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'Control' is nearly a fantastic supernatural action game
Control comes out on August 27th. That gives developers at Remedy Entertainment less than 80 days to spit-shine their code before the whole thing goes live on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the Epic Games Store. Control is nearly there: An hour-long slice of the game, not a tailor-made demo, is playable at E3 2019 and it's a stylish, eerie, action-packed experience. However, it feels a little rough around the edges.
Jon Bernthal is your enemy in 'Ghost Recon Breakpoint'
Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking: "Hey, that's The Punisher!" But that, my friends, isn't Frank Castle. It's Colonel Cole D. Walker, the antagonist in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, who's portrayed by none other than Jon Bernthal (The Punisher, The Walking Dead). In the new installment of Ubisoft and Tom Clancy's tactical shooter video game, Walker is the leader of The Wolves, a group of ex-military Ghosts who have gone rogue and taken control of Auroa, a fictional island set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Your job as a US Special Operations soldier will be to infiltrate them and end their takeover, which won't be easy because Walker and The Wolves have created an army of powerful, killer drones.
Sega Genesis Mini hands-on: A faithfully clunky controller
Sega had cocooned its incoming mini console in see-thru boxes at E3 2019. I'm not sure why, because the Genesis Mini (or Mega Drive Mini if you're nasty) seemed like the finished article, and was very much playable. There were rows of the device setup in a faux '90s living room, with faux TV frames and faux wood paneling to really complete the vibe. After a handful of delays, the $80 console is finally approaching its September launch date, and if you haven't preordered one already, should you?
Netflix is working on a 'Stranger Things' mobile RPG
Netflix made it clear last month when it announced its E3 panel that its gaming ambitions extend beyond Stranger Things 3: The Game (and the Dark Crystal tie-in that was revealed this week). At the panel, it revealed what's next: more Stranger Things. Netflix is teaming up with Helsinki developer Next Games (The Walking Dead: Our World) for a mobile RPG/puzzle game based on the series.
'Borderlands 3' is a frenetic love letter to mayhem
Borderlands 3 will squeeze every last drop of endorphin from your pituitary gland. And that's before you reach the boss fight. I went hands-on with the latest iteration of Gearbox Software's frenetic first-person shooter RPG at E3 on Wednesday and walked away with an epiphany: Shut down the polls, this is 2019's game of the year.
How 'Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey' wants to simulate evolution
One challenge with creating a game about the arc of human evolution is that the subject matter is almost limitlessly broad. With Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, creator Patrice Désilets is narrowing the time period down to between 10 million to 2 million BC. And boiling down the challenge to this: "Basically, I'm asking players the question: Hey homosapiens, think you're smart? Think you're the top? Can you survive like our ancestors did?"
'Darksiders Genesis' is more than a Diablo-like dungeon crawler
THQ Nordic isn't finished with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A decade after the original game came out on the PS3, War and his brothers return to consoles in a brand new iteration of Darksiders, dubbed Genesis. But this spin-off prequel doesn't look much like its predecessors.
'Journey to the Savage Planet' is surprisingly relaxing
When I first heard the name 'Journey to the Savage Planet,' I tensed up. I've played tons of space exploration games that put a heavy emphasis on survival. They're brilliantly tense affairs, but I wasn't sure that my sleep-deprived body and mind were ready for that kind of onslaught at E3. Thankfully, the first title by Typhoon Studios is nothing of the sort. In fact, it's the complete opposite -- a relaxing and consistently funny adventure that's perfect for people who don't want to feel stressed out.
Watch AMD's E3 keynote in just 15 minutes
If you want to get up to speed with AMD's announcements at this year's E3 but don't have time to sit through the entire presentation, step this way. We've edited out all the fluff to give you the main highlights and talking points, all packaged neatly into a 15 minute video. You'll get the scoop on the new Radeon 5700 XT and the RX 5700, plus a load of side-by-side demos showing off its graphics prowess against the competition.
'Destroy All Humans!' returns to finish the job in 2020
15 years after the events of the original Kill All Humans! came to an end, Cryptosporidium 137 -- or Crypto to his friends -- is coming back to consoles and PC in a modern remake of the cult classic, THQ Nordic announced ahead of E3 2019.
Things are looking up for ‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2020’
After Konami lost the UEFA Champions League licensing rights to EA Sports in 2018, I was quick to count out the future of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise. That's because, for me, having that European club competition was the only thing keeping from playing FIFA almost exclusively -- even if I do find the PES gameplay more fluid and realistic at times. Thankfully for PES fans, though, Konami isn't drowning in its sorrows over losing the Champions League to FIFA. And this year, the company is moving forward with eFootball PES 2020, which doesn't only comes with a shiny new name but also plenty of exciting features.
LG launches the first IPS gaming displays with 1ms response time
LG has unveiled its latest gaming offering: two new monitors with a blazing one-millisecond response time. The monitors are part of LG's UltraGear family and are the first in the world to offer such a fast IPS display, which helps bring IPS (In-Plane Switching) up to a closer standard with TN (Twisted Nematic) panels.
Watch the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct in under 12 minutes
Didn't have time to watch the entire Nintendo Direct E3 presentation? Don't worry, we've cut out all of the filler so you can get right to the highlights. All of the news, like Luigi's Mansion 3, No More Heroes III and even games that aren't the third ones in their series is packed in here for you. Resident Evil 5 and 6 make their appearances, plus there's the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel to look forward to. Go ahead and press play, then let us know which one of Nintendo's E3 announcements you're most interested in. Unless it's something other than Panzer Dragoon or the new Dark Crystal tactical RPG.
Konami's TurboGrafx-16 mini is ready to ride the retro-gaming wave
Need a sign that the retro gaming console market just won't come to an end? At E3 Konami just announced the TurboGrafx-16 mini, marking a return for the console that debuted in the US alongside the Sega Genesis in 1989, but never quite enjoyed the support or sales of its competitors. There's no price or release date yet for this bit of late 80s / early 90s nostalgia, but when it is released it will include the requisite suite of throwback games including: R-Type New Adventure Island Ninja Spirit Ys Book I & II Dungeon Explorer Alien Crush Other titles have yet to be revealed (where's Bonk's Revenge?) , and outside of North America the box will have different names just like it did way back when. In Europe it's called the PC Engine Core Grafx Mini, and in Japan, where the system originally launched in 1987, it's just the PC Engine Mini. It's unlikely we'll see anything as groundbreaking as the original TurboGrafx-16's CD-ROM add-on -- a first for consoles at the time -- but it's good to see the name in circulation again all the same.
'Final Fantasy VII Remake' feels ambitious and different
After a long wait, and three trailers in the last month, Final Fantasy VII Remaster was in playable form at E3. The early, 15-minute demo answers a lot of my questions and concerns regarding the remake's battle system and game dynamics — suddenly all that talk of active time battle gauges, abilities, staggering and player switching made much more sense. Square Enix laid up the demo in a smart fashion, kicking things off with a video to explain how the aforementioned combat system, all led by one of the game's minor characters. FF7R attempts to straddle the sudden battle dynamics of Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy XV and the slower paced menu-led "active time battle" system of earlier FF games and the original FF7. I was a little confused by Square Enix's explanation during its E3 showcase last night. The system seemed overly complicated; as if I would be pressing several buttons nearly all the time. Yes, it's more involved than the game it's based on, but once you get down to it, it begins to work together pretty well.
Dynamaxing a corgi in ‘Pokémon Sword' and 'Shield’
Pokémon Sword and Shield, the series' first proper outing on the Switch, is shaking up a tried-and-tested formula. There's the dynamic weather system, which affects which Pokémon can spawn; the free camera, which will completely change the feel of exploration; the new "verticality" to Pokémon hunting; the co-operative Raid battles; the fresh setting, inspired by Great Britain; and a Rotom smartphone that replaces the Pokédex. There's a lot, but very little of it is on show at this year's E3. The demo I played through this afternoon was limited to a section of a water gym. It contained a simple switch-based puzzle, where I turned off and on water jets in order to proceed to the gym leader. One interesting thing was the game's use of a more horizontal camera to lay out the puzzle clearly, but honestly it's the type of challenge that'd be at home in any of the series' many games. It was all very familiar, albeit with a heightened level of graphical flair that the transition away from the 3DS allows for.
'Super Mario Maker 2' will offer online multiplayer with friends
For all the improvements to online features in Super Mario Maker 2, multiplayer is oddly limited -- you can play with random people on the internet, but not your friends. That won't be true forever, thankfully. Producer Takashi Tezuka has confirmed that online multiplayer with friends will come to the level-building game through an update. More details are coming in the future, Nintendo said.
Gooigi is the best part of ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’
It's been a long time since Luigi, the brother of Mario, last starred in a ghost-busting adventure. Too long, in fact -- Luigi's Mansion 2, better known as Dark Moon, came out more than six years ago on the Nintendo 3DS. In 2019, I was worried that its sequel, Luigi's Mansion 3, would offer little more than a visual overhaul for Switch owners. A charming adventure, but one that leant on the same puzzle solving and ghost-battling mechanics as its predecessor. Well, I'm happy to report that these fears were completely misplaced. Based on a short demo, I can already tell that Nintendo has plenty of fresh ideas to reinvigorate the series' formula.
Some of your Pokémon won't transfer to 'Sword' and 'Shield'
Ever since 2003, you've had the option of importing your Pokémon critters into newer games, including across platforms thanks to Pokémon Home. However, GameFreak is about to end that run. As part of an E3 chat, producer Junichi Masuda revealed that Pokémon Sword and Shield will only accept transfers from creatures that exist in the game's Galar region. That includes some Pokémon from other games, of course, but it means your beloved Meloetta won't be playable. You should still have a central collection in the Home app, you just won't get to use all of it.
'12 Minutes' is a murderous 'Groundhog Day'
Everyone has regrets; words and actions that we wish we could take back or try again. But only a precious few are gifted the opportunity for mulligans of such magnitude. In Annapurna Interactive's latest psychological thriller, 12 Minutes, you're granted (perhaps cursed) with exactly that.
