This week in gaming: Oct. 18
Hey there, GBAtemp! Have you been craving more than the regular, important, and timely news supplied by GBAtemp's magazine staff? If so, then I've got the answer for you! Starting today, I'll be trying to write bi-weekly articles discussing smaller announcements that don't necessarily belong on the front page with their own thread, but things that are still perhaps worth discussing or taking a look at. Anything from niche game announcements, PC/HD ports, new and interesting rom hacks, release date calendars, is fair game here. Hopefully you all enjoy this, and can give some feedback so that I can improve on these!
Gaming Industry
Video Game Voice Actors/Actresses go on Strike
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Also known by a more easily written name as SAG-AFTRA) union will potentially be going on strike. This could have an impact on up to 11 different gaming companies, affecting contracts with famous voice actors in video gaming. If SAG-AFTRA is successful, then actors and actresses will be receiving a more "fair" paycheck. If not, then we might be seeing familiar voices (Such as Tara Strong, Steve Blum, Erin Fitzgerald, and many more) in video gaming leaving, and potentially being replaced if they can't reach an agreement. The final date for a decision to be made, and announced, will be on Oct 21.Some of the larger companies are noted below (more can be found at the source)
- Activision
- Electronic Arts
- Take 2
- Insomniac Games
- WB Games
- Formosa Interactive LLC
Despite years of concerted effort and negotiating sessions, video game employers have steadfastly refused to reach a fair deal during our contract negotiations.
We head back to the table Oct. 17-19 with the goal of creating a fair contract that is rooted in industry standards and best practices. Based on past experience, we are not confident management is willing to make the changes necessary to bring this contract up to the standards of our other agreements. Unless you hear differently from us, effective Oct. 21 at 12:01 a.m., you should be prepared to strike the following video game employers with regard to all games that went into production after Feb. 17, 2015
SOURCE
United Front Games is Closing Down
It looks like United Front Games, the studio behind games like Sleeping Dogs and ModNation Racers will be shutting down. The company was originally founded in 2007, based in Vancouver, Canada, and helped develop titles like LittleBigPlanet Karting, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Halo: Master Chief Collection, ModNation Racers, and perhaps their most noteworthy release, Sleeping Dogs. Their latest title, an early access game called Smash+Grab, is no longer available for purchase on Steam, though the store page still exists at the time of writing. United Front's lead producer revealed the studio's closure on Twitter on October 17th.SOURCE
Assorted News
Citra Boots Pokemon Sun/Moon demo
The Nintendo 3DS emulator, Citra, has already booted the newest Pokemon demo, and can even upscale into HD, and has xBR texture filtering. For reference, this is the "Bleeding Edge" build. It's nice to see this emulator is coming along nicely!Upscaled Screenshots
SOURCE
Square Enix delays the Vita Demo of World of Final Fantasy, Now Coming Friday
The demo for World of Final Fantasy was supposed to be available for both PS4 and PSV on Oct 17th. However, for an unexplained reason, Vita users were not able to download it. In response, Square Enix said over Twitter that the demo will be available on the Playstation Store this Friday, October 21st, four days before the game's launch.SOURCE
Pokemon Sun and Moon Announcement Coming on Oct. 27
Even though there's a month left until Pokemon Sun and Moon hit the shelves, Game Freak is still planning some sort of announcement for the games on October 27th.Fan Projects
Fan Remakes Link's Awakening in OOT's Engine
A YouTuber by the name of Ty Anderson is working on remaking the Gameboy Zelda title, Link's Awakening in the 3D engine of Ocarina of Time. Music will be composed by a person with the username Lezg_g. This definitely looks like something to keep a lookout for, when it hopefully gets completed.
Castlevania 1 Remade in UE4
Dejawolfs has been working on porting the NES classic, Castlevania, to Unreal Engine 4, with new models and all sorts of improvements. The project has been going since March, but he recently uploaded his new progress on the second level of the game. Nice!
Niche Game Annoucements
Dev of "Angry Video Game Nerd" game announces new project
FreakZone games, the company behind Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures has shown off their latest game, titled Knight Terrors. Knight Terrors is a horror-themed beat 'em up runner game, according to the developer, and players must cut down enemies in "hundreds" of procedural generated levels in order to get a high score. The game is set to release for $2 on Steam, and for free on iOS/Android. There is also a GoFundMe campaign to help fund the project and add extra features should the goal be met.GoFundMe Page
Koei Tecmo to Make a New Attack on Titan Game for Nintendo 3DS
Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, has revealed that Koei Tecmo will be developing another Attack on Titan video game, subtitled Escape from Certain Death, this time on the Nintendo 3DS. Right now, the game is at 30% completion, and there is no set release date at this time.SOURCE
Scizor to be playable in Pokken Arcade (JP)
The Bug/Steel Pokemon Scizor is a new playable character in the arcade version of Namco Bandai's Pokken Tournament. It is unknown if this change will be added to the Wii U version at this time.SOURCE
Star Ocean Gets a Mobile Game
Square Enix is bringing the Star Ocean series to mobile, with the release of Star Ocean: Anamnesis on iOS and Android. The game will have full-3D real time battles, and feature characters from previous Star Ocean games. Developer tri-ace will be showing off some gameplay videos on October 20th.SOURCE: GBAtemp Press Inbox
The Alliance Alive announced for 3DS
Publisher FuRyu, the company behind last year's JRPG The Legend of Legacy, has announced it's latest game for the 3DS, titled Alliance Alive. The most interesting thing about the game, is that the creator of the classic PS1 JRPG, Suikoden, will be on board as the scenario writer for this game!Ports
Destroy All Humans! is Coming to PS2onPS4
The classic game, Destroy All Humans, developed by Pandemic Studios and published by the now-defunct THQ will be coming to the Playstation 4 via the PS2onPS4 emulation.Store Page
Trillion: God of Destruction Coming to PC October 25
Idea Factory International continues with their PC ports of PS4/Vita titles, with Trillion coming to Steam on Oct. 25 and will have 40% off its list price during the first week of release. You can check out @Prans official review of the Vita version of the game: hereSOURCE: GBAtemp Press Inbox
Gameplay Videos and Trailers
Harvest Moon: Skytree Village
Assassin's Creed Movie Trailer #2
Our Community Manager takes some time to show off a little bit of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village!
Harvest Moon: Skytree Village arrives November 8th in North America exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS, and launches in Q1 2017 in PAL territories via Rising Star Games
Assassin's Creed Movie Trailer #2
Killing Floor 2 - PS4 Pro Footage
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
DEADLY ZED SIGHTINGS OCCUR IN BRAND NEW PLAYSTATION®4 PRO FOOTAGE UNCOVERED FOR KILLING FLOOR 2
Tripwire Interactive is pleased to release brand new assets for its upcoming successful co-op sci-fi horror FPS game, KILLING FLOOR 2. Announced on-stage at the Sony PlayStation® Meeting in New York City last month, KILLING FLOOR 2 will be available at launch on the newly announced PlayStation®4 Pro computer entertainment system, in addition to the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PC platforms. Today’s announcement sees the debut of the first ever footage and images from KILLING FLOOR 2, enhanced for the PlayStation®4 Pro platform.
The PlayStation®4 Pro version of KILLING FLOOR 2 features the following enhancements:
* 1800p checkboard rendering on 4K TV (3200x1800) optimized for 4K TVs
* Effectively supersampling and increased fps on HDTV
* Using additional memory to increased texture resolution to "Ultra Textures"
KILLING FLOOR 2 is developed by Tripwire Interactive and will be published by Deep Silver and Iceberg Interactive for the PlayStation®4 Pro, PlayStation®4, and PC. The game will be available globally on November 18, 2016.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
Release Calendar
October 18, 2016
Exist Archive (PS4, PSV)Batman: Return to Arkham (XBO, PS4)
October 21, 2016
Battlefield 1 (XBO, PS4, PC)Civilization VI (PC)
Lego Harry Potter Collection (XBO, PS4)
October 25, 2016
Dark Souls III DLC - Ashes of Ariandel (XBO, PS4, PC)Darksiders: Warmastered (XBO, PS4, PC, Wii U)
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (XBO, PS4, PC)
World of Final Fantasy (PS4, PSV)
Yomawari Night Alone (PSV, PC) ~GBAtemp Official Review~
Corpse Party: Back to School (3DS)
Exile's End (PSV, PS4, PC)
Batman: Telltale Episode 3 (PC, XBO, PS4, iOS, Android, PS3, 360)
Tethered (PSVR)
October 28, 2016
Skyrim Special Edition (XBO, PS4, PC)Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension (PS4, XBO, PC)
Titanfall 2 (XBO, PS4, PC)
Assassin's Creed Ezio Collection (XBO, PS4)
Root Letter (PS4, PSV)