying overnight at a hotel, and with its short levels and pick-up and play nature, this feels like the version of the game we should have had to begin with.

Chris Freiberg is a freelance contributor. Read more of his work here.

4/5
ReviewChris Freiberg
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Review
Jan 15, 2019

Artifact: Valve Card Game Has Lost Almost Every Player

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Recent charts show Valve's Artifact has suffered almost a 100% decline in popularity.

Artifact Valve Players
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

Valve's Artifact has seemingly lost almost all of its players just months after its release.

The latest graph from Steam Charts (a website that shows how many people are playing Steam games at a certain time and other information), reveals that Artifact's daily active player count has been in steady deline for weeks now. How bad is it? Well, according to the site, Artifact's peak player count was recorded as 60,740 concurrent players. As of this writing, that number sits at just over 2,580.

While the 24-hour peak for the game was recorded at over 3,000 concurent players, some sites report that it dropped as low as just over 1,600 concurrent players as of recently. Put it all together, and you're talking about roughly a 97% drop-off in active players.

It's not uncommon for many games to suffer a dip in active players after the launch hype has died down, but this dip is unusual for a few reasons. First off, this is a Valve game we're talking about. Valve might not have the same name power they used to during the Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, CS:GO glory days, but they're still Valve, and Artifact is a Valve game on the company's own platform. The idea of a Valve game on Steam not catching on and staying hot is hard to comprehend. Even Team Fortress 2, a game that isn't nearly as popular as it used to be, recently registered over 50,000 concurrent players.

While we don't know the current concurrent player count of Hearthstone, which is presumably still the genre king in terms of popularity, a quick look at other CCG titles on Steam reveals just how bad of shape Artifact is in. Shadowverse, a much smaller CCG title, recently hosted almost twice as many active players as Artifact. Slay the Spire, a CCG rougelike that doesn't even offer competitive multiplayer, has about 7,000 more active players than Valve's Artifact at this moment.

It's not too late for Valve to turn things around, but for a company that says they want to make more video games again and who seem to be in the process of re-hiring major pieces of talent, this has to be disheartening. If Artifact continues to fail, they might just fall back on their Steam profits.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Devotion: Debut Trailer for Terrifying New Horror Game

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From the makers of Detention comes an intriguing slice of East Asian folklore called Devotion.

Devotion horror game trailer
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

Red Candle Games, the developers of the brilliant indie horror game, Detention, have revealed their next project.

Titled Devotion, this project is both thankfully reminiscent of Detention and a surprisingly ambitious departure from what came before. Batting for the familiar is the game's use of an East Asian settting and foklore. This particular title takes place in Taiwan sometime during the '80s and tells the story of a deeply religious family that was burdened - perhaps even cursed - by their beliefs. You play a family member who must explore the family apartemnt and discover somedark truths.

The big change this time around is that Devotion plays out from a first-person perspective whereas Detention was a largely 2D minimalistic title. While the change in perspective may be attributed to an increase in resources and experience, you get the feeling that the developers are going for more of an overtly horrifying Gone Homekind of vibe with this title. The debut trailer alone shows some pretty disturbing images made all the more unnerving by the fact you must face them head-on.

It really does seem like Red Candle Games is leaning heavier on the idea of visual scares with this title. Detention wasn't necessairly lacking in that department, but that game's horror was rooted more in psycology. Some people have even gone so far as to say it was more of a tradgedy than a bonafide horror game. It feels like Devotion will envoke those same themes of tradgedy, but there certainly seems to be more of an emphasis this time around on outright scaring the player.

Of course, some of this is speculative given that we really don't have much concrete information on this game at this time. We're going to assume that this title won't feature the kind of action seen in first-person horror titles like Resident Evil 7 and will instead be more about solving mysteries (puzzles) and advancing the story. That being said, Detention threw some gameplay curveballs at the player, so you can't really rule anything out.

Devotion is certainly coming at a welcome time. Not only is its February 19th release date on PC far removed from the October time period that usually offers us all the horror games we're going to get in a year, but Red Candle Games is one of the few horror studios out there who embody the principles that the greatest horror game designers of all-time have relied on.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Team Sonic Racing: Release Date, Trailers, and Everything We Know

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What you need to know about Team Sonic Racing, including latest news, release date, trailers, and much more!

Team Sonic Racing
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

Sega has confirmed the development of Team Sonic Racing after users on ResetEra spotted a WalMart leak of the game just hours ago. 

As was rumored earlier this year, Team Sonic Racing will be developed by Sumo Digital who also worked on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed. What we didn't know based on the rumors that emerged earlier this year is that Team Sonic Racing will allow for both online multiplayer (in which up to 12 players can compete) and offline multiplayer which will support up to four players via split-screen. Regardless of which multiplayer option you choose, you'll be able to participate in a variety of modes that include Grand Prix, Exhibition, Time-Trial, and Team Adventure. 

Yes, Team Adventure. It seems that Team Sonic Racingwill lean heavily on the team aspect of the title by allowing players to form in-game teams. These teams will be much more than just some matching uniforms as teammates will actually be able to pull off unique moves and assists that includes a "Team Ultimate" ability. Those that would rather go it alone will be happy to know that there's also an Adventure Mode in the game that comes complete with an actual racing game story (fancy that). 

Further Reading: Team Sonic Racing Hands-on Preview

This racer will also feature 14 "wisps" (in-game items), options to customize your characters and cars with both cosmetics and performance-enhancing upgrades, and 15 playable characters that are divided into three class types; speed, technique, and power. 

Here's everything else we know about the game:

Team Sonic Racing News

The latest update for Team Sonic Racing confirms that Eggman, Metal Sonic, and Zavok will team up to wreck havoc on the racetrack. You can get your first look at the squad of high-speed villains in the photo below:

Team Sonic Racing Release Date

Team Sonic Racing is coming on May 21, 2019. It will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Further Reading: Sonic Almost Looked Like Eggman

Team Sonic Racing Trailer

A trailer premiered at E3 2018:

Here is the announcement trailer:

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014


Hitman HD Enhanced Collection Features Blood Money and Absolution Remasters

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Two classic Hitman titles are being remastered in this just announced HD collection.

Hitman HD Collection Absolution Blood Money
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 15, 2019

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive have announced the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection.

The name might be a little confusing given the recent soft reboot of the Hitman franchise, but this Enhanced Collection actually isn't related to the 2016 Hitman title or 2018's Hitman 2. Instead, it features HD remasters of Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution. Both of these titles will feature enhanced 60 FPS gameplay as well as optional 4K resolution. 

“We’re very happy with this collection and how we were able to update and remaster two of our classic Hitman titles for modern consoles,” said Hakan Abrak, CEO, IO Interactive. “Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution have helped us on our journey to where we are today, and we’re looking forward to players enjoying them in 4K and 60 fps.”

Despite the promised enhanced visuals, it's important to remember this is a remaster and not a remake. That means that you shouldn't expect this game to be on the level of the recent Hitman games in terms of raw visuals. Instead, each of these titles will likely feature some smoothed rough edges and other such touch-ups. 

What really matters, though, is that this collection will give new fans and old fans the chance to experience two of the more interesting games in the Hitman franchise. Hitman: Blood Money is regularly cited as the best in the series by fans who fondly remember the game's spectacular (and weirder) mission/level design which has since become a staple of the franchise. Hitman: Absolution, meanwhile, is a much more controversial title that clearly paved the way for the excellent modern Hitman games, but was plagued by technical issues and questionable design decisions. 

The Hitman HD Enhanced Collection will launch digitally on January 11 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There's no word regarding a PC release or versions for any other consoles at this time. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Batman: Court of Owls Game Rumored to Be in Development

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The next Batman game could see the Dark Knight face off against the Court of Owls!

Batman: Court of Owls Game Rumors
NewsJohn Saavedra
Jan 15, 2019

It's been the talk of the town for quite a while that WB Montreal, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins, is working on a new game starring the Dark Knight. According to a series of rumors over the past few weeks, including one sparked by an employee at the studio, it seems that the new game will see Batman face off against the Court of Owls, a criminal organization made up of the wealthiest citizens in Gotham City. 

The Court of Owls rumors began when production coordinator Valerie Valdez posted a picture of a t-shirt with an owl-themed logo that's similar to the one used by the villains in the comics:

WB Montreal did not comment on the game at the time, but the rumor mill is back at it today thanks to new images revealed by digital artist Eddie Mendoza, who uploaded three pieces depicting Batman fighting Talons, the Court of Owls' elite assassins, to his ArtStation portfolio. According to Games Radar, Mendoza took down the images, which he claimed he'd done just for fun, a short time later, causing the internet to only grow more suspicious. Were Mendoza's pieces actually concept art for an upcoming Batman game?

In a statement to Games Radar, Mendoza clarified that "the images are just fanart [and] I am not affiliated with WB or WB Montreal." The artist explained that he took down the paintings to "adjust the lighting." The images have not been re-uploaded as of this writing. We're not going to post the art here, but you can find them elsewhere if you look hard enough.

Further Reading: 25 Essential Batman: The Animated Series Episodes

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Court of Owls, the criminal organization (although you could probably call it an owl cult?) made its debut in 2011 in the early days of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's fantastic run on Batman. The Caped Crusader faced off against the Court in a battle that almost cost him both mind and body. Along the way, Bruce discovered that he had a bigger connection to the Court than he could have ever imagined, a shocking twist that still leaves me breathless just thinking about it so many years later. Needless to say, the story is worth a read, especially since the Court still shows up in current DC books and has even made an appearance on Gotham. It's a group worth knowing.

WB's upcoming superhero projects have long been the subject of scrutiny from anxious fans. WB Montreal is said to be working on two separate DC games. If one of them is this Court of Owls game, then the other might be a Damian Wayne game first uncovered by Kotaku. The studio was previously working on a Suicide Squad game, but that was canceled in 2016.

Recently, Rocksteady co-founder Sefton Hill shut down rumors that the Batman Arkham studio is working on a Superman game. There are also reports that the team is working on a Justice League game, but take that with a grain of salt. 

We'll keep you updated as we learn more about the next Batman game! In the meantime, here's a guide to every upcoming superhero game.

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9

Star Wars Open-World Game Canceled by EA

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Another Star Wars game has been canceled by EA. This time, it's the open-world game being developed by EA Vancouver...

Star Wars Game Canceled
NewsJohn Saavedra
Jan 16, 2019

Electronic Arts has canceled another Star Wars game, this time an open-world title in development at EA Vancouver, according to Kotaku. Codenamed Orca, the game was still in the early phases of development. The outlet reports that EA decided to cancel the project because the publisher feared the game would not be ready for a 2020 release date. EA Vancouver will instead begin work on another, "smaller-scale"Star Warsgame.

Little is known about Orca except that it was to feature open-world gameplay. Job listings in early 2018 suggested that the game would have had an online component as well, including matchmaking and live services. According to Kotaku, Orca would have allowed players to "explore various open-world planets and work with different factions" with either a "scoundrel or bounty hunter" character. 

Orca was actually born out of the ashes of another canceled game being designed by the now-shuttered Visceral Games. That project was called Ragtag and it would have starred a band of rogues led by a scoundrel named Dodger, as they went on heists across the galaxy. Ragtag was described as "Star Wars meets Ocean's Eleven" and would have been set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, tackling story beats such as the aftermath of the destruction of Alderaan.

Originally envisioned as an action-adventure game, EA decided to cancel Ragtag after months of troubled production at Visceral that saw a multiplayer component tacked on to the more linear single-player campaign per the publisher's orders. Tensions were also growing at the studio over a lack of resources and creative differences. Visceral was closed down in October 2017. 

At the time, EA explained that it had canceled Visceral's Star Wars game because players don't enjoy linear experiences as much anymore. The publisher described the pivot to a more open-ended game as a necessary one. 

"It has become clear that to deliver an experience that players will want to come back to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design," former EA chief design officer Patrick Soderlund said in a blog post announcing the game's cancelation. "Importantly, we are shifting the game to be a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency, leaning into the capabilities of our Frostbite engine and reimagining central elements of the game to give players a Star Wars adventure of greater depth and breadth to explore."

Unlike Visceral, EA Vancouver will get another shot at a Star Wars game. Details on the new project are very scarce at the moment, but we'll keep you updated as we learn more. In the meantime, read more about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the upcoming game from Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment. Hopefully, both of these games will actually see the light of day.

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9

Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr Expansion and Year of the Dragon Details

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Dragons are finally coming to Elder Scrolls Online along with the Elsweyr update.

Elder Scrolls Online Elsweyr Dragons
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 16, 2019

Elder Scrolls Online will soon receive a massive influx of new content that might change the game in some drastic ways.

It seems that 2019 is being branded the "Year of the Dragon" for Elder Scrolls Online. For the first time, all four quarterly content releases that come out this year will be part of one epic tale. Each content release will tell a new chapter of this story. Details regarding this story are a bit thin at this time, but we do know that it will start with the massive Elsweyr content release. 

Elsweyr will take players to the homeworld of the Khajit (which is also one of the areas that fans have speculated could be featured in The Elder Scrolls VI). This area is described as being roughly the same size as the previous ESO zone addition (Summerset), which is really just another way of saying that it is going to be really, really big. That area will support all of the usual content updates (new dungeons, delves, trials, etc.). 

On top of that, players will be able to explore the area as the game's newest class, the Necromancer. These necromancers are described as one of the most requested additions to the game and will apparently be able to control dark magic that includes the ability to “command the dead and cast powerful elemental spells.”

Of course, a Year of the Dragon wouldn't be much without any actual dragons. That's why dragons are finally joining the game after years of requests for the Skyrim icons to patrol the game's skies. These dragons will be added to the game in February and will largely star as part of global events that see them attack various areas of the world. Their full purpose and the extent of their involvement in the upcoming year of content remains to be seen.

The Elsweyr content add-on will be released in June. Until then, you can take advantage of a pre-order deal which will grant you immediate access to the base game along with the Summersetand Morrowind expansions

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

Hitman Developer IO Interactive Opens New Studio

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Not long after being left for dead, Hitman developer IO Interactive is apparently back on its feet.

HItman 2 IO Interactive New Studio
NewsMatthew Byrd
Jan 16, 2019

IO Interactive has opened a new studio in Malmö, Sweeden. 

"We are super excited and proud to announce IOI Malmö," reads an update on the developer's website from Hakan Abrak, CEO, IO Interactive. "We will expand IOI to join a buzzling game developer community and bring our own unique IOI culture to this amazing town."

The update seems to indicate that this new studio is already fully-operation and will join the studio's Copenhagen office as "one family." It also seems that IO is using this expansion as an opportunity to expand their staff. They've already posted some new positions on their career page. 

As for what this new studio will do, that's a little vague at the moment. The studio's update on the opening indicates that this opening will "expand our muscles for creating brand-new and exciting endeavours, new universes, new franchises." That would seem to indicate that the new studio is going to either be focusing on some new projects or will at least be assisting the other offices in such projects sometime in the near future. However, it was also stated in the announcement that the new studio will "strengthen IO Interactive’s commitment to deliver exceptional content to the HITMAN franchise." 

That last line would seem to indicate that the "one family" approach means that both studios will work on developing DLC for Hitman 2 and perhaps even a new Hitman game. While we imagine that there will be some kind of division of labor at some point (especially if they start working on an entirely new Hitman game), it seems that this is really just an effort to expand the studio's workforce rather than create a new branch for a specific purpose. 

In any case, it's nice to see that IO is seemingly doing quite well considering that they're not that far removed from being let go by Square Enix. We suppose that Hitman 2 must have done quite well despite largely being a re-tread of the previous game's ideas

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014

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