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Telltale is “working towards a solution” to release the final two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season

Posted on September 25, 2018 by John Scalzo

The shocking announcement of a “majority studio closure” for Telltale Games came as a surprise to everyone on Friday… and that includes Telltale’s employees, who were unceremoniously escorted from the their desks without any notice. Company executives also canceled all of their in-development projects except for a version of Minecraft: Story Mode that would be playable on Netflix through their app.

Those same executives have yet to address why the “majority studio closure” was announced in this way, but late last night, they confirmed that they’re “actively working towards a solution” to release the final two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season:

It’s important to note that even if the developer is somehow able to restart development on the game, it won’t be the same. The entire “Walking Dead” team was let go on Friday, so the final two episodes would end up being someone else’s vision for how Clementine’s story should end.

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New Retail Releases: FIFA 19, Valkyria Chronicles 4, This Is the Police II, More

Posted on September 24, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s Monday, and that means another big batch of new games will be available at your favorite retail establishment this week…

Leading the way is the latest iteration in EA Sports’s annual series of soccer simulations, FIFA 19. The game will launch its way towards the goal on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in a Standard Editions and a Champions Edition. FIFA 19 will also be available to download for the PC through EA’s Origin service.

Sega is bringing back a beloved franchise this week as Valkyria Chronicles 4 will also make its way to the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Featuring hand-drawn visuals and gameplay that melds together a turn-based strategy RPG and a third-person shooter, fans will also be able to download Valkyria Chronicles 4 for the PC.

Strategy RPG fans might also be interested in This Is the Police II for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Players will manage a Sheriff’s Department in the “cold border town” of Sharpwood in a “harsh story where no one is completely innocent.”

Elsewhere on the shelves, Bandai Namco will re-release Dragon Ball FighterZ and Namco Museum Arcade Pac (which comes bundled with Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus) for the Switch. And Nintendo themselves will launch new Starter Editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey.

Finally this week, Gun Media will resurrect the Friday the 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One, which includes the original game and all previously-released downloadable content.

A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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Troy Baker is “The Man in the Golden Mask” in the latest Death Stranding trailer

Posted on September 23, 2018 by John Scalzo

Hideo Kojima closed out this year’s Tokyo Game Show by adding another famous name to Death Stranding.

In the game’s latest trailer, Kojima has introduced Troy Baker as “The Man in the Golden Mask.” Even though he has only a scant few seconds to make an impression, we quickly learn that he’s quite unhappy with Norman Reedus’s character. “The Man in the Golden Mask” then proceeds to use his gleaming facial appliance to create a snarling monster out of Death Stranding’s infamous black goo before teleporting away.

So it’s gonna be like that, huh? Like every other Death Stranding trailer, all I can do is stare slack-jawed at the screen and ask, “What exactly did I just see?”

Sadly, answers will have to come later, as Kojima still isn’t ready to announce a launch date for Death Stranding, which is currently in development for the PC and PS4.

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The Walking Dead: The Final Season will likely never be completed as Telltale Games institutes a “majority studio closure”

Posted on September 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

A series of social media posts from recently laid-off developers lead many to believe that Telltale Games was shutting down yesterday morning, but the lights will remain on for now according to an official statement from the company’s executives.

Writing on Twitter, Telltale CEO Pete Hawley confirmed that a majority of the company’s employees would be let go:

“It’s been an incredibly difficult year for Telltale as we worked to set the company on a new course. Unfortunately, we ran out of time trying to get there. We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately, that did not translate to sales. With a heavy heart, we watch our friends leave today to spread our brand of storytelling across the games industry.”

Hawley would go on to say that “further comments regarding [Telltale’s] product portfolio [will be announced] in the coming weeks,” but sources within the company told USgamer that the majority of their in-development projects have been canceled.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season‘s second episode, Suffer the Children, will launch next week as originally planned, but the remaining two episodes will likely go unfinished, marking an abrupt end for the season and the franchise. A further list of cancellations includes Game of Thrones Season 2, The Wolf Among Us Season 2, and the recently-announced Stranger Things game.

The 25 employees still under Telltale’s employ will stay on to complete the Netflix-powered port of Minecraft: Story Mode, but it is currently unknown what will happen to them after that.

It’s our hope that all of Telltale’s former employees will be able to quickly find better employment opportunities in the future.

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Suit up and enlist with Earth Defense Force 5 on the PS4 on December 11

Posted on September 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

The neverending parade of bug-like invaders from D3 Publisher’s Earth Defense Force series has provided gamers with a steady stream of campy thrills since Earth Defense Force 2017 made the trip across the Pacific in 2007.

Later this year, yet another gloriously goofy game in the franchise will invade our shores, as Earth Defense Force 5 will be released for the PS4 on December 11. But this time around, players will have to deal with an alien invasion that’s happening in conjunction with a band of mutants emerging from the center of the Earth…

Humanity, fight against fate. Now begins the ultimate battle between huge aliens and the Earth Defense Force. The world existence is staked this war.

Year 2022. A case was taking place in the Base 228 of EDF. Deep underground, the huge facility was invaded, and people were attacked by unknown monsters. At the same time, a gigantic mothership flew around the world and began attacking without discrimination.

You can learn more about Earth Defense Force 5 (including both the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition) at the game’s official website.

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Valkyria Chronicles 4, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna, Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on September 20, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s a big week for RPG fans as Nintendo (and their third-party partners) will be adding several to the Nintendo eShop over the next few days.

Square Enix starts things off with Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD, an enhanced and updated new edition of Final Fantasy XV’s mobile port. The RPG is now available to download for the Switch. Switch owners will also get the chance to tackle Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, a standalone prequel to the action RPG, this weekend when it launches for the Switch on September 21.

Beginning next week, Sega will bring Valkyria Chronicles 4 to the Switch, and Ubisoft will do likewise with South Park: The Stick of Truth .

Elsewhere on the Switch’s online storefront, gamers are now able to purchase Colossal Order’s city simulator, Cities: Skylines – Nintendo Switch Edition; as well as Double Fine’s narrative adventure, Broken Age; and Capcom’s seven-game beat ’em up bundle, the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including The Gardens Between, Hover, Reigns: Kings & Queens, and more) after the break. (more…)

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Capcom dives back into Resident Evil 2’s story with a new TGS 2018 Trailer

Posted on September 20, 2018 by John Scalzo

Resident Evil 2 became an instant classic when it was released for the PlayStation more than 20 years ago, so the game’s post-apocalyptic story beats are pretty familiar to a large portion of the gaming community. But that didn’t stop Capcom from unveiling a brand new Story Trailer for Resident Evil 2’s upcoming remake during the Tokyo Game Show this week.

The publisher has posted a few more details about the trailer (and a handy guide for newcomers) on the Capcom-Unity blog:

A little history for RE2 newcomers before we dive into things: The original Resident Evil 2 introduced a system known as “zapping” to provide an “A” story and a “B” story – two separate paths through the game that had the same major story elements for each character, but changed certain details, events, and access to items depending on which character you played as first. While this remake of Resident Evil 2 no longer uses “zapping” to tell each character’s tale, it stays true to the original by telling a unique story for each character, with both main campaigns providing a compelling point of view to provide a modern take on the story of Resident Evil 2.

Resident Evil 2 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on January 25.

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Madden NFL 19 beat out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to become the best-selling game of August 2018

Posted on September 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

As new entries in the series always do, EA Sports’s Madden NFL 19 broke away from the pack and sprinted for the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2018. But it’s one of the games it beat out that might be the most interesting story from The NPD Group’s latest report.

According to the market research company (via GamesIndustry.biz), the #8 spot in last month’s list of best-selling games was occupied by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a title that was originally launched in 2009. So why the sudden sales surge? The most likely explanation is because Microsoft recently added the Xbox 360 edition of the game to the Xbox One’s Backwards Compatibility Library.

Adding new sales to perennially best-selling games was absolutely a trend in August, as 2015’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (#3), 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V (#4), and 2014’s Mario Kart 8 (#5) all cracked the top five. But if you’re looking for newer titles, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World continued its improbable run at the top of the charts by landing at the #2 spot thanks to the PC edition’s August launch.

Overall, the game industry grew 26% year-over-year with total sales of $796 million, including $214 million in hardware (a 28% increase), $330 million for software (a 16% increase), and $251 million for accessories (a whopping 39% increase).

A list of last month’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)

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