Here’s our round-up of the week’s best video games news from Thumbsticks, and around the web.
Post E3 it remains a quiet time for news. but there are still a few announcements and stories to chew over, with plenty on the horizon for fans of retro games in particular.
SNES Classic Edition announced
We had a hunch it was coming, but I don’t think anyone expected the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System – or Super NES Classic Edition as it’s called in the US – to be announced quite so soon. The mini console comes with 21 games, and two controllers, thankfully with 5ft long cables. Pre-orders in the UK are selling out as quickly as they are announced, whilst our friends in North American play a nervous waiting game. Everyone has a view on what games should be included, but for us, it’s pretty much the perfect roster, especially when one of those games is…
Star Fox 2 is coming out, finally
The unreleased, but never forgotten Star Fox sequel will make its official debut on Nintendo’s new Super NES Classic Edition. Daniel Starkey at Glixel discusses the development of Star Fox 2 with Dylan Cuthbert, who worked on the series before founding Q-Games in 2001. In a short interview with Famitsu – translated via Forbes – Nintendo reveal that they have finally found a way to convert games that use the SNES Super FX chip. This explains why the first Star Fox, and Yoshi’s Island – two titles that have never been released on Virtual Console – are also included on the new mini console.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy review
This retro theme continues with this week’s release of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on PlayStation 4. The reviews are in, and it’s a mixed bag for the collection of three remastered PS1 classics. Writing at Polygon, Ashley Oh finds the game’s glow of nostalgia is offset by over-precise game design, “There’s absolutely no margin for error on many of the jumps in these games, and a majority of them are tiny or viewed from an awkward angle.” Jonathon Dornbush at IGN speaks more positively, saying “The platforming, for better and occasionally worse, retains the demanding, and punishing challenge of the originals coated in a polished, modern sheen that makes even the most familiar levels feel fresh.”
Beyond Good and the Caribbean
Of all the trailers to came out of E3, few were as memorable, impactful, or beautiful as Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil 2 press conference closer. After poring over concept art released by Ubisoft, the eagle-eyed folks at All Games Delta noticed what appears to be an appearance by Mistress Ching from the film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Although it’s almost certainly a tonal placeholder, the thought of Captain Jack also turning up in the game gives us the willies. Ubisoft have now blurred out the offending character.
Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds ban
In an update on Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds‘ Steam page, Brendan Green detailed the range of tweaks, changes and improvements included in this week’s Early Access Month 3 patch. He also revealed the scale of the studio’s own battle against cheating.
“This is an ongoing battle, but one we are committed to fighting! We have banned 25,000+ users in the last 3 months, and work daily with BattlEye to add new protections and detections for cheats appearing on the market. We are currently monitoring gameplay very carefully, and our data science team is spending much of their time preparing reports on how you play the game. We plan to make continuing changes to improve play area size & speed, loot balance, and gunplay properties in order to provide an exciting and fair gaming experience to everyone.”
Lawbreakers Open Beta
Based on the enthusiasm we saw for the game at E3, we have a hunch that LawBreakers has every chance of carving out its own niche when it’s released on August 8, 2017. In the meantime, there are a few days left to join the game’s Open Beta Event.
Mass Effect DLC DOA
Kotaku’s Jason Schreier reports on the hoax Facebook post that was nonetheless correct regarding the prospect of single-player DLC for Mass Effect Andromeda. In short, there won’t be any. It doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it’s yet another sad footnote for a game that has failed to live up to the reputation of its beloved predecessors.
Speedrun of the Wild
The first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has only been out for a few days, but speed runners have already managed to beat its Trial of the Sword mode in around an hour. So far I’ve been floundering at the the tenth and eleventh floors, so I doth my cap, and bow to the superior game playing talents of Loloup and friends.
Inside and Limbo get a retail release
505 Games have announced a double retail pack of Playdead’s Limbo and Inside. The collection will hit stores in the US on September 12th, and Europe on September 15th. It will be priced at $29.99/£29.99.
Gimme Somerville
On a related note, Playdead co-founder Dino Patti has teased the first game from his new studio, Jumpship. Titled Somerville, the short teaser trailer shows what appears to be an alien arrival over a rural homestead. We don’t have any details on gameplay, but it certainly continues looks beautifu
New game releases and sales
- PlayStation Store releases for July 4th, 2017
- Details of the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Free PlayStation Plus games for July 2017 confirmed
- Xbox Games With Gold for July 2017 revealed
- Details of the PlayStation Store Mid-Year Sale
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