Here’s our weekly round-up of the best video games news from Thumbsticks and elsewhere on the information superhighway.
It was a pretty quiet week for video game news, but the Nintendo Switch is still the gift that keeps on giving, and Microsoft found some time to remind us that the Xbox One is still a thing.
Mass Effect Andromeda has a bumpy landing
It appears that Mass Effect Andromeda‘s animations were the least of its troubles, with the game suffering that most wretched of fates, being a 7. Despite its ambitious scope and improved combat, many found BioWare’s space RPG lacking in narrative depth and saddled with busy work. John Walker, writing for RockPaperShotgun, sums up the general consensus saying, “It’s a timid and tepid tale too heavily reliant on what came before”. A huge shame.
Microsoft reveal yet another Special Edition Xbox Controller
Another month, another Xbox One controller variation. The Recon Tech Special Edition is the first release from the new military-inspired Tech Series range. It’s kinda nice, we guess.
How do you solve a problem like the left Joy-Con?
Speaking of controllers. We can all look forward to fully functioning left Joy-Con controllers from now on. Just as CNET writer, Sean Hollister, sussed out how Nintendo was repairing defective Joy-Cons, the Japanese game-maker announced that it had located the source of a ‘manufacturing variation’, and that the problem will now just go away. Phew.
Bye Bye Battle.net
After 21 years of service, the Battle.net name has been retired. Blizzard’s online service will now just be called Blizzard.
First-party games are coming, says Phil Spencer
Microsoft is taking a bit of a hammering when it comes to first-party software exclusives. In a Twitter Q&A this week, Phil Spencer tried to reassure Xbox owners that the lineup will be in better shape when Project Scorpio arrives.
Super Mario Run did not meet expectations
One of the many lessons Nintendo have learned in a rollercoaster few months, must be that people don’t like paying for mobile games. Sales of Super Mario Run did not meet expectations, says Nintendo. We say right model, wrong price, particularly here in the UK where access to the full game now costs £9.99. Super Mario Run launched on Android this week with a little more free content thrown in. It will be interesting to see how it fares.
April’s ‘Games with Gold’ lineup wins silver
April’s Xbox Games with Gold lineup is solid-ish. Clear some space on the hard drive if you are interested in Ryse: Son of Rome, The Walking Dead: Season 2, Darksiders, or Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Or don’t.
Titanfall 2 next free DLC detailed
The next piece of free DLC for Respawn’s Titanfall 2 is an updated version of the first game’s Colony map. It will be available this week, and looks a little something like this.
Will the Switch reach Wii levels of success?
Who’d want to work in games retail? A few weeks after the company’s stock was hit by news of Xbox One GamePass, GameStop COO, Tony Bartel, told investors that he expects the Nintendo Switch to be supply constrained throughout 2017. Good news for him – with a steady stream of sales guaranteed – but maybe not for consumers.
Hey, remember the 3DS?
And finally, let’s not forget the little 3DS, which remains the console of choice for RPG fans. This week, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was confirmed for a May release. The game will also get with a Limited Edition that is packed to the brim with badges and other toot.
