Jumat, 27 April 2018

Shadow of the Tomb Raider release date, news and trailers

[Update: Shadow of the Tomb Raider has now been revealed to the world. Check out our hands-on with the first hour of the game and read on for the brand new trailer and more details about what to expect in the last game in the trilogy.]

After plenty of leaks, we now know from Square Enix itself that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is indeed the name of the next Tomb Raider title and that it'll be released on September 14 2018. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider marks the end of Lara's Origin story, with Square Enix calling it a "climactic finale" and "the end of the beginning". Of course, this doesn't mean the end of Tomb Raider entirely, but we imagine the next time we see Lara she'll be an older and more mature character.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The sequel to Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • When it is out?September 14 2018
  • What can I play it on? PC, Xbox One and PS4

Release date

We now know that Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be released on September 14 2018 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

A reveal event for the game will take place on April 27 where we'll have the chance to see in-game footage.

Trailer

The latest trailer for the game was unveiled during the global reveal on April 27 and you can watch it for yourself below. Dark and gritty, it shows a Lara that has a lot on her shoulders and a great deal to prove.

The very first teaser trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider was revealed on March 15. It's a collection of quick shots but we can see Lara in a mountainous environment with plenty of ancient pyramids (Mayan by the looks of it). Sounds like Tomb Raider to us. 

News and rumors

The global reveal

After the game's official announcement, fans have been awaiting more information on Shadow of the Tomb Raider which came in abundance during the game's April 27 global reveal. A new trailer, brand new screenshots, and hands-on write ups all came together to paint an altogether clearer picture of what Lara's next adventure will bring.

What will it be about?

Shadow of the Tomb Raider will take Lara and her fight against the evil Trinity organisation to South America. Here she's racing against time to save the world from a Maya apocalypse.

It's an apt area of ancient history to explore for the final game in the trilogy.  

The Mayas were able to accurately predict solar eclipses hundreds of years in advance and the Dresden Codex shows this. According to Susan Milbrath, the curator of Latin American art and archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, groups of indigenous Mayas associated eclipses with end times and destruction. 

The Ch’orti’, she reported in an article in the New York Times, believed “an eclipse of the sun that lasts more than a day will bring the end of the world, and the spirits of the dead will come to life and eat those on earth.”  The Lacandón, on the other hand,  thought that during an eclipse the Earth would split and that jaguars would emerge “and eat most of the people.”

The first stage of the apocalypse in the actual game is a tsunami which washes away an entire town. We're not sure where things go from there but if that's stage one we imagine it isn't good.

All of this ties in very well to a finale for Lara's journey. An eclipse means the end of an age and the beginning of a new one. It'll be interesting to see how this will all come together. 

The title implies a darker take on Lara’s journey so far, but the games have already been pretty dark, with supernatural goings-on, Lara’s struggle to become the confident raider of tombs we all know and love, and her troubled family history.  

This time around, we're seeing Lara face up to some personal demons. She's stronger and more grizzled as a result of her previous adventures but she also has moments of selfishness and petulance which have been exacerbated by her periods of isolation. 

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider we'll see Lara face up to the fact that her actions and her fight against Trinity is about more than herself and the lives of innocent people are on the line. The outcome of the game and Lara's final decision will undoubtedly have a massive impact on her character and any future games in the franchise.

Writer Rhianna Pratchett has recently said she'd like to tackle an older and more grizzled Lara, perhaps we'll see a set up for that in the end of this series. 

What's the gameplay like?

Anyone who's played previous Tomb Raider games will be familiar with what's on offer here. There's a mix of combat, stealth and puzzle solving involved as well as some tense moments that depend on button mashing for survival. 

The environment you're in will change your gameplay. In enemy infested areas in the jungle, Lara will use her surroundings to hide herself and stealthily take enemies out. When they're down to a manageable number she'll have the option to leap out of cover and start a shoot out.

Outside of this, there are exploration elements which involve climbing using a pick axe and rappelling down mountains.

Once in tombs, Lara is working against her environment rather than using it to her advantage. Here the game's puzzle solving elements come into play. Though the game isn't open world, Lara will have to look around her full environment and solve puzzles to move onto the next stage. There are also a myriad of times where Lara's exploration will take her underwater and it's here that time is of the essence. 

The official announcement

After leaks and promises aplenty, the official confirmation that Lara's 2018 adventure would be called Shadow of the Tomb Raider took place on March 15. The game's official website opened up to show the official release date as September 14 alongside a trailer.

It was also confirmed that the game wll be coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC on the same date. So no timed exclusives.

More information on the game will come on its official reveal event which will take place at several locations around the world on April 27. Pre-orders will also open on this date.

The leaks

The title, and other snippets of information about Shadow of the Tomb Raider were leaked in November last year when an eagle-eyed Reddit user saw someone - presumably an employee of Square Enix Montreal, Eidos Montreal or someone from Crystal Dynamics on a work trip - open their laptop to have a look at a Tomb Raider slideshow presentation. The title on the slide, “Shadow of the Tomb Raider”, is now known to be the name of the game.

  • We expect Lara will be a presence at E3 2018

April 27, 2018 at 09:11PM
Kate Gray,Emma Boyle

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: hands-on with Lara's next adventure

Gaming has shed its geeky image to become a ‘cool’ hobby

A new survey on gaming carried out by Dell (the firm which makes Alienware machines) has found that the pastime is no longer the domain of geeks, and is now considered to be a ‘cool’ pursuit – and one that can develop useful real-life skills.

Gone are the days when the gamer was typically considered to be a loner teenager locked in his or her bedroom, and the very label ‘gamer’ was tied closely to the concept of geekery.

The global survey (which encompassed nearly 6,000 videogame players across 11 countries) showed that gamers are now your co-workers, siblings or friends, and that fewer than 10% of respondents felt embarrassed, judged or guilty of some childish crime to be called a ‘gamer’.

Indeed, gamer is now considered a positive term, with 35% of respondents equating it to ‘fun’, 29% considering it to be ‘cool’ in terms of a hobby, and 26% labelling it ‘exciting’.

The popularity of esports and social media is helping to spread the word about how enjoyable gaming can be, and gamers are now less shy about sharing their passion with others, with a quarter of respondents having introduced five or more people to the hobby.

Developing diversity

Diversity is also becoming a stronger suit for gamers, with the research pointing to a sharp increase in the numbers of female players in recent times – 47% of respondents had a female friend who games.

And, 86% of those surveyed said the gender of those who they were matched up against in online play was of no consequence (you may well expect this to be higher, of course, but let’s face it, there’s always a toxic element when it comes to online gaming).

When it came to online match-ups, the principal concern was the opponent’s skill level, with 40% of respondents saying this was important. The ethnicity, political views and sexual orientation of opponents were inconsequential to most folks, as you would hope, only being a concern to 8%, 7% and 6% respectively (the toxic minority strikes again).

Another interesting point is that gaming isn’t just regarded as fun, but also a way of honing skills, with 37% believing it improved their hand-eye coordination, and 36% thinking it made their reaction times better.

Gaming isn’t just about reactions and twitch skills, though, and can also sharpen the mind. In fact, the largest percentage – 39% – said it made them more strategic thinkers, and 27% said it enhanced their teamwork skills.


April 27, 2018 at 06:16PM
Darren Allan

Gaming has shed its geeky image to become a ‘cool’ hobby

A new survey on gaming carried out by Dell (the firm which makes Alienware machines) has found that the pastime is no longer the domain of geeks, and is now considered to be a ‘cool’ pursuit – and one that can develop useful real-life skills.

Gone are the days when the gamer was typically considered to be a loner teenager locked in his or her bedroom, and the very label ‘gamer’ was tied closely to the concept of geekery.

The global survey (which encompassed nearly 6,000 videogame players across 11 countries) showed that gamers are now your co-workers, siblings or friends, and that fewer than 10% of respondents felt embarrassed, judged or guilty of some childish crime to be called a ‘gamer’.

Indeed, gamer is now considered a positive term, with 35% of respondents equating it to ‘fun’, 29% considering it to be ‘cool’ in terms of a hobby, and 26% labelling it ‘exciting’.

The popularity of esports and social media is helping to spread the word about how enjoyable gaming can be, and gamers are now less shy about sharing their passion with others, with a quarter of respondents having introduced five or more people to the hobby.

Developing diversity

Diversity is also becoming a stronger suit for gamers, with the research pointing to a sharp increase in the numbers of female players in recent times – 47% of respondents had a female friend who games.

And, 86% of those surveyed said the gender of those who they were matched up against in online play was of no consequence (you may well expect this to be higher, of course, but let’s face it, there’s always a toxic element when it comes to online gaming).

When it came to online match-ups, the principal concern was the opponent’s skill level, with 40% of respondents saying this was important. The ethnicity, political views and sexual orientation of opponents were inconsequential to most folks, as you would hope, only being a concern to 8%, 7% and 6% respectively (the toxic minority strikes again).

Another interesting point is that gaming isn’t just regarded as fun, but also a way of honing skills, with 37% believing it improved their hand-eye coordination, and 36% thinking it made their reaction times better.

Gaming isn’t just about reactions and twitch skills, though, and can also sharpen the mind. In fact, the largest percentage – 39% – said it made them more strategic thinkers, and 27% said it enhanced their teamwork skills.


April 27, 2018 at 06:16PM
Darren Allan

10 things we learned from the Detroit: Become Human demo

It’s been four and a half years since Quantic Dream and studio head David Cage last brought us one their unique interactive stories. It doesn't seem like such a long time, but it's long enough that their upcoming game, Detroit: Become Human, marks the first title the studio has built for PS4. 

This new semi-futuristic tale - set in a world where life has been transformed by the integration of lifelike and subservient androids - boasts many of the hallmarks you’d expect from the developer that brought you Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. But it also features some welcome changes that the consequence-based gameplay was sorely in need of. 

We’ve spent plenty of time with the newly-released ‘The Hostage’ demo, and we’ve come out the other side with ten things you need to know before the full game arrives on 25 May. Do be aware - there are spoilers for both the demo and the game below. 

It's one of the most accomplished-looking titles on PS4

Quantic Dream built a brand new engine for Detroit, which seems rather fitting considering the entire game is based off a PS3 tech demo first shown off in 2012. Advances in motion capture and a long development cycle have culminated in a genuinely captivating experience. 

Running on PS4 Pro, Detroit looks remarkable in 4K (you’ll never be able to look at Heavy Rain’s awkward ‘sex’ scenes again, if you wanted to that is), and it even looks mightily impressive on a vanilla PS4. It might not offer the same sense of agency as God of War or Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, but it gives both a run for their money in the looks department.

You'll play as three different androids

Following a narrative path similar to that of 2010’s Heavy Rain, Detroit will split its story of androids questioning their place in society into three distinct storylines, though you only get to experience one of them during the demo.  

You’ll play as Marcus, an artificial caretaker tending to a painter who believes all androids should be free; Kara, a robotic housekeeper faced with an abusive father; and Connor, a highly advanced negotiator tasked with tracking down rogue AI. 

So yes, it’s obvious David Cage has been watching a lot of Blade Runner, but the opening chapter that serves as a demo still manages to capture how small decisions can often have big impacts on the story to come.

Connor can analyse crime scenes with Sherlock-style skills

Connor is the star of the show in the Detroit demo and he offers a gameplay style that’s highly individual and different to those of fellow protagonists Kara and Marcus. 

As an advanced model, he has the power to rapidly analyse his surroundings, taking in multiple clues and details when he enters a crime scene. Each clue or detail will offer new dialogue choices, potentially opening up new branching paths in the story. 

Inspecting, exploring and indulging your curiosity is key to playing as Connor as when he eventually enters the rooftop and is faced with a frantic android brandishing a gun to the head of a young girl at the climax of the demo, he’ll need as much evidence for making his choices as possible.

Major characters can die at any time (and the story will unfold without them)

Consequence has become a favored mechanic for many a developer, but putting the lives of main characters on the line with permadeath? That’s new, even for David Cage. 

The Hostage demo can be played out with a variety of endings, one of which involves negotiator Connor sacrificing his own ‘life’ in order to protect the life of the little girl caught up. We’re a little cautious about how permanent such a decision is to the wider story - there’s every chance Conor could be revived, he is an android after all. But it’s an intriguing dimension if treated with actual reverence, and one that will make your decisions all the more vital.

Higher difficulties mean greater risks

Quantic Dream’s games have never been known for their intricate control schemes and Detroit: Become Human won’t be breaking that tradition. But the simplicity of moving one of its three characters around the screen also comes with added risks - namely an increased chance of negative outcomes. 

The higher the difficulty you choose (Casual and Experienced are the two available in the demo), the shorter the amount of time you have to assess a situation and make your choice. Considering a single dialogue choice or a missed environmental clue can potentially condemn a character to death, it’s a risky scenario that could either be invigorating or consistently irritating.

There is no right or wrong

Many of Detroit: Become Human’s scenarios will provide you with a success rate, a percentage that increases and decreases depending on the environmental clues you’ve collected, dialogue choices you’ve made and decisions you’ve elected to make from previous episodes (some of which will lock out potential narrative avenues completely). 

As you might expect, very few of these decisions or endings are truly ‘right’, with most of its avenues sitting in a grey area that requires you to decide which choice hurts the least. Even making the right choices in The Hostage demo will likely end up killing someone. Expect plenty of guilt.

Connor can recreate crime scenes, Batman-style

Connor, being a negotiator for the police, comes with a few enhanced abilities not found with his fellow protagonists. Examining and scanning clues won’t just net new dialogue choices or narrative paths, it will also provide the ability to recreate a simulation of past events. Think the memory manipulation of Remember Me mixed with the deductive aspect of Batman’s Detective mode in the Arkham series. 

You’ll use ‘triangle’ to pick out key points of interest, and when you’ve collected them all you can use ‘L2’ and ‘R2’ to replay the memory. Moving the camera will potentially reveal new clues, adding extra threads to your investigation.

You can track your story progress at any time

If you’ve played any of Quantic Dream’s other games, you’ll know it was often a challenge to know how well you had or hadn’t done from one scene to another. Cage has revealed that this has been a long-term issue for the studio, so in order to give you more agency throughout the story, there's a new ‘Flowchart’ which you access at any time from the pause menu. 

Here, you can see each of the branching paths and the eventual six endings to each chapter. Previous actions can completely lock access to certain paths, with these narrative lines greyed out completely. You’ll also be able to review it at the end of the chapter and see how your choices compared to other players.

You'll be able to reload checkpoints

Detroit: Become Human sees a real departure for Quantic Dream’s previous approach to storytelling design. In fact, David Cage and co have pulled back the opaque curtain of previous entries to create a setup that’s far more forgiving (but no less deep in its choices and branching narrative paths). 

Marking a first for the series, Detroit will also include the ability to reload certain checkpoints if you make a major decision you’re not too happy with it. It's kind of like keeping your finger anchored in a key page in a choose your own adventure novel. Don’t expect this option to available at every juncture, but the fact it exists is a sign the developer is finally listening to fan feedback.

There are multiple endings to unlock

There are a total of six endings to unlock in the demo of Detroit: Become Human, with each varying in style and outcome depending on the actions and choices you make during your playthrough. 

Thanks to the aforementioned story flow chart detailed previously, it’s not actually that hard to unlock each one, but it’s very easy to miss them if you’re not paying attention to everything on screen. Each of three stories will have chapters which merge into one another, so decisions made in one will affect key moments in the next.


April 27, 2018 at 06:00PM
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln

Super Smash Bros Switch release date, trailer and news

[Update: Good news for those excited about Super Smash Bros: it looks like the game will be the star of Nintendo's E3 show. Nintendo has confirmed that its annual E3 Direct will be taking place on June 12 at 9am PT/ 5pm BST and that Super Smash Bros will feature both in that and in the Treehouse Live gameplay demonstration that follows. Not only that, the game will be the center of Nintendo's show floor, where fans will get the chance to go hands on with it. ]

Fighting games haven’t really ever gone out of fashion – just look at how well Street Fighter 5, Tekken 7, Injustice 2 and Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite have performed recently for proof of that. However, for all their success not one of them has felt quite as timeless as Super Smash Bros.

A fighting game with Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach? If you’re not a fan of the series (yet) then it’s a pretty barmy idea at first glance, but spend a few rounds brawling your way through a four-player showdown and you’ll be forever convinced of its unique brilliance. 

You can imagine, then, just how much the Super Smash Bros community wants a new entry in the series, particularly now that the Nintendo Switch is consistently proving itself to be a system worth investing in. 

Super Smash Bros has featured on most of Nintendo’s major systems (including Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U and 3DS) so it's nice to see that it's been confirmed for the Switch, especially with such potent eSports potential.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The highly anticipated fifth entry in the Nintendo fighting game series 
  • When can I play it? 2018
  • What can I play it on? Nintendo Switch will be its next home, although a 3DS version could follow (as it did with Super Smash Bros 4)

Super Smash Bros – release date

Following the Nintendo Direct teaser, we know Super Smash Bros is coming at some point in 2018, though we can't be sure exactly when. It seems likely that we'll see more about the game at this year's E3 in June, before a release comes towards the end of the year. 

We’ve already got Metroid Prime 4 booked for this year, so it would make sense for Nintendo to slate Super Smash Bros Switch at a reasonable distance from it to ensure the handheld/tabletop console can keep rolling out new games you won’t find on PS4, Xbox One or PC and massively bolster the console's second year.  

Super Smash Bros – trailers

So far the only trailer we have is the teaser from the March Nintendo Direct but it's a good one. You can watch it below:

Super Smash Bros – news and rumors

Marcus Sellars rumors

Now that Super Smash Bros has been confirmed the rumors about which characters will make an appearance are everywhere. The latest is from industry insider Marcus Sellars, who claims on Twitter that the Ice Climbers will return and that the game will include a two-player coop story mode. 

Though we'd recommend taking these rumors with a pinch of salt, it's worth noting that Sellars has been on the money a few times recently, accurately reporting on Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Dark Souls Remastered.

Masahiro Sakurai is on board

The series creator of Super Smash Bros, Masahiro Sakurai, has confirmed that he is working on the newly announced Nintendo Switch title.

Sakurai said in a tweet (via Siliconera) that he's been "quietly working on it day after day" asking for fans to "please wait until we can reveal its content, or until the time of its release!!"

Sakurai's involvement is unsurprising but promising given that he's been involved with every other Super Smash Bros release. 

A confirmation

Nintendo confirmed that Super Smash Bros would be coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2018 during its March 8 Nintendo Direct. It didn't, however, give any more information than this.

A port or something more?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to what the next Super Smash Bros might be. One argument says the next entry will likely be a ‘deluxe’ re-release of Super Smash Bros 4 (the one that appeared simultaneously on Wii U and 3DS in 2014).

This is based on Nintendo’s decision to re-release Mario Kart 8 (which originally arrived on Wii U in 2014) as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch. The same thing happened with Pokkén Tournament, which debuted on Wii U in 2016 before dropping on Switch this year with a similar complete edition earlier this year.

Taking this approach would be an easier and faster way for Nintendo and developer Bandai Namco Games to release a Super Smash Bros Switch as the base game is already there. Adding new content would make the game seem fresh and exciting, and it'd also justify slapping on another big price tag. 

Bundling in new characters and stages (much in the same way Nintendo included fresh racers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) would be a great way to sell a remastered version, as would including new skins for the current 58 characters on the roster. Gearing these skins around recent Switch/3DS releases (such as Link’s new look for Breath Of The Wild and Mario’s revealing attire for Odyssey) would also make a lot of sense.

The other argument is that Super Smash Bros Switch would be a brand new entry, built from the ground up for Switch. The new console is the most powerful bit of hardware Nintendo has ever released, so offering a bespoke entry just for Switch would make the next Super Smash Bros entry extra special and a much more attractive sell to new and existing players.

The recent teaser trailer certainly suggests we're looking at a brand new entry rather than any kind of port, especially given new characters (the inklings from Splatoon and Link) appear.

At this point, though, we can't be 100% sure whether this is a re-skin or a brand new entry but we can't wait to find out.

Super Smash Bros Switch - which characters will appear? 

As we mentioned, the previous entry in the series had 58 characters (including on-disc ones and DLC) so we'd expect to see a similarly big number this time around. 

There are plenty of characters that have become staples in the series (such as Mario, Peach, Captain Falco and Kirby) and others (such as Sonic The Hedgehog, Ryu and Pac-Man) that have come and gone over the years.

After the recent trailer we know at the very least that the Inklings from Splatoon 2 and Link from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild will appear. We'd also love to see Rex and Pyra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The meme-inducing popularity suggest Breath Of The Wild’s Prince Sidon could get appearance alongside Nipha. We’d love to see the new version of Zelda, too, considering how well-received her makeover was.

We could see some off-the-wall additions as well. Could Skyrim's arrival on Nintendo Switch mean we’ll see the classic look of the Dovahkiin in the new Smash Bros? Those dragon shouts would certainly come in useful.

Then again, now that we know Crash Bandicoot is coming to the console we'd love to see him appear in game. His wild spin is made for Smash Bros and we can see a TNT-themed special move.

We certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the Rabbid rabbits after the success of their joint venture with Mario in 2017.

Naturally fans have characters they'd love to see appear in the game. One character who's been a top request for years now is Dragon Ball Z's Goku and demands are making the rounds again. This time, however, Funimation is in on the act and the company has even sent a tweet to Nintendo asking when Goku will make his debut.

Another character request is a more recent one but we love it just as much - LaboMan. Inspired by the small cardboard man who appeared in the trailer for the upcoming Nintendo Labo accessory, Javed L Sterritt designed LaboMan and animated him for a Smash Bros appearance. His main move would be to sling the Joy-Con on his back at enemies but he'll also be able to transform into the Labo piano for a super smash. LaboMan would be a different addition to the roster but an adorable and on-brand one to be sure.

Will there be eSports?

eSports is an ever-growing field and Super Smash Bros would certainly be an excellent title for Nintendo to make a splash. The videos of fans screaming at the game's announcement make it clear there would be an audience for competitive Smash Bros and it'd be a great way to show what Nintendo's full online service can do when it launches in September.

More significantly, Japan has started to reduce the regulations around paid tournaments  which has stopped eSports flourishing in the country so it's possible that Nintendo may warm to this kind of play. 

However, Nintendo has historically been rather cautious when it comes to eSports and it's unlikely the company would wish to alienate the players who have no interest in the genre. However, times are rapidly changing and online streaming is becoming intricately tied with a game's success - just look at PUBG, Fortnite and Sea of Thieves. Super Smash Bros would be the right title for Nintendo to start taking the genre more seriously, particularly as earlier versions of the game are already being used in eSports in the US.


April 27, 2018 at 03:21PM
Emma Boyle

Nintendo’s E3 2018 Direct will put the spotlight on Super Smash Bros

Nintendo has started to reveal its plans for E3 2018 and it looks like the spotlight will be shining on one game in particular: Super Smash Bros.

As in previous years, Nintendo will hold a pre-recorded Direct rather than a broadcast from a live stage. This year the Direct will be shown on Tuesday June 12 at 9am PT/ 5pm BST and will feature “games releasing in 2018.” When the Direct is finished Nintendo will immediately start broadcasting its three day long Treehouse Live, in which it shows gameplay footage and hosts developer discussions.

Like Super Mario Odyssey last year, it looks like Super Smash Bros will be the star of Nintendo’s E3 show, taking the most screen time during the presentation, kicking off the Treehouse Live and taking up a large chunk of the show floor, which will open to the public that very same day. 

Taking the fight to LA

It certainly seems that Nintendo will be using this E3 to make a big play for eSports, having announced a Splatoon 2 World Championship starting on June 11, followed by the Super Smash Bros Invitational Tournament on June 12. Given the Switch’s full online service is due to launch in September, it makes sense that the company is using Super Smash Bros to showcase its online multiplayer and eSports ambitions.

Super Smash Bros won’t be the only thing Nintendo shows, of course - we’re expecting to see some more first and third-party titles announced in the Direct and playable on the show floor. Nintendo has said that it will reveal more of its E3 plans as the event draws closer.


April 27, 2018 at 03:13PM
Emma Boyle