There's no question that Sephiroth is an icon, striking fear into players even remotely familiar with the villain. Just the opening notes of his theme song, One Winged Angel, are enough to get the heart racing. But Sephiroth didn't make a name for himself with Final Fantasy alone. A particular Disney and Square Enix collaboration, Kingdom Hearts, introduced the villain to a new era of fans, and his appearances in that series are just as menacing, if not more so, than his Final Fantasy 7 presence.

If players missed out on Sephiroth's 1997 Final Fantasy 7 debut, it might be hard to discern why fans go gaga over the character. Heralding a planet-ending event and haunting protagonist Cloud Strife throughout FF7, Sephiroth presented himself as a fearsome villain from the get-go. However, for some of us, Sephiroth's anxiety-inducing encounter in Kingdom Hearts is what truly cemented him as a terror.

In 2002, found myself on the other end of Sin Harvest, and it was in this Disney amalgamation that the One-Winged Angel left an impression that still lingers. See, I wasn’t really old enough to get on the FF7 wave when it was hot, and it wouldn’t be until years later that I experienced the title. So, for me, Kingdom Hearts was the game that introduced Sephiroth. And man, what? an introduction that was.

Sora's Platinum match

As players near the end of Kingdom Hearts, they can revisit the Olympus Collesuem to participate in new tournaments. One of? these is the Platinum match, which sheds many of the boss fight conventions experienced up to that point. It ??pits Sora against Sephiroth in a fight most players will initially lose.

Until encountering the Platinum match, I barreled my way through enemies without much preparation. Sure, some grew a little tedious, b??ut after retreading a few zones to nab a few easy levels, I cleared obstacles in a flash, though nothing prepared me for a ?fight requiring speed and quick-thinking to match a demigod. 

After starting the Platinum match, Sephiroth teleports into the arena and wordlessly readies his weapon as his theme song builds. The powerful villain doesn't sprint or engage in a reckless assault. No. Much more hauntingly, Sephiroth slowly walks towards me as if to say, “Oh, ar?e you here too?�as One Winged Angel bl??asts over the arena. This unabashed display of badassery sets the tone.

Thanks to his massive sword, Sephiroth could reach me from nearly anywhere, and his impossibly fast sword swipes met me whenever I faltered. If I tried to close the distance with a brute-force approach, he would completely ignite his surroundings in a fiery tempest. Alternatively, if I tried to play the backfield, Sephiroth could teleport and leap around th??e arena to line up an attack. There was no safe footing. 

By some miracle, I was able to push the One-winged Angel enough to start taking me seriously. Then the big attacks came out, summoned meteor showers or, even worse, that Sin Harvest move that takes Sora do??wn to one HP and zero MP in the blink of an eye. It’s all I can muster to stay alive through the assault, meekly chip??ping at his health here and there. All the while, it doesn't even look like Sephiroth breaks a sweat.

Faster than I realize, it’s already over. Sephiroth catches me in the center of one of his fire attacks, and i??n my ha??ste to heal, I stop right in front of his sword. The first time I lost the Platinum match, it felt unwinnable. But that’s precisely what drove me to throw myself at it again and again until I eventually scraped by.

Sephiroth's Dark Depths

While Kingdom Hearts might have led to me think I knew what to expect from Sephiroth, his second appearance continued to throw curveballs. The battle occurs in a rocky area with more room than the previous bout, but maneuverability worked against me. Throughout Kingdom Hearts 2, I unwisely neglected the painstakingly-slow-to-unlock movement and traversal abilities, and that made my Sephiroth rematch all the more imposing. The villain moves around a lot more in Kingdom Hearts 2, often teleporting behind or taking to the sky, and I had no me??ans to defend against these hit-and-run tactics.

In stark contrast to his previous appearance, Sephiroth charges as soon as the fight starts with an attack that’s only avoidable via an unexpected quick-time event. This wasn’t the only time he tried to catch me off guard with the deadly strike, it randomly happens throughout the fight. It’s something I had to always stay on the lookout for, as the blow has the pote??ntial to end the match instantly. Without giving me a chance to counterattack, Seph??iroth moved back to familiar tactics, teleporting and leaping around, testing my defenses with his blade.

Difficulty felt exaggerated by the fact that nearly all of Sephiroth's attacks could bring me down to critical ??HP, and he'd unleash onslaughts back to back without care. This quickly backed me into a new game of attrition, with Sephiroth effortlessly whittling away my health while I scrambled to keep my head above water. We danced around that arena for what felt like hours, with Sephiroth laying out one spectacular display of strength after another and me panic healing and ??scratching slices off his health with quick combos.

When I final??ly bested Sephiroth again, a scene shows him literally brushing some dirt off his armor like he’s brushing off our maddening encounter. In the ultimate insult to injury, Sephir??oth concludes that only Cloud can offer him a real challenge before sending me off to fetch the ex-SOLDIER for him. Ouch man, that hurts.

Reintroducing Sephiroth

The Kingdom Hearts series offered Square Enix an opportunity to grow Sephiroth's fame and notability. The character was already a fearsome antagonist to those who first met him in FF7, but Kingdom Hearts would open the door for the One-winged Angel to transcend his own universe. It would have been easy to use Sephiroth for a throwaway cam?eo like Tidus or Selphie, but the more substantive approach paid off.

Before Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth only existed to me as an enigmatic legend I heard about from friends�older siblings or on online forums. But once Kingdom Hearts presented the terrifying foe, his reputation suddenly made sense. Going through the toils of preparation and practice to beat Sephiroth in these Disney games is forever cemented in my memory. It forced me out of my comfort zone and got me thinking in a game that primarily encouraged button mashing. And no doubt, whether players like the character or not, Kingdom Hearts ensured Sephiroth lived up to his hype.

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The power of music

Square Enix's premier RPG series is known for its grand story, epic battles, and outstanding graphics, but it is also known for its Final Fantasy battle themes. Across its 36-year span, the Final Fantasy series has enlisted many ta?lented musicians, including Nobuo?? Uematsu, Yoko Shimomura, and Masashi Hamauzu.

From Final Fantasy XIII's "Blinded by Light" to the original battle theme from the first FF, here are the best Final Fantasy battle ?themes, ranked. Let us know your favorites in the comments below.

10. Final Fantasy VI - "Decisive Battle"

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This upbeat Final Fantasy battle theme ups th?e stakes with its frenetic tune and intense drumline that keeps your heart racing. A great battle theme keeps you energized and "Decisive Battle" certainly does that. Something about the nostalgic 16-bit tone also adds so much that's lost within modern ?remakes of this track.

9. Final Fantasy XIV - "Torn from the Heavens"

//youtube.com/watch?v=lWtVj3OnCPc&si??=??EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

Final Fantasy XIV is known for its epic themes whenever a big battle occurs, and "Torn from the Heavens" is certainly one of those. The callback to the main theme of the series alongside its gorgeous percussion and choir makes this an unforgettable track. The stakes are raised whenever "Torn from the Heavens" is played in this grand MMORPG.

8. Final Fantasy I - "Battle Theme"

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All great series have their beginnings, and Final Fantasy I made an impression from the very start. The melody is as intense as it can get on an 8-bit system, and the flow of the piece is sublime. You'll hear how great this composition is if you check out World of Final Fantasy's interpretation of the track. It truly gives the original piece justice with a rocky interpretation and a lovely strings throug?hline.

7. Final Fantasy X - "Battle Theme"

//youtu.be/aZzQLHdMkQc

With a game that's as long as Final Fantasy X, you'll want to make sure the standard battle theme is a banger. Thankfully, it is. Tidus' journey is complemented by a track with a tasty bassline, an exciting clash of drums, and a ?riveting melody that will keep you focused on the fight. What also helps with a battle theme such as this is the unpredictable nature of the track. It keeps surpri?sing us with alterations to the song, and for the first ten times of listening to it, you'll notice a new twist on the main melody.

6. Final Fantasy V - "Clash on the Big Bridge"

//youtu.be/1a8OirsKVbc

"Clash on the Big Bridge" used the SNES sound font to the absolute max. This battle theme has an impressive melody, a wonderful drumline, and will catch you off-guard with how fast it is. It's a blast to play on Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. The otherworldly playing of the? introduction is also striking?? and catches your attention.

5. Final Fantasy XV - "Stand Your Ground"

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Yoko Shimomura is known for her work on the Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter series but she brought her A-game to Final Fantasy XV.  The battle theme "Stand Your Ground" starts the track with an epic sweep of the strings section and doesn't let you go until the very end. It then gets followed by a glorious reference to the main Final Fantasy theme, just like "Torn from the Heavens." After that, the action gets elevated by a rambunctious array of ??the orchestra with the blissful woodwind matched with the thunderous percussion.

4. Final Fantasy VII - "J-E-N-O-V-A."

//youtu.be/G8eCJCcBelo

Whenever you hear that high-pitched synthesized intro from "J-E-N-O-V-A," you know you're in for a good time. The mel?ody is pleasing, the drum beat elevates the action, and the bassline is a grand accompaniment to the whole piece. It's a track that sounds mysterious as Cloud and his friends are unsure of what lies ahead of them. Music should help set the scene, and ??"J-E-N-O-V-A." does that perfectly.

3. Final Fantasy XIII - "Blinded by Light"

//youtu.be/WyTRg-DJ99M

Final Fantasy XIII is arguably the most controversial game in the series, but you can't deny how awesome the soundtrack is. "Blinded by Light" is one of the best Final Fantasy battle themes because it consistently engages the player with its striking melody and ability to let every instrument in the piece shine. The guitar in the background gives it a hard edge, and the heavy use of the ?emotive strings section makes this theme song epic, but beautiful at the same time.

2. Final Fantasy VII - "One-Winged Angel"

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNms5rOaGlk

When "One-Winged Angel" plays, fear strikes the heart of every Final Fantasy VII fan. The dread-filled drums, the terrifying cluster of brass, and bewildered strings section all set the scene for the evil Sephiroth. Then there's a badass guitar throughline and the deep choir that adds to the drama of the piece. Each fight with Sephiroth is meaningful, and "One-Winged Angel" makes it next level. While the Advent Children version isn't technically from a game, it is the best version; it's in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The PS1 and Remake ??editions of the track also deserve praise, however.

1. Final Fantasy VII Remake - "Let the Battles Begin!"

//youtu.be/zRHiTjce9s0

A great Final Fantasy battle theme is able to establish the danger present for your characters and motivate the player to carry on forward with the fight at hand. "Let the Battles Begin!" from Final Fantasy VII Remake successfully establishes that. The mixture of the powerful brass, thunderous drums, and emotive strings all make for a piece that truly stands out in the Final Fantasy series. Listen to it and you'll get hyped for anything: a run, pumping weights, or going to your dreaded dental appointment. "Let the Battles Begin" is a perfect battle theme, through and through, and Final Fantasy VII Remake just takes it one step further.

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It's surmised that the X/X-2 remaster sold nearly seven million

Final Fantasy X sales (and that's the series itself, including Final Fantasy X-2) have hit the 20.8 million mark since September 2021, Square Enix reports (via Gematsu).

As Gematsu points out, in October of 2013, the publisher noted that all together, the X series had hit the 14 million unit mark. To sum things up, that means that the X/X-2 HD Remaster, across the PC, PS3, PS4, Vita (!), Switch, and Xbox One plat??forms sold roughly 6?.8 million copies in nearly nine years (the remaster collection came out in December of 2013).

It's crazy to see the amount of love this series has gotten since release. When it came out I silently played it while a ton of people I knew skipped it, wrote it off, or played it and didn't like it: take your pick! All of them were some sort of rebuke of Final Fantasy X?? in some form, and I felt like I wa??s the crazy one for enjoying it so much.

Fast forward to 2022 and it has the respect it deserves. Many lists of "top Final Fantasy games" put it near the top, or refer to it as a classic. I guess XIII helped codify that classic status a bit, but I'll take the affirmation that ?I was always right about this game all the same!

The post Final Fantasy X series sales hit over 20 million: it deserves ??it appeared first on Destructoid.

Pro tip: Mines can be used to attack people behind you

This Weekly Kusoge comes courtesy of a request from Destructoid’s favorite child, Wes Tacos. I bring this up to drag out the fact that h??e’s an enabler. When kusoge has reduced me to a bitter husk?? of a human being, the intervention is going to be really awkward. I’ll point to him and shriek, “this is what you wanted, isn’t it!?�before diving out the nearest window and escaping back into the wilderness.

Anyway, I don’t know who Jimmie Johnson is. I thought he maybe made sausages, but then I realized I was just mixing together Jimmy Dean and Joh?nsonville brands. Try getting that association out of your?? head.

Turns out, he’s a NASCAR driver. I am both Canadian and a woman, so my only intersection with NASCAR has been to make the revelatory observation that they’re just driving around in circles. Luckily, Jimmie Johnson’s Anything with an Engine is a cart racer and doesn’t feature many cars of the NAS variety. Unfortunately, the new tracks for Mario Kart 8 just dropped recently ??and I’d much rather be playing that.

I’ve never really strayed far from the Mario Kart games. I think Wacky Wheels is the only other racer I’ve played, and I didn’t expect to make such a deep cut. I’m pretty sure I own various Sonic the Hedgehog racing games about six times each, but I’ve never played them. And yes, Crash Team Racing people, this is when your monocle pops off and falls into yo??ur wine glass because I’ve never touched them.

So, the closest I’ve come to a bad cart racing game is playing Mario Kart Wii with the motion controls on. It seems like its own little neighborhood of kusoge city. I could explore M&M’s Kart Racing or�Ew, there’s a Woody Woodpecker Racing. That sounds like ?the e??mbodiment of everything I stand against.

James Stephanie Sterling, in their Destructoid days, handled the review of it. Their closing argument was that “Few videogames can claim to be 'good in a bad way,' but Anything With An Engine definitely comes close.�While I respect my senpai, I have to disagree. I find very little in Anything with an Engine that I’d actually consider worthwhile.

Let me back up a step and say that I don’t think Anything with an Engine is a bad game, it just underachieves in every way. There were times during a standard race when I was left thinking, “this isn’t too bad,�and then a time trial or endurance race would come around and I’d think, “this is what hell has in store of my putrified soul.�/p>

The tracks are fine. Some of t??hem kind of suck, and because they’re all built as though they’re tracks within a stadium they feel flat, but they’re not?? the worst. I never really gelled with any of the drivers. They’re all just conceptually dumb. There’s a guy who drives a bathtub in an old-fashioned diving suit, but he’s a dope. There’s an incontinent sumo wrestler, and I’m not sure if I’m offended because I’m not a fan of toilet humor or because it’s disparaging sumo wrestlers. I wound up playing as the vampire because she has big tires.

The weapons ar??e similarly fine. They’re mapped to the four face buttons, and each driver has essentially the same ones. They look different, and I think they have different efficacies. However, if you select a new driver, you’re not exactly relearning everything. You gradually build up your armaments by gaining crowd approval, which is a neat syste?m. However, it doesn’t make for the most chaotic of races.

Where the game starts getting intolerable is with the rubber-band AI. I found it amusing that Mr. Johnsonville told me that “every lap counts�in a standard race when you might as well just cruise until the final lap. Opponents stay glued to you, and ??if you f??all behind, you will noticeably rocket back up to the pack. A few well-placed rockets and nitros at the end is all you need.

The worst is when you’re racing Jimmie in the final event of each cup. Anything with an Engine is determined to keep the two ??of you glued together. I wouldn’t even use turbo on the first two laps, because I’d just gain speed automatically as I got further away from the sausage man. I’d save? my rockets, then just make his life miserable for the last lap. Worked every time.

It’s not the mos?t egre??gious rubber-banding I’ve seen in a racing game, but it is a great deal more brazen than it has to be. It might be necessary because the drivers aren’t that aggressive, but I don’t think it needs to be quite so blatant and easily manipulated.

I mostly hate the time trials, which provide you with an ideal track and a chevron instead of a proper ghost. Then there are the endurance races where you accumulate points the better you do during each lap. It’s monotonous. There are matador r??aces where half of your opponents run the track in reverse, but this mostly just?? makes it difficult to tell how close you are to qualifying.

Then there’s the voice acting, which I turned off. They have these announcer people who comment on your racing, and they don’t shut up. Just imagine Mario Kart where Toad’s raspy, chain-smoker voice pipes up to tell you that a mushroom can help you get ahead of the pack. It’s like that. The one dude was very insistent on telling me what mines are for at least twice a lap. I get it, guy. The??y’re good for cleaning people off my tail feathers. They deter tailgaters. I was ampl?y aware of this that past twelve races, maybe cool it on the unsolicited reminders.

Oh, hilariously, there’s an anaglyphic 3D mode. I think there’s a standard 3D-TV mode, as well, but my Playstation TV is in storage, so it was time to dawn my Blockbuster Video branded red and blues. Wow, it sucks. I mean, it doesn’t. It works like it’s supposed to, but I found myself unable to make out small details like rockets in that weird color haze my eyes make when trying to reconcile the two colors they’re seeing. Kind of funny, though. Takes me back to my Rad Racer days.

Like I said, Anything with an Engine isn’t awful, I just don’t know why anyone would play it? unless Wes asked them to. Who is it for? NASCAR fans? Jimmie Johnson is the only NASCAR driver in it (I think). Is there a lot of crossover between NASCAR fans and kart racing fans? I don’t kn??ow.

It’s rare that I feel like I wasted my time playing a game, but this is one of those moments. I have accomplished nothing. I have only learned that Jimmie Johnson doesn’t make sausages. This is time I spent that would have been better put to use on Mario Kart 8’s new tracks. Anything with an Engine? reaches this level of unexcitedly, inoffensively bad that I didn’t know it existed. I’m going to put this back on my shelf and just be apathetic towards it from now on.

For previous Weekly Kusoge, check this link!

The post Anything with an Engine is anything but fun appeared first on Destructoid.

End of an era for one of the greats

Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan has announced that it is ending after-sales support of its legendary console, PlayStation 3. From April 30, 2022, Sony will no longer be able to repair or refurbish any PS3 hardware or ?peripherals sent in by its customers, putting a period on the company's relationship with one of its best-selling consoles.

"Due to the depletion of parts inventory, we will no longer be able to provide after-sales service for the PlayStation3 CECH-4300 series main unit and all PlayStation3 peripherals on April 30, 2022," reads a short statement on Sony Japan's Twitter. "If you are considering applying for this service, please make your request as soon as possible. Please note that repairs may not be possible before the end date due to the exhaustion? of parts."

"We sincerely apologize to cu?stomers who are using this product and thank you for your understanding."

Launched in November 2006 for a notoriously outrageous $599 USD, the PlayStation 3 was a huge step up (from a technical standpoint) from its predecessor, PlayStation 2. The mighty behemoth took its sweet time building a library of compelling releases but �alongside its Microsoft rival Xbox 360 �would eventually be home to hundreds of great games that truly pushed the boundaries of graphical fidelity? and game design. PS3 was also the first games console to support the then-fledgling Blu-ray format.

It can be argued that we are yet to see the same technical leap experienced from PS2 to PS3 in the ensuing generations. While the PS2 is, undeniably, one of the greatest consoles of all time, the PS3 felt like an enormous step up from a tech standpoint �more so than we experienced when moving from PS3 to PS4, or even from PS4 to PS5. PlayStation 3 would also receive multiple physical redesigns, slimming down its ?painfully ginormous original ??form.

While the sales of PlayStation would not surpass those of either of its predecessors or its successors, the console would ultimately rack up over 87 million hardware sales in its lifetime. While the PS3 has been a little old hat for some years, Sony pullin??g the plug on the console's repair service definitely marks something of an era's end.

Regardless, nobody would deny PS3 its place in the a?nnuals of video game history.

The post Sony Japan is ending after-sales s?upport for Play?Station 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Just a heads up if you need some threatening holiday cheer

Holiday stories are sort of a thing in the Batman mythos, and it's one of the aspects that Batman: Arkham Origins got right. Yep, you too can enjoy an Arkham Origins Christmas if you feel like booting it u??p again. It even got a Mr. Freeze DLC!

For those of you who completely blocked this game out of your mind, Arkham Origins has a troubled history for myriad reasons. It's very clear that WB rushed it, as it was plagued with bugs upon release (particularly PC) that weren't prioritized until after paid DLC was released. Oh, and the Wii U DLC ports were canceled after WB sold people the Wii U edition. This was, in part, because Rocksteady (who had handled Asylum and City) did not work on the game: that honor went to WB Games Montréal, who hasn't had a major project since until 2022's Gotham Knights.

With all that out of the way, Arkham Origins is a decent holiday game that takes place on Christmas Eve, and deals with a younger Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith instead of Kevin Conroy) taking down Joker (voiced by Troy Baker instead of Mark Hammill). The cast shift portended the entire feel of the game. It was an "off-brand" Arkham ?in many ways from top to bottom, but it did maintain a lot of the core that people knew and loved, and has been viewed more favorably over time.

If you actually want to play it from scratch, the process is incredibly annoying on consoles. It's not part of the re-release trilogy pack, and does not have a current-gen version. Other than PC, your options are PS3 and Xbox 360: the latter is compatible with Xbox One, but you need the disc.

Just saying: it's an option! There aren't that many Christmas games out there. If you want a better open world comic romp, Miles Morales is fairly recent. Plus, there's always Christmas NiGHTS!

The post Batman: Arkham Origins is flawed, but it’s one of the few Christmas games appeared first on Destructoid.

This kusoge will give you chest pains

I don’t have much stake in the Alien series. I watched Alien, then I watched Aliens, and then I stopped there. Everyone says it gets terrible starting with the third movie, so why ruin what was great? I did the same thing with Robocop and The Godfather. It's great to have the foresight to discard the bad and just enjoy the influential good. I didn’t buy into the hype with Aliens: Colonial Marines.

I don’t even remember if I saw the original “vertical slice�gameplay demo. The edge of my seat was vacant for the full seven years of its development. It just landed, and I got to see the spectacle. The lashing it rec??eived. The dirt that was dug up on it. It was juicy! So let’s relive that.

It’s important to note that I didn’t play Colonial Marines at launch. I’m playing it years after when it’s been patched a whole bunch on PC with fancy things like SSAO. While I’m going to get to the fact that it still ?isn’t super great, its current state probably does have something to do with me not being seriously offended by it.

Colonial Marines is the offensive story of how Alien 3 did happen, but not how it was told in the movie. I guess Sigourney Weaver’s amazing jawline,?? half an android, and a child were ejected into space at some point between movies, but now the Sulaco is back orbiting LV-426 for some reason and it’s emitting a distress signal. The Sephora, packed to the brim with marines, arrives to investigate and f?inds everything infested with xenomorphs.

It’s absolutely stupid. If you want to pull a reset on Alien 3, grab a spine and just retcon it. If you want Dwayne back in your fanfiction, there are ways to do it without insulting our intelligence. Look at The Godfather, then don’t look at The Godfather. Instead, look at Scarface: The World is Yours which needed to tell ?an untellable story, so i??t just did it anyway.

I want to spoil more because the plot just gets more contrived and stupid as it goes on, but I’m sure you’re just itching you play it and want to go in as bli??nd as possible. So, I digress.

The game doesn’t actually start off th?at badly. You’re a marine sent aboard the Sulaco to see what happened to the last marine team that wen??t in. Guess what? Aliens! Apparently, Weyland-Yutani arrived way earlier than your militant ass and got back to doing what they do best: screwing with powers beyond their control.

It starts off suspensefully enough, even though you damn well know what is going on. Your default speed is walking, and you just creep through derelict corridors saying, “Oh! I know this setpiece from Aliens!�You have a motion tracker, which I’d swear was jury-rigged in the first movie ???and wasn’t supposed to be something everyone carries around, and it is useful exactly zero times. Just like in the movie! You’re given a pulse rifle and a bunch of other useless weapons that are not the pulse rifle. It’s time for a bug hunt!

Oh, yeah. You’re s?hackled to this guy named O’Neal who alternates between pointless bravado and constant complainin??g. Enjoy.

Weren’t the Colonial Marines already Weyland-Yutani’s private army? You wind up fighting against the evil corporation’s PMC because apparently, one army isn’t evil enough. It makes sense, every human in the game is as daft as a? freshly mowed lawn. Their attempts at flanking are laughable and their willingness to leave cover to just toddle across the battlefield is always entertaining. Your own teammates are a riot, as well. They don’t care. They’ll stand in the middle of the action and just spray the odd blast of bullets at whatever comes near.

Not that the xenomorph AI is any better. The ??first one you’re introduced to in the game just sat still for me, squatting on the ground. It let me walk right up and shoot it in the back of the head. Not the best first impression.

Really, though, they do their job. ??They crawl on walls and pop out of vents in a way that can make them a bit more difficult to target. They mostly still just mob you, but the bar is set pretty low by the humans.

It’s just so damned underwhelming. The best ideas Colonial Marines has are just wholesale lifted from Aliens. You start on the Sulaco. Then head down to Hadley’s Hope. Again, visit that mummified alien in that old spaceship. Who are you trying to impress, Colonial Marines? I’ve done this before in video games that made more sense, it isn’t new o??r interesting.

While sightseeing, you enjoy some of the drabbest and boring shooting imaginable. The environments all have the same themes: blue-grey corridors, craggy outdoors, more blue-grey corridors. I know that Alien was basically the first to employ these sorts of environments, but I’m going to say the same thing I do about every boring environment: throw down a damned rug. Where’s the coffee st?ation? Where’s the break room? Someone hang a painting of God??-Emperor Weyland.

But the worst sin isn’t even that it’s so damned boring and uninspired; it’s how the publisher and developers acted about Colonial Marines leading to release. Sega got the Alien license and gave it to Gearbox who slacked off on their work to create Borderlands. When that succeeded, they sure weren’t going back to licensed games, so they shunted all the work over to Timegate Studios who had previously done Section 8: Prejudice. Like, all the work was given to them. Gearbox had done practically nothing. So they built this game while getting approval on e?verything from Gearbox and Sega.

Meanwhile?, they had to make a demo for E3 2011. They built it on high-end workstations knowing full well that it would never run on consoles at the?? time. It was a “target�but Randy Pitchford of Gearbox presented it as a “vertical slice�of gameplay. He insisted that it was running in real-time, even though it plainly wasn’t.

Timegate Studios passed their work off to Gearbox to get it to actually work on consoles, and then things get muddy. Gearbox says Timegate handed them a mess and that they had to rescue the project over the next 9 months, Timegate says at least 50% of their work was kept. Sega says Gearbox had breached their contract and spent development money on Borderlands. Gearbox said Randy Pitchford sunk his personal finances in finishing the game. They also said Sega wanted to make the game more like Call of Duty, and that’s why there’s Weyland-Yutani PMCs. Michael Biehn said that everyone on the project was passionless.

That last part is pretty evident in the final?? product. Everything else is just a lot of finger-pointing; accusations of who pooped on the floor. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say: who the most floor poop belongs to.

It would be hilarious, but people bought Colonial Marines, full-priced, expecting they were getting what they were prom?ised. Instead, they got an incredible mess containing publisher overreach, brazen laziness, and lots of?? lying.

Nowadays, the game isn’t super great, but it’s playable. It feels more soulless than maliciously bad. I’m actually more upset that it became so high profile when it mostly just deserves a spot in the sun-bleached bargain bin next to Turok (2008). It sold over a million copies and its widespread notoriety probably hurt the sales of Alien: Isolation, a much better g??ame that the people developing it actually cared about.

So, seriously, screw this blue-grey, boring-ass game about oorah hero marines fighting the bad corporation that owns them. Burying it ??isn’t even enoug?h to wipe away its sins. We need to nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way.

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It's a rather elder scroll at this point

Xbox has fallen into a biweekly routine of letting us know all the imminent-arriving games on Xbox Game Pass. We're due for another one of ?those soon, but we got word about a high-profile game a little early.

During tonight's Game Awards stream, Microsoft announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is coming to Xbox Game Pass on December 15. Great news for anyon?e who somehow doesn't own that game yet. The Bethesda acquisition keeps paying immediate dividends in the form of a more robust Game Pass library.

The post Skyrim joins Xbox Game Pass on December 15 appeared first on Destructoid.

Sawaki Takeyasu and Crim are making it happen

If you never got around to playing the hidden gem El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron on PS3 or Xbox 360, you might have better luck on PC. In a tweet today, the game's director, Sawaki Takeyasu, confirmed that his studio Crim (which acquired the rights in 2013) will bring El Shaddai to Steam.

The PC version is "currently in development," but there isn't much else to share. No date yet. Takeyasu did note that they're planning to have options for English and Japanese voice-overs and text.??"

I think it's fair to say that El Shaddai garnered a mixed response, but it had an unmistakable style and unique premise that drew from the ??Book of Enoch, so it's great to see it live on with a Steam release.

In his original review for Destructoid – an oldie but a goodie – Jonathan Holmes called El Shaddai "constantly unpredictable," citing "heaping loads of surrealism, 2D platforming, sex?y dudes, dance numbers, transforming robots, and giant yellow hot dog people." I missed the boat.

@Sawaki_Takeyasu [Twitter via Gematsu]

The post El Shaddai is getting a better-late-than-nev?er PC port on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

Pay $15 or forever hold your peace

Here's some housekeeping that will probably fall on deaf ears. Any committed Rock Band ;player took care of it long ago. Anyone who hasn't probably won't?? care enough to rush this through in the coming hours.

Alas, here goes anyway: It's the last day to export your Rock Band 3 songs into Rock Band 4/Rivals. The license expires on December 1, 2020.

For those who want make a last-second just-in-the-nick-of-time export, you'll need a copy of Rock Band 3 and $15. Harmonix's systems need to check that you're a "verified purchaser" of Rock Band 3 and then the export costs $15. The process is ou??tlined on this very old blog post. 

You had five years to push this through, but now you only have a few more hours. If this PSA helps anyone out, you're a procrastinator to the max. Get it done now though. Without the export, the only way to play Rock Band 3 games will be inside actual Rock Band 3. Your library deserves better.

On December 1st, the Rock Band 3 Export is expiring. We know it’s a bummer, but you still have time to purchase an export key.
If you have owned and played Rock Band 3 on the same console family or profile and want to export a bunch of rad songs to Rock Band 4 – act soon! pic.twitter.com/dy7Rit1oDx

— Rock Band (@RockBand) September 22, 2020

The post PSA: It’s the last day to export your Rock Band 3 songs appeared first on Destructoid.

I demand Revengeance

A building-high mural, painted in England to celebrate the launch of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, has finally been removed after impressing city visitor?s for seven glorious years.

The painting of Revengeance protagonist Raiden has adorned the side of Aireside House in Leeds since 2013, when artist collective EndoftheLine was commissioned by Konami to create three separate works in Leeds, Liv??erpool, and London to pro?mote the hack 'n' slash spin-off.

While the London and Liverpool murals were repainted years ago, this giant image of Raiden - in the style of the legendary Yoji Shinkawa - has continued to stand tall over the city's streets. That is until recent weeks when, as noted on Twitter by user @kraker2k, the building was finally repainted.

I personally stumbled across this mural quite by accident in 2017, while visiting Leeds for a fighting game tournament. Having decided to walk to the venue rather than take a cab, I wa??s struck in awe upon turning a corner and immediately coming face-to-face, (or face-to-ankle) with the stories-high portrait, which hadn't weathered a day from its creation.

It's sad to see Raiden finally vanish back into the shadows, but congrats to EndoftheLine for creating such an impressive and enduring image. For more information on their work visit the official EndoftheLine website.

Rip to a legendary piece of artwork in leeds

This MGS4 mural has been here since the game launched, got recently painted over. pic.twitter.com/6eDnhR365K

— Kraker (@kraker2k) November 28, 2020

The post Beautiful Metal Gear Rising mural finally removed from UK building ??after seven years appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs Recap: Week 48

-Kerrik52 writes ab?out when he first learned to like M-rated games.

-Julc3 thinks tha??t the proliferation of scalpers means that Sony and Microsoft failed to kick-off the new generation.

-Shoggoth2588 responds to this month's Band of Bloggers prompt regarding emergent gameplay with a focus on Dark Souls II.

-TheLimoMaker reviews Prey (2017) through a dive into his Backlog.

-Snukastyle looks back at the history of the Final Fantasy series.

-Nior continues his Legacy of Kain retrospective with this blog on Soul Reaver 2.

-Rabid Walrus writes about how the job system in Final Fantasy taught him about finding a job in real life.

-EnigmaticRanger discusse??s how frustration can be used as a successful game mechanic??.

-Black Red Gaming continues ranking the games in the Yakuza series with Yakuza 3.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Final Fantasy 7 and some old-time pop.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Super Mario and marching music.

-ChronoLynxx opens yet another TGIF open community forum.

Thanks as always to Lord Spencer for the Cblog Recap and to our community m??embers for their thoughts and feelings on a variety of topics. If you want to see your own opinions included in next week's recap, head over to our Community Blogs and get chattin'

The post Cblogs of 11/21 to 11/27/2020: Soul Reaver, Yakuza, and ?M-Rated games appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs Recap: Week 47

-Julc3 shares his first impressions of the PlayStati??on 5.

-Gamingnerd focuses on a number of forgotten PS3 exclusives.

-Black Red Gaming sees similarities between Trackmania and the sport of Rock Climbing.

-Humantofu looks at the post-Activision Destiny 2 DLC Expansions.

-Shoggoth2588 is in the runoff stage in his Decade? in Review blogging series.

-Gamingnerd think??s you should wait on buying a next-gener??ation console for now.

-Reiley1sCool writes about the dilemma of ethical ??consumption and buying games you like.

-Black Red Gaming does a number of mini-reviews of som??e indie games.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between several David Wise Rare soundtracks and mostly sy??nth-pop music.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of the Illusion of Gaia and mostly synth-pop music.

-ChronoLynxx opens last week's TGIF open-forum blog for communit?y discussion??s.

Thanks as always to Lord Spencer for the Cblog Recap and to our community members for their thoughts and feelings on a variety of topics. If you want to see your own opinions included in next week's recap, head over?? to our Community Blogs and get chattin'

The post Cblogs of 11/14 to 11/29/2020: Destiny 2, Illusion of Gaia, and h??olding off on next-gen appeared first on Destructoid.

But how is he at snapping necks?

It has been the rockiest, rockiest road to fruition for Sony's cinematic adaptation of Naughty Dog adventure Uncharted. But, following a string of pre-production hurdles and COVID-19 delays, we finally have our first image of the silver sc??reen's Nathan Drake.

Actor Tom Holland, best k?nown for his work as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, can be se??en looking dashing and daring whilst parked within some suitably tropical terrain. Holland will play a young version of the treasure hunter, with the movie telling the store of Drake's formative years in adventuring. Mark Wahlberg is on-board as Drake's tutor and father figure, Sully, while Antonio Banderas is also on the cast sheet in an unannounced role, suspected to be the villain of the piece.

The internet will internet, and already Holland-as-Drake has received disapproving clucks from a lot of folk. For whatever it's worth, I dig the look, considering that this is, after all, supposed to be a young Drake who has not yet committed to a life of cliff-climbing and mercenary murder. Holland was also visited on-set by Nathan Drake's original voice an??d motion-capture artist, Nolan North, who hopefully offered the star a few pointers on getting the "lovable rogue" gimmick d??own.

We'll see Holland and friends in action when Uncharted finally hits theaters in summer 2021.

It’s nice to meet you, I’m Nate. #uncharted pic.twitter.com/v79Mvy26iH

— Tom Holland (@TomHolland1996) October 22, 2020

The post Check out Tom Holland as Uncharted h?ero Nathan Drake appeared first on Destructoid.

To buy legacy games, you'll need to break out your old systems

Sony is about to make a frustrating change to the PlayStation Store that's going to hit desktop and mobile users the hardest. Soon, it will no longer be possible to buy PS3, PSP, or Vita games (or their DLC) from the PlayStation Store if you're browsing on? a web browser or mobile device. That restricted access also goes for apps, themes, and avatars –?? and the wishlist feature is being "discontinued" too.

What's th?e deal? Sony is cleaning house for the?? fast-approaching PlayStation 5.

The company sent out an ema??il to PlayStation users yesterday with details a?bout these (previously rumored) PlayStation Store changes and when they will take effect. On desktop, the switchover will happen sometime next week. On mobile devices, the removal is happening on October 28, 2020.

Under the new setup, if you want to buy a PlayStation 3, PSP, or PS Vita game, you'll need to do so on your original system using its less-than-ideal storefront. (One of the big reasons why this change is such an annoyance.) If you want to get PS4 apps, ??themes, or avatars, yo?u'll need to use your PS4.

To be clear, your purchases aren't being revoked – "you will still be able to access all your previously purchased PS3, PSP, or PS Vita conte??nt as before," accordin?g to Sony. The issue is ease of access.

As for the web-based wishlist feature going away, I don't get it. That's just irr?itating. If you've got a bunch of potential games stockpiled for a rainy day, it's time to take notes and plan accordingly.

D??iscontinued PlayStation Apps, Features and Service?s [PlayStation Support]

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Kojima weeps gently

It pains me to report that, no, all Metal Gear Solid V players did not cast aside their nuclear arms in pursuit of world pea?ce. We have been hoodwinked, ba??mboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat-out deceived.

Earlier this summer, the PS3 version of Metal Gear Solid V finally realized Hideo Kojima's ultimate goal as every player disarmed their nukes and world peace was achieved. It was peace on a smaller scale because PS3 doesn't have the player count of PC or PS4, but it's a start. For every nuke to be disarmed is a feat no matter ?the platform.

Konami had to rain on our parade. As Kotaku reports, Konami confirmed that the "All nukes destroyed" cuts??cene was triggered because of a trickster:

<About the Nuke Disarmament Event for PS3 (1/3) >
The nuke disarmament event which took place July 28 2020 ?(JST) was not caused because the disarmament was achieved.

— METAL GEAR OFFICIAL (@Metalgear) October 13, 2020

<About the Nuke Disarmament Event for PS3 (3/3) >
We apologize for an?y inconvenience this may have caused for our players. We will announce again if additional m??easures are taken.

— METAL GEAR OFFICIAL (@Metalgear) October 13, 2020

The Banksy of video game hackers has been caught and banned. Gandhi -- the one in Civ, not the real one -- would be? beaming with pride. We've achieved nothi?ng.

It's not like 2020 is overflowing with feel-good stories. Konami, couldn't you just let us have this one? Ignorance is bliss, what you don't know can't hurt you, etc. Never, not even for just a few short minutes, have Metal Gear Solid V players lived in peaceful?? harmony. It'll almost certainly stay that way forever.

Actually,&?nbsp;Metal Gear Solid V Players Didn't Destroy Every Nuke?? In The PS3 Version, Konami Now Says [Kotaku]

The post World peace was a farce appeared first on Destructoid.

Warhawking once again

Where there's a will, there's a way. The hea?rt wants what the heart wants. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Those vague expressions could apply to many things, but right now they apply to Warhawk. Sony took the Warhawk servers offline in January 2019. However, game preservation group PlayStation Online Network Emulated got it back up and running recently. You can play Warhawk on your PS3 today if you want.

It'll take a little finagling but it's not bad. You'll need to change the DNS settings on your PS3 and then you should be good to go.?? The video that's embedded above walks you through ??the steps.

Warhawk isn't PSONE's first undertaking. This group has also gotten SOCOM: Confrontation, Twisted Metal: Black Online, and Wipeout unofficially online. ??It's kind of what they do.

So, that old Warhawk ;disc suddenly has some use a?gain. 2020 keeps throwin' curv?eballs.

Warhawk [PSONE]

The post The Warhawk community has rescued it from the dead and brought it?? back online appeared first on Destructoid.

Let them show you the way

Do you have any toys or figurines that keep you on the straight and narrow? I not only have an Isabelle amiibo on my desk, but I also have great figures of Persona 5's jailers, Justine? and Caroline, all of whose stern faces and ??working spirit keep me from wandering away from the PC to take my 19th lunch break of the morning.

But perhaps the most inspiring figurine on the market is this delightful example, fresh from merchandising giants Good Smile. "The Traveler" is the nameless protagonist of thatgamecompany's 2012 classic Journey, and is ready to trek their way onto a bookshelf ne?ar you soon, where they will no doubt inspire you as you continue on your own life-quest.

Standing just in seven inches in height, The Traveler is the latest release in Good Smile's "Pop Up Parade" range, which also includes other gaming and anime icons such as Persona 5's Joker, RWBY's Ruby Rose, and Vocaloid's Hatsune Miku. The Traveler does not feature any accessories or articula??tion, but is beautifully styled and retails for a reasonable ¥3,454, or roughly $31 USD.

If you fancy a traveler of your very own, then they are available to pre-order now from the Good Smile website and other online retailers. The Trav?eler is expected t??o ship in January 2021.

The post Good Smile’s Journey figurine could become your new life coach appeared first on Destructoid.

Legacy support is lacking outside of PS4 games

[Update: Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has confirmed that PS5 wo?n't natively support PS3, PS2, or PS1 games through back?ward compatibility. We'll see about digital re-releases, though.]

Don't pack up your original PlayStation 3 just yet if you're invested in PS3 games or backward compatibility with PS1 and PS2. If anything, superglue that sucker in place – it's not going anywhere.

While Sony hasn't divulged the full details on how extensive backward compatibility will be on PlayStation 5, reading the room, it's looking like support for the "overwhelming majority" of PS4 games is our best bet on the new console and everything else – PS1, PS2, and PS3 – is wishful thinking.

While this isn't the be-all and end-all on the subject (and it sure would be nice to have clarity from Sony), according to a Ubisoft support page, backward compatibility "will be available for supported PlayStation 4 title?s, but will not be possible for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or Pl?ayStation games."

[Update: After widespread circulation, U?bisoft removed that sentence from the support page.]

The meaning behind that wording could be interpreted in a few different ways, so for comparison's sake, it's worth looking at the equivalent support page for Xbox Series X. As Ubisoft puts it, backward comp??atibility "will be available f??or supported Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox titles" on Xbox Series X.

It's a stark contrast. I get that BC support isn't a priority for Sony and many players, but for those of us who do care about it &ndash; enough to dig up a Ubisoft support ??page for details – it's such a big deal.

Mentally, I'm at the point where I? just hope all of my PS4 games work on PS5. The bar is that low.

Transitioning PlayStation 4 titles to next-gen ver??s?ions [Ubisoft via @Nibellion]

The post ?PS5 is skipping backward compatibility for PS1, PS2, and PS3, according to Ubisoft appeared first on Destructoid.

Breath of Fire

Netflix has released the debut trailer for its upcoming anime adaptation of Capcom's celebrated series, Dragon's Dogma, which will premiere on the s??treaming service from September 17.

Dragon's Dogma will tell the story of warrior Ethan, whose heart was stolen in battle by a fearsome dragon, leaving him to wander the world as an "Arisen," living in a perpetual limbo state between life and death. Ethan, along with comrade Hannah and other allies, must battle an army of vicious dragons - representing the Seven Deadly Sins - if he i??s to confront his nemes??is and find his eternal peace.

The exciting two-minute preview gives fans their first opportunity to see the dramatic and grim tale of the fantasy adventure franchise brought to life, courtesy of sharp CG visuals from Japanese studio Sublimation. From these early clips, I think Dragon's Dogma looks really promising. Here's hoping it lives up to fans' expectations on release. Better yet, here's hoping it stokes the fire in Capcom to develop a new video game entry in this long-dormant series.

Dragon's Dogma premieres on Netflix September 17.

The post Dragon’s Dogma anime looking slick in its debut trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

'I should watch something...'

If you enjoyed Atlus' blockbuster JRPG Persona 5 and thought "Y'know, I'd love to see this exact same story again, but told really breathlessly and not quite as well," then you're in luck, as Persona 5 the Animation joins the Funimation streaming service today.

All 26 episodes of the 2018 anim??e are available to watch via Funimation, along with the "Dark Sun" and "Stars and Ours" special episodes. Viewers in North America and Canada can check ??out the entire series with a choice of both its original Japanese or new English dub. The latter sees the original cast of the video game stepping back into their respective roles as Joker, Ryuji, Haru, Morgana and Lady Ann, et al.

Persona 5 tells the story of a young student who is sent to Shujin Academy in Tokyo as par??t of his probation following a self-defence altercation. Under the care of cafe owner Sojiro Sakura, our protagonist soon falls in with a group of equally troubled students, each denied justice in one way or another. Upon learning of a strange alternate universe, where one can "steal the hearts" of the callous and cruel, the friends form an outlaw group known ??as The Phantom Thieves, determined to correct the course of those who prey on the innocent and helpless.

Persona 5 the Animation condenses the video game's mammoth storyline into around 30 episodes, and is not particularly successful in doing so, biting off a little more narrative than it can chew for its running time. Still, it's worth checking out for Persona 5 fans, and at least this new Funimation stream will cost you a durn sight less than the shockingly priced Blu-ray set.

Persona 5 Royal is available now on PS4.

Persona 5 the Animation streaming on Funimation [Siliconera]

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It was buried digitally in 2014

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is kind of legendary.

Not only was it one of the best beat 'em ups of the past decade (I mean, it even kicked off the last decade as it was released in 2010, so ??that's saying something), but it was also l?egendary for being de-listed and lost to the ether of the PSN and Xbox Live Arcade forever.

You see, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was never released physically. So once it was pulled in 2014, it was gone. For years, Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley (who was heavily involved with the design of the game alongside of Ubisoft Montr??eal) has been trying to bring it back,? and it seems like he may have finally had a stroke of good luck.

His latest plea, which was back in May, has seemingly been heard: as Ubisoft has "reached out" to O'Malley, based on ??his own account this week. There are a lot of rights issues to be worked out, but if Ubisoft is up for it and O'Malley and company (Unive??rsal Pictures has been implicated as a gatekeeper for this deal in the past) can come to terms, we could see a re-release at some point in the future. Give us a physical version this time, Limited Run!

It's wild to think that I was covering this game over seven years ago. Time flies!

Bryan Lee O'Malley [Twitter] [Thanks John!]

The post The dead Scott Pil??grim vs. the World game could come back, as Ubisoft has contacted the creator of the series appeared first on Destructoid.

Expendable

A light-gun shooter without the light-gun; a cover shooter without cover; a first-person QTE simulator; an awful life experience - Rambo: The Video Game is all of these things and more. Teyon's infamously bad 2014 release attempts to authentically recreate the first three?? films in Sylvester Stallone's so-so action series, bu??t instead I was left feeling like I'd spent the day covered in leeches while dangling chest-high in a shitty bog.

A bizarre mish-mash of incomplete gameplay styles, Rambo: The Video Game is a rail-shooter first and foremost, but bravely attempts to add depth through awkward, cumbersome, and mostly superfluous mechanics. These include a shoddy cover system, a largely irrelevant weapon selection, an incongruous skill tree, and copious amounts of insta-death quick-time events... I?'?ve pushed more cops over more office desks lately.

Here's Co?? Bao on a riverboat... Look how?? they massacred my girl...

Contributing to this chaos are repetitive character models, fuzzy voice samples ripped straight from the movies, and a bizarre framing device in which Col. Trautman basically eulogises Rambo through what must be a seven-hour long funeral service. By the time the credits rolled, my arms were aching, as if my brain was sending pain impulses to my fingers to discourage further interaction. Regardless, it's still a more authentic Rambo experience than Last Blood.

I pushed it. And it gave me a war I couldn't believe. ??I'll never get that £1 (inc. shipping) back.

While I drown out the death screams of a thousand soldiers, (or, more accurately, the same three soldiers over and over again), let's hear how you? spent your week when it comes to all matters gaming. You know how this works, just drop us a message below and fill both us and our beloved community in on the digital escapades that have been keeping you cheery.

Have a safe and pleasant week?end, from all of us at Destructoid.

The post Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid? appeared first on Destructoid.

Peace on Earth

Hideo Kojima built a nearly impossible global win condition of sorts into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Achieve nuclear armistice by every single player getting rid of their nukes. It's a cute thought, but there's no way everyone would band together for the greater good.

PlayStation 3 managed this monumental feat. Every nuke on PS3 was disarmed. There was likely a dedicated group of anti-nuke ?activists launching incu?rsions on other players' Mother Bases, slowly chipping away at the WMD count. And, because PS3 surely has a tiny user base at this point, those raids were probably mostly against inactive players. Regardless, Kojima's dream came true.

Here's the cutscene that triggered when the Cold?? War finally ended:

The data shows that this effort was well-coordinated and swift. This site tracks nuke numbers across PC, PS3, and PS4. The second graph shows PS3's nukes over time. As o??f early July, there were more than 800 nukes. Then the numbers fall off a cliff?. Some part of the community seemingly came together to make peace a reality.

Of course, this utopian pipedream didn't last long. Players immediately built more nukes.? As of right now, the tracker says there are 48 nukes on PS3 (although the data doesn't seem to be perfect). It's easy to imagine Kojima with a contented smile after reaching zero...and then throwing his arms up in exasperation when the nuclear standoff started right back up.

It's a much more dire situation on PC and PS4. They have about 19,000 and 2,500 nukes, ??respectively. There's something t?o be said about human nature and how peace at the global level just isn't possible. Maybe once everyone moves to a new planet, we can finally get rid of all the nukes on Earth.

M??etal Gear Solid 5's seemingly impossible nuclear disarmament condition has been ac?hieved [PC Gamer]

The post Metal Gear Solid V’s Cold War finally ended (and then some players immediately built more nukes) appeared first on Destructoid.

Shepard.

While things have been very quiet on the Mass Effect front as of late, fans will be pleased to hear that publisher Dark Horse has opened pre-orders on a surprise release in its range of video game tomes: The Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition.

As spotted by Eurogamer, this new coffee-table tome is a bumper edition of the original art book released by Dark Horse back in 2012 and will boast 272 pages crammed full of sketches, design concept, speed-paintings, and portraits o??f t??he characters and locations that made BioWare's holy trinity such a memorable and indelible RPG experience.

The Expanded Edition will feature all of the art from the original release, but will also include new chapters featuring latter-day DLC expansions such as ME 2's Lair of the Shadow Broker and ME 3's amusing Citadel. I'm a big fan of the original release - currently staring at me from my bookshelf as we speak - and I'm definitely in the market for a revision. Penguin House currently has listed a release? date of February 23, 2021.

Now... about that trilogy remaster...

Art of the Mass E?ffect Trilogy: Expanded Edition book pops-up for pre-order [Eurogamer]

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Or at least Spider-Man says so

Several years and seven directors later, it appears that shooting has actually, really, finally begun on Sony's big-screen adaptation of Naughty Dog's popular adventure series Uncharted.

Originally conceived way back in 2009, pre-production woes have plagued the Uncharted movie at every turn. Clashing schedules, casting issues, a revolving door of directors, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have all hindered the process to get the Nathan Drake's story up on the? silver screen,?? but the Instagram account of star Tom Holland suggests that the players are on set and that cameras are now rolling.

The Spider-Man star posted a simple image of his "set seat," emblazoned with the word "Nate." The 24-year-old actor has been cast as the death-defying adventurer, in a story that will tell of Drake's formative years, learning the art of tomb raiding under the watchful eye of mentor Sully (Mark Wahlberg). Also set to star are Tati Gabrielle as Elena Fisher, Sophia Ali as Chloe Fazer, and superstar Antonio Banderas in an unannounced role, expected to be the film's antagonist. Zombieland: Double Tap producer Ruben Flei?scher is cemented in the director's chair, probably literally at this point.

Uncharted is now tentativ?ely sch?eduled for release in July 2021.

Seven directors later, Uncharted has finally starte??d filming [Eurogamer]

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Those cowards should've killed Carmine

Here's a fun what-if scenario for your Tuesday afternoon: What if Gears of War, one of Xbox's flagship franchises, made ??it over to PlayStation?

We may have an example of what that looks like. YouTuber Proto (who, appropriately, specializes in videos of game prototypes) uploaded an early build of Gears of War 3 running on a?? PlayStation 3. It's a? full playthrough -- complete with lots of dev text, a frame counter, and myriad bugs and glitches.

Proto claims that this build was a part of the 2011 Gears 3 source code leak. They say it was precompiled in that leak but not functional, and that it has gone unplayable for so long "due to how difficult it is to make it work." Also, this is said to be running on a PS3 dev kit, which has extra RAM available that's necessary to play the build. To strengthen its case, Proto released another video where they launch Gears 3 from the PS3 XMB.

For what it's worth Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski tweeted "99% sure this is fake," but added that Epic founder Tim Sweeney would know for sure. Gears 3 was published by Microsoft Studios as an Xbox exclusive, but Epic owned the rights to the Gears property. It's possible that the exclusivity would eventually end and Epic planned on shopping the game on different platforms. Microsoft ended up buying Gears in early 2014.

So, is ?this real? I legitimately have no idea, and I'm not going to pretend I have the technical chops to lean one way or the other. But it's fun to think about.

The post Is this Gears of War 3 running on a PS3? appeared first on Destructoid.

'I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers'

[Update: The Mafia Twitter account has dropped a second teaser today, simply tweeting out t?he word "Power." At this rate, it seems? 2K Games will be showing its hand very soon.]

The official Twitter account for Mafia has sprung back to life?? after two years of dormancy, ad??ding further fuel to the fire that 2K Games has incoming announcements regarding the open-word crime sim series.

Yesterday, after two years of silence, @mafiagame tweeted out a single word: "Family", probably suggesting something altogether more sinister than your average Mother's Day blessing. There has been a flurry of whispers and rumours regarding the Mafia series recently, with "Definitive Editions" of both Mafia 2 and Mafia 3 showing up on Taiwan's video game ratings board. This is not to mention the long-time whisper that Mafia 2 i?s in consideration to receive the remake/remaster treatment.

Whatever 2K Games has up its sleeve, the reactivation of the Twitter account would suggest we'll be hearing some more concrete (shoes) news real soon. Until then, keep your eyes o??pe??n and your mouth shut, because you got a beautiful restaurant here, Capiche?

Mafia Twitter accoun??t active after two years of ??silence [Twitter via VG247]

Family.

— Mafia Game (@mafiagame) May 10, 2020

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Troubled adaptation scheduled sooner than expected

In a move I don't think anybody saw coming, Sony has announced that its big-screen adaptation of Naughty Dog's Uncharted will now arrive ahead of schedule, having had its release date pulled ?forward from November? 2021 to July 2021.

This will no doubt come as a surprise to regular readers who will be aware of the trials and tribulations the project has gone through en route to theatres. Having been re-written, re-cast, and re-scheduled multiple times, all while passing through the hands of no less than seven directors, Sony has co??nsistently struggled to get the project out of the starting blocks.

In fact, according to star Tom Holland, shooting was shut down on day one due to concerns pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no discernable end in sight to the global health crisis, it seems that Sony's decision to pull the troubled movie forward simply has to be a matter of penciled scheduling,?? rather than a fu?ll ink committal. Nathan Drake can't catch a break.

Uncharted is scheduled to launch in?? theatres worldwi??de July 2021.

?Uncharted movie release date pushed up to July 2021 [IGN]

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Winds of change

Journey st??ill has some gas in the tank. Eight years after it first launched on PlayStation 3, it's coming to the world's most popular PC games distributor.

Earlier today, Journey got a Steam store page. This masterpiece from thatgamecompany is set to land on Steam on June 11, 2020. That's just a bit more than a year after Journey first re??leased on PC via the Epic G?ames Store. The main draw for the PC version is 4K resolution support.

It remains to be seen whether the Steam release replicates Epic's pricing strategy. When Journey first hit Epic, it was priced at $5. That's a $10 launch discount off the normal tag of $15. The Steam version isn't yet available to buy; it can ?only be wishlisted.

Regardless, Journey stands as one of the most resolute and timeless of indie g?ames from the last decade. Now, even more people will have the opportunity to experience it.

Journey [Steam]

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