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Developers from id Software showcased Doom’s single-player campaign in this 60-minute video

“This isn’t Doom 4. This is actually Doom, straight up, from the beginning.”

The developers at id Software have always said the upcoming Doom reboot was about getting back to their roots. Even when id co-founder John Carmarck was involved with the project, he often discussed his desire to locate “the DNA of Doom.” Yesterday, Creative Director Hugo Martin and Executive Producer Marty Stratton walked us through 60 minutes of Doom’s single-player campaign in a brand new video, and I have to admit, I think they found it.

Players who watch the whole video will be introduced to Doom’s “Glory Kill” system, as well as a massive amount of weaponry and some of the lore that’s sprinkled throughout the game. Naturally, it all ends with a trip to Hell.

Doom will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 13.

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The Walking Dead Season 3 tease from Robert Kirkman reveals an older Clementine

Robert Kirkman is the creator of the Walking Dead comic book and the guiding hand behind the megafranchise’s expansion into television, novels, and video games. So Telltale Games recently gave him the chance to talk about his thoughts on The Walking Dead: Michonne, which came to a conclusion yesterday.

In the video, Kirkman praises the Telltale team for their fine work, and reveals that several of the game’s plot points came directly from his notes for Michonne’s absence in issue #126. The writer also couldn’t resist teasing The Walking Dead Season 3, and confirmed that fans of the series are in store for another time jump:

“Season 3 of the Telltale series is really exciting to me. The way that the timeline works, Season 3 will actually be getting pretty close to where we are in the comics concurrently,” said Kirkman. “We’ll be checking in on Clementine again, so we’ll be seeing her, seeing where she’s at and what’s going on with her which is going to be great. But also similar to the Michonne series there will probably be some more comic book elements that we’ll be working into it in some interesting ways. I don’t want to spoil too much…”

The first episode of The Walking Dead Season 3 will be released sometime this year.

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Cuphead Hands-On Preview: A Shoot-Shoot-A-Hoot

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There was no Cartoon Network when I was a little kid. Instead, a sugary haze of Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and G.I. Joe filtered into my home via regular broadcast channels on Saturday mornings. And after they turned the day over to programming for adults, I’d turn my attention to nearly six hours of non-stop Looney Tunes on TNT.

I loved the Looney Tunes, but occasionally, TNT programmers would slip in an older 20s or 30s short that didn’t have anything to do with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Foghorn Leghorn. I never knew what to make of those earlier attempts at animation, but I always felt like there was something unsettling about them. Brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, of Studio MDHR, saw the same sinister edge in these cartoons, and they tapped directly into it for their upcoming side-scrolling shooter, Cuphead. (more…)

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Dear Diary: Saturday and Sunday at PAX East 2016 I Played…

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Another PAX East has come to an end, but Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, and game developers from around the world will return to Boston next year for more shenanigans. In the meantime, I’ve got an overflowing notebook and thoughts on more than a dozen titles from the final days of the expo. (more…)

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An open beta for Fallout 4’s modding tools is now available on the PC

Fallout 4 is about to get a whole lot crazier on the PC as Bethesda has announced Creation Kit is now available. Using the included modding tools, players will be able to craft new “quests, environments, characters, dialogue, outfits, weapons, and more” for other Fallout 4 players.

Players can search for new mods from within Fallout 4 by selecting “Mods” from the Main Menu. There, they’ll be able to select a mod, download it, offer feedback, and rate it all from the same spot.

Bethesda is still tweaking the Creation Kit tools, so the framework is currently available to download as an open beta through the Bethesda.net launcher. But eventually, Bethesda wants to make the Creation Kit available for the PS4 and Xbox One in June, and cross-platform compatibility for mods looks likely.

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John Romero and Adrian Carmack return to their FPS roots with Blackroom 

John Romero’s about make make you his… sorry, force of habit. The Doom co-creator has done more for the image of the “rock star game developer” than almost anybody, and he’s back with Blackroom, a “visceral, action-packed first person shooter set in a holographic simulation gone rogue.”

Blackroom is in development at Romero’s new studio, Night Work Games, and it’ll follow a near-future engineer as he investigates anomalies in his company’s holographic simulator. Because of the ever-changing nature of the Blackroom, players will be able to visit a variety of locales including “military sims, hellish infernos, and interstellar space” in both single-player and co-op campaigns.

Romero launched a Kickstarter campaign and also enlisted fellow id co-founder Adrian Carmack to handle the art design. The developers have already raised $100,000 in pledged funds and they’re seeking a total of only $700,000. After spending millions on the development of Daikatana, Romero has cut way back for Blackroom, but he’s also partnered with an unnamed publisher who will provide addition monetary support if the campaign is fully funded.

Blackroom is still early in development, but Romero already has a vision for how he wants the final game to look and that includes support for online multiplayer, dedicated servers, mods, map creation, and a single-player Challenge Mode. Romero has also promised to spearhead the level design personally and he’s hired guitarist George Lynch to provide a metal-influenced soundtrack.

There is a lot more information about Blackroom’s story and Romero’s plan for the future of the game on the Kickstarter page. And if all goes well, Romero wants to launch Blackroom in Winter 2018 exclusively for the PC. So let’s see if this rock star has one last encore in him.

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I Am Setsuna will be released for PC, PS4 on July 19

Square Enix released a new teaser trailer for I Am Setsuna over the weekend, and they also announced that the Chrono Trigger-inspired RPG will be released for the PC and PS4 on July 19.

Developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, an internal studio at Sqaure Enix tasked with creating new games in classic styles, I Am Setsuna will also explore traditional RPG storytelling techniques:

I Am Setsuna tells the sorrowful story of Setsuna, a young woman of incredible inner strength, and the sacrifice she must undertake to the save the people of her land. Players will be immersed in an emotional and unforgettable story of true bravery as Setsuna leaves her hometown with her bodyguards on a journey to the farthest land.

Square Enix recently released new artwork and screenshots for I Am Setsuna, and they can all be found at the game’s official website.

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Mira will join Killer Instinct Season 3 this week… so here’s a trailer

After adding a skeleton guy, a fire guy, an ice guy, a mummy, and many more to Killer Instinct, Iron Galaxy has finally reached “vampire” on the Great Wheel of Archetypal Characters. But the vampire in question is Mira, and as Maya’s sister, she’s definitely connected to the fighting game’s overarching story.

PAX East 2016 attendees got the chance to try out Mira this weekend at Iron Galaxy’s booth, and the developer was livestreaming new footage of her all weekend long. They also released a brand new trailer for the character, which has been embedded above.

Mira will be available to download sometime this week as part of Killer Instinct’s “Season 3.” Her appearance will be followed by Gargos next month, and two mystery characters in June and July (though one is heavily rumored to be General RAAM from Gears of War.

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