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'The Last of Us Part II' will be released on June 19th
Sony is also pushing back 'Ghost of Tsushima' by a few weeks.
Sony indefinitely delays ‘The Last of Us Part II’
Naughty Dog has just about finished work on The Last Of Us Part II. It's taking care of the last few bugs and then the long-awaited sequel should be all set. However, Sony has delayed the game for a second time. It's pushing back the release date indefinitely from May 29th due to the coronavirus outbreak.
After Math: Microsoft pulls back the cover on Project Scarlett
What a week for gaming and entertainment news! While Sony was showing off a slew of new games that will be hitting its console over the next year, Microsoft finally revealed its next-gen gaming system. If you still pine for the chunky stylings of a mid-90's desktop PC, you're going to love the Series X. That's not all -- Netflix got to gloat over its latest hit, The Irishman, and Warner Bros let us know when to expect the latest installment of The Matrix (hint, it's the same day that we get John WIck 4).
Naughty Dog is donating the money from its ‘Jak and Daxter’ reissues
Early this year, to celebrate its 35th anniversary, game developer Naughty Dog did a physical reissue of its classic PS2-era Jak and Daxter games for PlayStation 4. Fans apparently loved it. The collector's edition sold out in hours and the standard editions sold out in less than a week. Now, instead of pocketing the cash, Naughty Dog is donating all of the proceeds to a bunch of charities.
'Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled' revives a classic on June 21st, 2019
What, did you think that Activision would stop at remastering the first three Crash Bandicoot games? True to the teasers, Activision and Beenox have revealed Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. The overhaul of Naughty Dog's marsupial karting classic includes all the familiar characters, tracks and game modes of the PlayStation original (including Battle Mode), but throws in massively improved graphics and, naturally, online play.
Uncharted's Nathan Drake isn't a bullet sponge after all
Almost every action-adventure game has an unrealistic health system. In Gears of War, for instance, you can take a shockingly high number of bullets (at least on the standard difficulty) before your hero starts to crawl along the floor. Halo: Combat Evolved has regenerating health, and countless games have some kind of insta-healing med kit. You might think that treasure hunter Nathan Drake falls into the same boat, but it turns out the Uncharted franchise has a different health system entirely. That red ring around the screen? It doesn't represent damage, but the hero's luck.
'Uncharted' creative director Amy Hennig is going indie
Amy Hennig, former writer and creative director of the Uncharted series for PlayStation's Naughty Dog studio, is striking out on her own. After EA shut down Visceral Games she left the company in January to start her "own little independent studio," according to GamesIndustry.biz. "I would love to have a little company of about six to eight people, 15 at the most, and then do smaller projects," she told journalists gathered at Barcelona's Gamelab.
First 'The Last of Us: Part II' gameplay shows off refined combat
It's been 18 months since Sony and Naughty Dog first revealed The Last of Us: Part II, but despite a few enigmatic (and disturbing) trailers, we haven't heard much about the overall plot or seen any gameplay. That's changing today, as the forthcoming game is making up a major part of Sony's E3 2018 press conference. However, before we got to the game details, composer Gustavo Santaolalla took the stage to perform a new rendition of the Last of Us theme -- in a strange, church-like area that's far different form the average E3 press conference room. Sony's Shawn Leyden explained that this year's event would take the audience on deep dives into each game, with special environments and experiences tailored to each. After Santaolalla's performance, the lights went down, and we heard more music and saw the game's first footage -- someone singing in the very same church environment the crowd was sitting in.
The best PlayStation 4 games
There's a big reason why the PlayStation 4 is the best-selling console: It has a smattering of games that you can't play anywhere else. Think: blockbusters like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Bloodborne. But even if Indiana Jones simulators and massive open worlds where you hunt down robo-dinosaurs aren't your thing, there are still plenty of exclusives to pick from. Whether it's the best baseball video game franchise, a choose-your-own-adventure horror or an engrossing social simulator/JRPG hybrid, there's a lot to play on Sony's latest console. And then there are games from massive third-party publishers like Activision and Ubisoft, along with quirky indie offerings to round out the selection.
'The Last of Us: Part II' doesn't shy away from violence and gore
The Last of Us: Part II is a violent game. At least, that's the message Naughty Dog and Sony broadcast this morning when they debuted a new cinematic trailer at Paris Games Week. In the video, a woman is dragged to a campsite where corpses hang from trees, their stomachs cut open and intestines spilling out. By firelight, the captors place a noose around the woman's neck and nearly slice open her own gut -- until one of her allies is caught nearby.
'The Last of Us' director Bruce Straley leaves Naughty Dog
It's the end of an era for fans of Naughty Dog's games. Bruce Straley, best-known as the co-director (along with Neil Druckmann) of The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, is leaving the studio after 18 years. Straley hasn't explained the reasons behind the move (he doesn't have "anything to announce just yet,") but it's not for a lack of affection for the studio -- this is the "hardest decision" he ever made in his career.
The (re)making of 'Crash Bandicoot'
Facedown in the sand, a figure wakes up on a desert island. The tide has been dragging him up the shore. He looks over his shoulder, before disappearing into the jungle.
How Troy Baker's Naughty Dog work influenced 'Shadow of War'
Troy Baker has lent his voice and performances to some of the biggest games of the past decade. From six roles across Darksiders 2 to playing Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite or stepping into The Joker's shoes in Batman: Arkham Origins, you might not realize it's actually him delivering the lines until you see the credits. That's because he approaches each performance incredibly differently. With Middle-earth: Shadow of War his job was particularly complex: In addition to reprising his role as Talion, a Ranger of Gondor who's more or less possessed by an undead prince, Baker served as the director for all of the game's performance-capture story sequences. For that task, Baker relied on his experience with director Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog and his roles in the studio's The Last of Us (TLoU) and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Naughty Dog is widely regarded as having some of the best performances and shot composition in video game story sequences -- there are definitely worse places to look to for inspiration.
'The Lost Legacy' takes 'Uncharted' back to basics
Deep in the mountainous region of India's Western Ghats, Chloe and Nadine are in trouble. The two treasure hunters have a clue to the whereabouts of the Tusk of Ganesha, a mystical artefact, but keep stumbling into an Indian rebel leader called Asav. They try to stay hidden, but are quickly discovered by soldiers out on patrol. Chaos ensues as the pair battle through enemy forces with a mixture of sharp-shooting and air-drop knockouts. It's classic Uncharted combat, the kind Naughty Dog has been perfecting since Drake's Fortune in 2007.
'Uncharted: The Lost Legacy' will arrive this August
Turns out we didn't have to wait for E3 for more news on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. That's because developer Naughty Dog just revealed that the add-on will be released on August 22nd for $40 in the US and $50 in Canada.
PlayStation classic 'Jak and Daxter' will be re-released on PS4
Sony isn't slowing down in its quest to bring seemingly every classic PlayStation series to the PS4. The gaming giant has revealed that Naughty Dog's PS2-era Jak and Daxter games (The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing) will be available on the PS4 as a download later in 2017. Don't get your hopes up for a Crash Bandicoot-style makeover, though. They'll be rendered at 1080p and support modern features like Remote Play and trophies, but they won't receive graphical overhauls or any new features. If you want to duke it out with a friend in Jak X, you'll have to share a TV.
All the reveals from PlayStation Experience 2016
It definitely feels like Sony showed off more games during the PlayStation Experience keynote today than it did at E3. Which is pretty impressive, when you think about it. The show started out with a glimpse at the next chapter of the Uncharted saga and ended with, well, the next chapter in the The Last of Us. Both were extremely unexpected treats from developer Naughty Dog, but in between those bookends were a ton of other teases and announcements from the company's 20-plus years of gaming history. If you wanted fresh versions of Parappa the Rapper and WipeOut, or even an updated take on the obscure Windjammers, you're all set. Oh, and how about the next game from Housemarque, the Robotron-esque Nex Machina? Now, let's get to the videos.
Ellie is all grown up in 'The Last of Us: Part II'
Sony closed out its PlayStation Experience keynote with the first trailer for The Last of Us: Part II, the sequel to Naughty Dog's breakout 2013 shooter. The stars of the original game, Joel and Ellie, return in Part II, older and apparently filled with a desire for vengeance. In the trailer, after strumming a guitar and singing for a while, Ellie tells Joel, "I'm gonna find, and I'm gonna kill, every last one of them." And it looks like she means it.
'Uncharted' is back on PS4 with 'The Lost Legacy'
There's a new Uncharted. Well, a new story chapter at least. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, from the looks of it, is a lot like The Last of Us: Left Behind. Meaning, it's a standalone story that fleshes out characters from the main game in a new way. The video that debuted on the PlayStation Experience stage showed a robed woman walking through a middle Eastern street, following instructions for a meet up by text message — only to be double crossed on a rooftop.
'Uncharted 4' adds a survival mode with a few twists
Gears of War 4 won't have a monopoly on co-op survival modes this holiday, apparently. Naughty Dog is introducing an Uncharted 4: Survival mode that will arrive in mid-December. As with its Xbox rival, Uncharted will have you facing 50 waves of AI enemies as you build up defenses, rank up your character and coordinate with teammates. Don't call it an outright clone of Gears' Horde mode, however, as it periodically throws a monkey wrench into the works.
