Category: IGN

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night developer ArtPlay has brought Shantae: Half-Genie Hero developer WayForward Technologies on board to help with development.

Announced through Bloodstained’s Kickstarter page, producer Koji Igarashi called WayForward a “top-tier” developer of side-scrolling action games, adding that he worked with one of WayForward’s employees on a previous project. Igarashi said WayForward would help him to realize his vision for the game.

The producer added that WayForward has been “helping to improve the game and fix any bugs that pop up.” There’s one bug in particular that’s currently making Bloodstained crash, but Igarashi said it’ll be fixed with the new partner studio’s help. 

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Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, will be presenters at The Game Awards next week.

Announced by Geoff Keighley, the Russo brothers being presenters may hint that we are going to see more of Square Enix’s Avengers game in development by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal.

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Microsoft has won a “$480 million contract to supply prototypes for augmented reality systems to the Army for use on combat missions and in training.”

As reported by Bloomberg, this contract could lead to the US Army purchasing over 100,000 HoloLens headsets, intending to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy.”

While the U.S. Army and Israeli military have been running training programs with Microsoft HoloLens, these next steps would prepare them in use for live combat.

While the Army will be using HoloLens devices, they will obviously be different than the consumer-grade products as they will look to “incorporate night vision and thermal sensing, measure vital signs like breathing and “readiness,” monitor for concussions and offer hearing protection.”

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BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson teased a Dragon Age announcement in a recent post on BioWare’s official blog.

“If you’ve been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter, you know we’re also working on some secret Dragon Age stuff,” said Hudson. “Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we’re excited to continue its legacy.  Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won’t tell you where to look…).”

While “Dragon Age stuff” doesn’t necessarily mean BioWare is gearing up to announce the next entry in the role-playing franchise, the timing of this news is interesting. It’s possible this announcement could come during The Game Awards, which airs on December 6.

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I had finally done it. After several hours of navigating bugs and glitches, surviving enemies whose AI seemed to ping-pong between omniscient and ludicrously stupid, and maze-like level design, I had reached the end of an area of Underworld Ascendant that had given me considerable trouble. I actually paused, allowed myself to feel that relief and euphoria one gets when they never have to look at something terrible again. The portal to the exit was before me. I stepped forward.

…And fell through the floor, as the geometry of the Stygian Abyss decided arbitrarily to render itself ethereal. The Ascendant, Underworld’s protagonist, plummeted into some sort of netherscape that forced a reset to escape, and, thanks to Underworld Ascendant’s ludicrous save system, all progress in the level in question was lost. An entire night spent meticulously poking around, exploring, fighting, and sneaking was rendered moot by something beyond my control.

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BEYOND!

On this week’s episode of IGN’s PlayStation show, Beyond!, Max Scoville is filling in for the usual host Jonathon Dornbush, and he’s joined by Brian Altano, Tina Amini, and Andrew Goldfarb.

The big topics this week are the beta for Red Dead Online, which is off to a considerably smoother start than Grand Theft Auto V had, half a decade ago. There are some rumors of a new Alien game being announced at The Game Awards, and Andrew is very excited about those new Persona dancing games.

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See the online beta schedule; plus learn how to start playing and if your single-player save is connected to Red Dead Online.

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It’s much easier to get around fast in Red Dead Online, though it can cost a pretty penny. Here’s how.

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Five years after Valve’s last major game, the legendary developer proves it still knows how to make amazing things. As a Dota 2-themed digital card game, Artifact may not be what people were expecting, but it does exactly what Valve is known for: it’s something different and exciting within an established genre, housed in the most detailed and polished package possible.

Artifact sets itself apart from so many other card games that find their roots in Magic: The Gathering – a game that Artifact’s designer, Richard Garfield, created in 1993 – by splitting the playing field into three lanes and having you pick five persistent Heroes for your deck that get stronger and respawn throughout the match. While playing cards and dealing damage might be familiar to Hearthstone or Magic fans, the way Artifact makes you think about that is fundamentally different.

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Fallout 76 is Bethesda Game Studios’ first foray into multiplayer for the popular series. Unfortunately, its launch has drawn tepid responses, to put it mildly.

But what it has undoubtedly succeeded in doing is generating even more anticipation for a new single-player Fallout game, and while 76 may not have stuck its landing, it does have a few ideas worth carrying forward—and some lessons that should definitely be taken to heart.

Here are five things Fallout 5 can learn from Fallout 76.

It’s Past Time to Recreate Creation

While Fallout 76 looks spectacular in some places—especially when the lighting and atmosphere really click—the Creation Engine’s technical limitations were conspicuous in Fallout 4 back in 2015. In 2018, they’re inexcusable. Fallout 76’s performance is hindered by frequent stutters, game crashes, and launch consoles struggling to maintain a reasonable framerate—not to mention the lack of a field-of-view slider. It’s a shame the Creation Engine is known for these issues, and not as an efficient design platform both Bethesda and modders expertly use to build bigger, better worlds. The next Fallout game is unlikely to use a new engine, but we can at least hope Bethesda is willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary to bring Creation up to par.

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