Activision unveils new Gameplay Trailer for Spyro Reignited Trilogy… and delays its release until November 13

Posted on August 17, 2018 by John Scalzo

Activision has been playing “Good News/Bad News” with Spyro fans all Summer long.

First, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy compilation had a great showing for the game at this year’s E3 Expo, but then the publisher revealed that only the first game in the franchise, Spyro the Dragon, would appear on the retail disc (the other two games will require an additional download).

And now, the publisher recently pushed out a hefty new Gameplay Trailer for the compilation, showcasing the Hurricos Realm from Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage. That video is embedded above, but they also announced that the launch date for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy has been rescheduled from the relatively-soonish September 21 to the much-further-out November 13.

Writing on the Activision Games Blog, Toys For Bob’s Paul Yan said the compilation needs “more love and care”:

Everyone here at Toys for Bob is so proud to be reigniting the original Spyro trilogy after all these years. We’re deeply committed to getting these games right, so we’ve decided to move the release date of Spyro Reignited Trilogy to November 13, 2018. I really hoped that you would be rescuing dragons and scorching Rhynocs sooner, but the Trilogy needs more love and care. In November when you’re exploring the Dragon Realms, Avalar and the Forgotten Worlds, we know you’ll agree the extra time was worth the wait.

Yan didn’t expand on what “more love and care” means exactly, but hopefully the developer will find some way to fit all three games on the disc.

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is currently in development for the PS4 and Xbox One, and is widely expected to also make its way to the Nintendo Switch sometime in the future.

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The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Next Up Hero, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on August 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Telltale Games was widely expected to bring The Walking Dead: The Final Season to the Switch sometime later this year, but there it is, front and center in this week’s Nintendo eShop update, just two days after its PC, PS4, and Xbox One debut. Switch owners will be able to experience the first episode of Clementines final journey, as she searches for a home for her and AJ.

Also available to download for the Switch today is Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Steel Crate Games’s bomb defusal party game. One player sits down in front of a ticking time bomb, while the other players talk them through it (without looking at the bomb) with the use of the game’s Bomb Defusal Manual.

Finally this week, Switch owners will get the chance to purchase Next Up Hero, a massively multiplayer brawler from Digital Continue where every time you die you get a little closer to defeating the boss.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Metal Slug 4, CastleStorm, Manual Samuel, and more) after the break.

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Diablo III: Eternal Collection officially announced for Nintendo Switch

Posted on August 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

A day after it was accidentally leaked by Forbes, Blizzard and Nintendo confirmed that Diablo III: Eternal Collection will be coming to the Nintendo Switch this Fall.

Diablo III has been everywhere since its launch on the PC in 2012, with additional stops on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, before also coming to the PS4 and Xbox One a year after that in 2014. The Action RPG’s Switch debut will include the original game, as well as the Reaper of Souls expansion, the Rise of the Necromancer add-on, and a variety of Switch-exclusive content like the “Legend of Ganondorf” cosmetic armor set.

Naturally, Diablo III will feature a number of multiplayer options on the Switch. Four players will be able to team up on a single console, but if you’re on the go, players can link their systems together wirelessly for multi-screen multiplayer play. Online multiplayer, through the Nintendo Online Service, will also be available, and any combination of local, wireless, and online players is possible.

“The Eternal Collection is the definitive version of Diablo III, and we’re thrilled to team up with Nintendo to unleash it for Nintendo Switch gamers around the world later this year,” said Mike Morhaime, the CEO and Co-Founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Bringing the world together through epic entertainment is core to our mission at Blizzard—we can’t wait to welcome a new generation of demon-slayers to Sanctuary.”

Blizzard will be taking the Switch version of Diablo III on a whirlwind worldwide tour later this month, and players will be able to try it out soon at Gamescom in Cologne (August 21-25), Fan Expo in Toronto (August 30 – September 2), and PAX West (August 31 – September 3) in Seattle.

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The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Graveyard Keeper, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, more coming to Xbox Store this week

Posted on August 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

The dead and the undead make this a rather somber week for the Xbox Games Store. Thankfully, there’s a bomb defusal party game thrown in to lighten the mood.

Telltale Games will bring players back to the world of The Walking Dead, as they follow Clementine on the final leg of her journey in the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season for the Xbox One. Continuing the dead bodies theme this week is Lazy Bear’s Graveyard Keeper, a medieval cemetery management simulation for the Xbox One.

Finally this week, if you’d prefer to remain among the living, you should heed the rules of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes… that’s the only way to win in Steel Crate’s bomb defusal party game for the Xbox One.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break.

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The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Death’s Gambit, Phantom Doctrine, more coming to PS Store this week

Posted on August 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

Sony has revealed this week’s PlayStation Store update, and it’s the typical blend of late-Summer weirdness and big franchises trying to sneak in before the Fall’s big rush.

Telltale Games is leading things off with the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season, the final entry in Clementine’s journey, for the PS4. Players have stuck with the character through three games, and now they’ll finally see if she can find a place to call home.

Also available to download this week for the PS4 is Death’s Gambit, a brutal side-scrolling platformer from Adult Swim Games. Rather than avoiding the undead, players will become an agent of Death and attempt to unravel the mystery of Siradon.

Finally this week, PS4 owners will be able to purchase Phantom Doctrine, a tactics-style RPG that takes place during the Cold War.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store (including Guns, Gore, & Cannoli 2, State of Mind, and Super Night Riders) after the break.

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THQ Nordic acquires rights to the TimeSplitters franchise

Posted on August 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

THQ Nordic is doing that thing again where they buy up the rights to an old franchise. This time, the publisher has purchased the right to the TimeSplitters trilogy from Crytek.

All three games in the franchise (TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect) were originally developed by Free Radical Design, and THQ Nordic’s purchase is a homecoming of sorts for the series. Crytek originally acquired the rights to the franchise after purchasing the developer in 2009. They were then shut down by Crytek in 2014, and the majority of the staff went on to form the core of THQ Nordic’s Dambuster Studios.

Now that you’re all caught up, it’s tempting to wonder if this means that TimeSplitters 4 is on the way. THQ Nordic wasn’t ready to talk about the future, but they do have a habit of re-releasing classic games (like the Re-Mars-tered Edition of Red Faction: Guerrilla) and commissioning sequels (like Darksiders III) from the franchises they acquire:

TimeSplitters was largely considered as one of the most influential console games of the early 2000s. The three game series earned a large and passionate fan base thanks to its unique humour, art style, and pop culture references while encouraging customization and modification to give each person their own individual experience. TimeSplitters was originally created by the development studio Free Radical Design that later become Deep Silver Dambuster, part of the THQ Nordic group.

Finally, THQ Nordic also announced they’ve acquired the rights to Second Sight, another shooter produced by Free Radical in the early 2000s.

UPDATE: THQ Nordic’s Deep Silver label has confirmed that “forthcoming products” based on TimeSplitters and Second Sight are both currently in development. We don’t yet know if they’re sequels or remasters (or both), but hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

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Capcom will bring Devil May Cry 5 demo to Gamescom 2018

Posted on August 14, 2018 by John Scalzo

Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno has confirmed (via Twitter) that the first playable demo of Devil May Cry 5 will be available for fans during this year’s Gamescom event.

Presumably, we’ll learn more about the rest of Capcom’s presence at the big European showcase sometime this week, because the 2018 edition of Gamescom will throw open its doors on Tuesday, August 21st…

Devil May Cry 5 is a direct sequel to 2008’s Devil May Cry 4, and it’s set to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Early 2019.

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Dark Horse will release a God of War comic miniseries in November

Posted on August 14, 2018 by John Scalzo

Sony and Dark Horse Comics are planning to give fans another God of War adaptation to add to their bookshelves this Fall.

The first issue of the God of War miniseries will be available on November 14, and it’ll be written by Chris Roberson (iZombie, Witchfinder). The art team will include artist Tony Parker (Mayday, This Damned Band), colorist Dan Jackson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and letterer John Roshell of Comicraft. E.M. Gist (The Strain, Will Save The Galaxy for Food) will provide cover art for Issue #1.

According to Dark Horse, the miniseries will serve as a prequel to this Spring’s critically-acclaimed sequel for the PS4:

The God of War comic series finds Kratos living in the remote Norse wilds after his war on the gods of Olympus. Seeking to put the rage that defined most of his life behind him, Kratos inadvertently sparks a feud with a mysterious cult of berserkers after attempting to save a stranger being mauled by a monstrous bear. But for the former Ghost of Sparta, no good deed goes unpunished.

In case you missed it, Titan Books will publish a God of War novelization later this month, and it’ll be written by J.M. Barlog (the father of Game Director Cory Barlog).

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