“Bond, James Bond.” A new TV spot has been uploaded online for James Bond’s Spectre, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007. The teaser for Spectre didn’t show much, and most of that footage is in here, but there’s also a bit of some extra teases in this. And I really like what we’re seeing. It starts with that interesting discussion with Naomie Harris, or Moneypenny, talking about how Bond has a secret he can’t tell anyone. Then there’s an appearance by Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra, which is when he delivers that iconic line. Between Léa Seydoux and Bellucci, one of these two has to be working for the bad guy. Dave Bautista gets a quick appearance, though I’m sure more is coming soon in the next trailer. ›››
Throughout Batman history, the Batmobile has been an iconic part of the superhero’s stories, and a key part of the marketing for all the movies. Warner Bros has been hosting rolling roadshows of all the various Batmobiles throughout history, so it makes sense they’re already showing off the latest model now. Wired has snapped a nice, clean shot of the new Batmobile from Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that’s on display at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas this week. A few other photos from social media have been added below. We’ve seen this before, but it’s always nice to see it in closer detail. There’s a hint it may even show up again in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, which is filming right now. Batman is back. ›››
“We’re going to make this as real as we can make it.” Whoa this looks crazy! Universal has debuted a short behind-the-scenes featurette for Baltasar Kormákur’s Everest movie, about the 1996 disaster on Everest. The video profiles the on-location shooting in the Dolomites, to make the film feel and look as authentic as possible. It definitely works. Some of the behind-the-scenes shots from this are as amazing as the footage from the movie itself – see the first trailer. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this movie ever since first hearing about it, and the footage so far looks incredible and so intense. This video explains why – because Baltasar wanted to achieve “big, epic movie moments” for real. Watch this video below, then rewatch the first trailer. ›››
One of the big breakout films of Sundance this year is Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Award at the festival in January. It’s the second feature film directed by up-and-comer Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who also directed The Town That Dreaded Sundown (the remake) before Me and Earl. Deadline has announced his next project, titled Collateral Beauty, from a screenplay written by Allan Loeb (21, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Switch, Just Go with It, Rock of Ages). Not only that but Gomez-Rejon has lined up talented performers Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara to star in the film, which has financing in place from PalmStar Media and Likely Story. So what is the new film about? ›››
With virtual reality poised to be a significant part of E3, one of the biggest players in the business has announced its own dedicated conference–which will begin before the show even starts.
Along with the release date announcement, Bithell has also released a new trailer for the game.
The short video shows off Volume’s Metal Gear Solid-inspired sneaking gameplay, and teases the narrative themes at the heart of the experience.
Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis will play a lead role in Volume. The Gollum actor will voice a villain named Guy Gisborne.
According to Bithell, Serkis was his “dream” actor for the role, and, after some initial struggles, Bithell was able to get him for the game with help from British casting studio Side.
“We’d been looking for an actor to play Gisborne for a while, and even come close to casting it with different folks,” Bithell said. “After one of those attempts fell through, it was a back-to-the-drawing-board moment, and I decided to stop compromising, and go for my dream actor for the role–who I’d get if practicality and reality weren’t an issue.”
“Thank god [Serkis] said yes, and had some time clear in his busy schedule,” Bithell added.
Serkis’ previously played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings licensed games, and had parts in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and Heavenly Sword. He was also recently seen playing Ulysses Klaw in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Following yesterday’s official announcement of the 1TB Xbox One and revamped controller, Microsoft has rolled out a special deal on the new console.
Anyone who preorders the system through the Microsoft Store will receive a bonus $50 gift card. The console launches June 16 and also comes with a free copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
The code will be sent to your email address within 10 days.
The $50 gift card promotion is good through June 30 and also works in-store. Codes must be redeemed by December 31, 2015, and are not combinable with other offers.
The updated Xbox One announced yesterday features not only a larger hard drive (up from the standard 500GB), but also a new matte finish. Otherwise, however, it’s identical in look to the existing model. A new Xbox One controller featuring a 3.5mm stereo jack and updated bumpers is also included in the box and will be available to buy separately.
Microsoft’s other piece of news this week is that the 500GB Xbox One model without Kinect has received a permanent price drop down to $350.
We’re expecting even more news and announcements from Microsoft during the company’s E3 briefing, which is now just days away.
Nintendo on Wednesday shared more details about Devil’s Third, the upcoming Wii U-exclusive developed by Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden’s Tomonobu Itagaki and his team at Valhalla Game Studios.
First up, Nintendo has confirmed that the game, which combines shooting and hack-and-slash elements, will launch on August 28. That date applies to Europe, while a North American date was not announced.
A new trailer has also been released, in which we see Itagaki setting up–in Japanese–what we’re seeing. Though you may not understand what he’s saying, there is still plenty of new gameplay footage to look at.
In a move uncommon to anything we’ve seen in the world of game demos, Square Enix released an update today for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, the playable slice of Final Fantasy XV that first launched in March. This latest version–released to address fan feedback from the original demo–feels like a full-on patch, adding a handful of new content to the roughly four-hour (if you explore everything) demo.
Last month, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata discussed fan feedback from the original demo, noting that the updated demo would address fans’ concerns. Players had problems with the targeting system and slow-moving camera, which hindered fluidity in battle. But after completing the updated Episode Duscae, I can comfortably say that Tabata made good on his promise and then some; in addition to the bevy of fixes, there are a few new missions providing new ways for Noctis to interact with his friends.
After installing the patch, the first thing you may notice about Episode Duscae are changes to the camera. In the previous demo, it ran sluggishly, making it hard to track quick-moving enemies as they darted on and off the screen. The update has rectified this; the camera moves more quickly and is much smoother, allowing you to whip it around in any direction to keep up with the flow of battle.
One element not present in the original demo was Cross Chains, the ability for Noctis to team up with one of his friends and execute joint attacks. In Episode Duscae, these attacks are introduced while Noctis is “On Tour” with one of his companions–which essentially means Noctis and a friend are off on a two-person side mission that will temporarily pause the main quest. In the first tour with beefcake Gladiolus, Noctis learns to use Cross Chains while slicing up some Garulas for their late-night sirloin dinners.
Cross Chains are essentially a small chain of quick-time events and are easy to master once you get the hang of the timing. Noctis’ companion will summon a gold circle, which he must enter in order to instigate the Cross Chain. After the companion lands a hit, it’s Noctis turn, and a successful Cross Chain occurs when Noctis and his partner take turns landing hits three times in a row, for six hits total. If you manage the seesaw-like execution and all six hits successfully land, the pair gets one final, powerful dual attack that will usually bring down enemies in an instant.
According to a message screen in the demo, when all four companions are on the field at once, they will all participate in the final attack of a Cross Chain, allowing them to kill larger, harder enemies like the giant pale blue Catoblepas roaming the watering holes of Duscae region (you know, those massive long-necked creatures you couldn’t engage with in the first demo).
There are three “On Tour” missions in Episode Duscae, one for each of Noctis’ companions. With Gladiolus, you learn how to use Cross Chains. Prompto takes you searching for mushrooms, and Ignis just wants some bro time stargazing. All three friends have their own Cross Chain attacks, making for some fun variation on the battlefield. When you first notice an enemy and the red detection bar appears at the top of the screen, one of Noctis’ friends may approach him to talk–for example, Ignis may come up and ask, “Want to hear more of my plan?”; these interactions will indicate which teammate will want to team up for Cross Chain attacks in that battle, so look out for his prompts.
But my favorite change is the overhaul of the targeting system. Originally, when locking onto an enemy, the camera would not follow them or keep the target in focus in the center of the screen. This has been completely changed, and now you can lock onto an enemy and expect it to stay in the center of your field of vision. It’s now easier to chase enemies as they dart around and move between targets
How you lock onto a target has also changed. Clicking R3 centers the camera in the direction you are looking at, but pressing and briefly holding R1 allows you to hard lock on to the target. A quick tap of R1 will also briefly target an enemy and bring them into focus in the center of the screen. It’s a much more comfortable way of targeting than the previous scheme, which mostly used only R3.
Noctis now has a dodge-roll ability, which can quickly get him out of harm’s way. The parry system has also been tweaked slightly; parry symbols appear above enemies as they charge you, and holding down L1 allows you to dodge and then parry with a strong attack. Previously it didn’t feel like you were given enough time to successfully execute a parry, but now you are given enough warning time to prepare the move. These two changes, coupled with the addition of more in-battle warp points–the top of rocks, mostly–have granted players more freedom of movement, opening up the battlefield for Noctis and allowing for some pretty sweet attack combos.
Other small changes to Episode Duscae include brief scenes of the boys playing around together. Controlling Noctis, I approached camp just as Gladiolus tackled Prompto into our tent and began beating him up. Ignis regaled us with tales of shooting stars while the company drank from mugs around a campfire. After slapping a robotic soldier away from me in combat, Prompto reached out for an ecstatic high five. These brief interactions between the four make their relationships feel stronger; I feel like I’m watching four old friends pal around, and I believe how deeply they care about each other. Each subtle fist-bump and shoulder-punch and pat on the back make Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus feel more real, more interesting, and I can’t wait to see what adventures they get into in the main game.
Also, at the end of each solo mission, you’re shown a cell phone selfie of Noctis and his companion. It’s sweet.
Does the second version of Episode Duscae live up to the promises Square Enix has made? I think so. We’ve got huge improvements to the camera and targeting as well as significant additions to the battle system, and with combat making up such a big part of Final Fantasy games, it’s exciting to see these cool systems play out. And with four main characters as visibly invested in each other as XV’s heroes, I’m optimistic for a promising story.
Today Sega announced a new game in the Sonic franchise, but it’s probably not the one fans were hoping for. A follow-up to last year’s 3DS game Sonic Boom: The Shattered Crystal, the next game is a 3DS exclusive in the Sonic Boom series: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice.
Fire & Ice is coming from Sanzaru Games, the developer behind Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, among other games. But after the mostly negative response to the two previous Boom games, why does Sega think things will be different this time? I talked with Sega Producer Omar Woodley and Sega PR representative Aaron Weber about making the Sonic Boom franchise better and how Sega isn’t giving up on classic Sonic.
As setup, Omar explained that Fire & Ice will have a much greater emphasis on a sense of speed and “returning favorites” from Shattered Crystal–things like “the tube races and some of the minigames.” And the five main characters from the animated series are playable: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks the jungle badger.
GameSpot: Since the Wii U version was less successful last time, and the 3DS was already more popular, why not try to do the Wii U version again but better? Why shift completely to the 3DS?
Aaron Weber: Sanzaru [the game’s developer] was already focused on the 3DS; they already had the structure built, and they already had the systems in place. So it was just a natural step for us to go with 3DS. So that was the main focus for us.
Omar Woodley: And the 3DS was definitely the stronger of the two titles last year. We saw it both in the user and the critical reviews, and so that was what really decided it. If we’re really going to focus on something, we’re really going to step it up and improve all of the things that need improvement, and try to make it a really solid game. The 3DS was a very natural choice.
We weren’t too happy about the Wii U [version]; we totally feel the 3DS was the stronger of the two. So [Fire & Ice] is 3DS-only. We learned a lot from all the reviews, from our events with consumers, from all the fans, and we took a lot of those comments to heart. So we went back to the drawing board and worked on a new game, with [developer] Sanzaru Games–Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice.
Basically, we took a lot of that feedback and we tried to fix what consumers and the fans felt was not truly “Sonic” in the last game or what were problematic areas: the character swapping; some of the special abilities weren’t fluid enough; the size of the levels were enormous and the users felt lost in this huge labyrinth. And also, users really felt that the speed wasn’t there. The speed that represented Sonic wasn’t true, so we went back and kind of reestablished and reworked a lot of our methodologies on how we designed the levels.
We really wanted to focus on fluidity of gameplay. So in this version we’ve actually decreased the size of the levels about 40%. We’ve cut a linear path through the main part of the level, so you can literally sprint through the whole level and have that fast Sonic experience. We’ve put all the exploration aspects on the periphery of the levels. We’re keeping the exploration because that is what Sonic Boom is. It’s a way of us taking Sonic out of his classic legacy gameplay, his arcade vibe, and it’s giving him a more real-world presentation, a more adventure-based presentation for a new generation of gamers.
We’ve also tied the game more closely to where the animated series is at this point. Last year we launched the game right at the beginning of the animated series. There wasn’t really a great following because the train was literally just leaving the station at that time. So nobody really knew what Sonic Boom was. A lot of the core fans said, “That’s not Sonic.” But I think this time around Sonic Boom is one of the leading cartoons on the Cartoon Network. We have established the merchandising already in stores so the message is pretty clear what Sonic Boom is.
What do you think led to that disconnect with the original Sonic Boom?
OW: I think the core fan base was expecting the classic-looking Sonic. Classic-looking Knuckles. We revamped all the characters, and I think that was one big shock to the fan base and consumers. We didn’t really explain until after we redesigned them why we were doing it. But by then we still hadn’t launched any animated episodes. We hadn’t shown any animations. So still there wasn’t a clear message as to what we were trying to do.
People thought it was just going to be a reboot, not a different direction to go with Sonic. And I think that was what was confusing to the user.
So this is aimed more at that younger new audience, rather than the established fanbase?
OW: Correct. This is in line with what we tried to do last year, but I think we’ll be more successful this time because we have the animation out. We have the merchandising out. On Cartoon Network, the animated series targets the 6-to-11-year-old age range, and the game is also primarily targeted towards that age range. But, of course, we’re going to attract the core fan base because it’s Sonic.
AW: One of the key challenges with Sonic as a franchise is that you have such a legacy. That you have people who grew up with it on the Sega Genesis. People that grew up with it on the Dreamcast, and the Gamecube. And then you have another generation, the younger audience, that are kids that watch the TV show every weekend.
How do you appeal to all three of those groups? Because each of those is looking for something a little bit different. Though the primary focus is definitely toward the younger audience, there’s a lot of the stuff in there that the team has tried to bring in that makes it feel very iconic to Sonic 2. It’s a lot faster this time around, swapping characters is much easier. The music was done by Richard Jacques who was one of the composers for Sonic: 3D Blast, back in ’96. So there’s a lot of history from different angles and elements. Even the story has certain parallels to the storylines from older Sonic games. That’s one of the things they’re trying to do to bring in those other audiences and offer something for them.
So does the original Sonic still exist? We recently learned about Mario and Sonic at the Rio Olympics, and that looks like the Sonic that we’re familiar with from previous games. Will these two Sonics co-exist?
AW: Yeah, they essentially run parallel, so obviously Nintendo just announced the new Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic games, and that is like what we call modern Sonic. He’s got the green eyes; the tan arms, instead of the blue arms; and no scarf. So for the really hardcore vocal fans, they can be happy with that Sonic. But likewise, Sonic Boom as a TV show is doing extremely well on Cartoon Network right now so there’s this new generation coming up watching that and really enjoying that. This game is built in that universe. They both exist simultaneously.
The other thing people wonder about concerns Sega’s recent changes. Has that affected development? Has that affected the way that the company approaches Sonic and the franchise?
AW: In some ways it does affect the way that we approach a franchise, but for us, as you’ve probably seen, we’re focusing a lot more on Sonic these days. Sonic is one of the big things we’re looking at right now. I’m going to be moving down to Los Angeles, and we’ll have a whole team down there that is dedicated to Sonic–to the Sonic brand, to the games, to the licensing. At this point we’re doing Sonic licensing on everything from toys to wallets with the classic Sonic design. That’s something we’ll continue to focus on as we go forward and Sonic remains a huge priority for us.
With the changes at Konami, I think people are even more sensitive to potentially losing these childhood icons. But it sounds like you’re not going to abandon the fans who still want that core Sonic experience, just because Boom is a big popular thing.
AW: Right.
What drove the decision to go with an outside developer for this rather than an internal team at Sega?
AW: Sonic Boom was a western initiative. And so for that we wanted to use a western developer to have that perspective. It’s very different to the way Japanese developers work, and especially Sonic Team, they don’t necessarily grasp everything that we’re trying to establish with the adventure aspect. And so we kind of have to give them that presentation as far as what we want to do with the game and the animation. We want to have more of a Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider kind of spin on things; they are more focused on the classic style of gameplay for Sonic.
OW: For the story, we tried to tie it more to what’s concurrently going on in the animated series. Eggman is a big character in the animated series. He’s basically the co-star with Sonic. A lot of the episodes revolve around Eggman’s shenanigans and his devious plots, and then Sonic is confronted with that, or he helps Eggman out of some trouble because Eggman’s gotten in over his head. We didn’t introduce any new mysterious ancient alien race or anything like we did in the previous games. We thought that that was just not the way to go this time.
Is there any StreetPass functionality that will be put into the game? Or Amiibo?
AW: We have StreetPass planned, but we’re not detailing out what that is yet. And we have the local play for the bot racing. Those are the only two additional features that we have in there.
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is coming out this holiday.
