This week in video games: there’s a Red Dead delay, news of June’s Xbox Games with Gold, more E3 leaks, and some Wipeout beats. Here’s our weekly round-up of the best stories.
Lawbreakers is coming to PlayStation 4
LawBreakers, the new multiplayer FPS from Cliff Bleszinski’s Boss Key Productions, has been confirmed for release on PlayStation 4. Also confirmed is the game’s pricing model, and support for PlayStation 4 Pro.
Red Dead Delayed
To be honest, we’re relieved. When it comes to open world games, we already have Assassin’s Creed Origins and Crackdown 3 on our radar this autumn, so the news that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been pushed to 2018 is welcome. It’s the game we’re looking forward to above all others, of course, but the prospect of soaking up Rockstar’s sumptuous recreation of the old west in the calmer months of spring is hugely appealing.
June’s Xbox Games with Gold
Microsoft has revealed next month’s Games with Gold lineup. Check out the full list, and make sure you download May’s titles before it’s too late.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle leaks
With E3 around the corner we are starting to hear rumours of the games we’ll be seeing on the show floor. This week’s big leak was the outing of Ubisoft’s much-mooted collaboration with Nintendo on a new Mario + Rabbids RPG for the Nintendo Switch. We won’t post any of the leaked images here because, frankly, we don’t want to be spoiling things. Call us old-fashioned, but we’d rather wait for the official reveal and find the constant desire of others to spoil the party a little depressing.
Far Cry 5 revealed
Speaking of Ubisoft, the publisher has preempted any Far Cry 5 leaks with an official reveal. The fun started on Monday with the release of four creepy tourism videos that introduced the game’s Hope Creek location. Far Cry 5 received a full unveiling on Friday with this fabulous trailer. Attaching the franchise’s unique brand of open-word survival gameplay to the story of a rural American religious cult is a brave move, and we’re pretty excited. The game is due for release in February next year.
Wipeout Omega Collection
We’re big fans of futuristic racing games here at Thumbsticks. For a while it’s been left to the excellent Fast Racing series to keep us occupied, but Shin’en’s racer may have to pull over when one of the undisputed kings of the genre returns on June 7. The WipeOut Omega Collection pulls together every track from Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, and Wipeout 2048, and remasters them at 1080P60 on PS4, and at 4K60 on PS4 Pro. Sony also lifted the lid on the game’s soundtrack this week, and it’s thumping collection of tracks from artists including Metrik, The Prodigy, and Airwolf.
Street Fighter V update
A quick reminder that Street Fighter V receives a significant content update next week. Changes to the Capcom Fighters Network will alter online gameplay, adding matchmaking and rage quit improvements, plus there’s host of character balancing tweaks. Also coming to the game is an updated version of Street Fighter 2’s Spain stage, the return of the Thailand stage, and new character, Ed.
Destiny 2 servers
The recent Destiny 2 reveal was generally well received, but the game’s PC edition has given some fans cause for concern. In addition to arriving later than the console versions (a delay surely not designed to encourage a double dip?), Bungie have revealed that the game won’t use dedicated servers. Samit Sakar at Polygon reports on what Bungie are doing to ensure Destiny 2’s peak performance on PC.
Monster Hunter XX gives Nintendo a bump
The Switch is on a roll at the moment, and the news that Capcom is bringing Monster Hunter XX to the system this August will only enhance its prospects. Such is the importance of the Monster Hunter franchise in Japan, Nintendo’s share price jumped over 5% after the announcement, reaching its highest level since 2008. Here’s the trailer.
And finally…
Don’t forget that you can play Fallout 4 for free this weekend on Steam and Xbox One. Despondent PlayStation owners can get a discount on the game, however, and can also cheer themselves with an excellent crop of titles featured in the Games Under €20 sale.
