Month: August 2019

Sony Outlines Its Tokyo Game Show Plans, And There Won’t Be A Press Conference

Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia has outlined its plans for the Tokyo Game Show 2019, which runs from September 12 to 15 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. Sony will be showcasing numerous games at the PlayStation booth on the show floor, but unlike previous years this is yet another event that won’t feature a Sony press conference.

The company opted to skip E3 entirely earlier this year, marking the first time it has done so since entering the video game industry in the mid-90s. “PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019,” a PlayStation representative said at the time. Sony also decided not to host its annual PlayStation Experience, so TGS is just the latest event in the 2019 calendar year to feel the absence of a usual Sony press conference.

Sony recently shared some of the first details about its next-gen console–which we’re tentatively calling the PlayStation 5. It’s likely the company is keeping its cards close to its chest, passing on this year’s events until it has something more meaningful to reveal regarding the future of PlayStation in 2020.

Regardless, Sony will still have a show floor presence at TGS. The PlayStation booth will offer playable demos of upcoming PS4 titles such as Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nioh 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (which Sony Interactive Entertainment publishes in Japan), as well as featuring PlayStation VR demos for Space Channel 5 VR Kinda Funky News Flash! and Marvel’s Iron Man. There will also be a mega-theatre showing footage from Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding, and Sony is hosting a special match on Modern Warfare featuring members of professional Esports teams.

The company is hosting a series of stage events over the course of the show, too, with developers showing gameplay demonstrations of upcoming games. These events will be live-streamed so we’ll likely see more footage from titles like Nioh 2 and Final Fantasy VII Remake. The full stage event schedule and further information on the full lineup of games at the PlayStation booth will be announced at a later date.

In other TGS news, Capcom is set to reveal a new Resident Evil game–codenamed Project Resistance–prior to the show, with attendees being able to get their hands on the potential co-op title once the event opens its doors.

Joker Movie Director Had To Campaign For His R-Rated Vision

The upcoming Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix carries an R rating, and director Todd Phillips apparently had to work hard to convince Warner Bros. to allow him to make his more mature vision. He told The Los Angeles Times that it was a lengthy process to get the R rating for Joker. Some people within Warner Bros. were apparently concerned about merchandising, among other things related to the content.

“There were emails about: ‘You realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target.’ There were a zillion hurdles, and you just sort of had to navigate those one at a time,” Phillips said. “At the time I would curse them in my head every day. But then I have to put it in perspective and go, ‘They’re pretty bold that they did this.'”

Producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff said in the interview that it was difficult to get the green light for Phillips’ version of Joker, due in part to “concerns about some of the content.” However, after Warner Bros. agreed to a budget, which was reportedly much lower than typical superhero movies at a reported $55 million, everything got underway more smoothly.

“Once we locked and loaded our budget, they really gave us a tremendous amount of space to do what we needed to do,” Koskoff said. “The passion Todd has for this movie is palpable, and when he starts talking about it, he’s hard to say no to. At the end of the day, he got to make the movie he wanted to make.”

This sounds like a similar situation to the Wolverine movie Logan. Star Hugh Jackman reportedly took a big paycut so as to minimize the financial risk to the studio.

Also in the interview, Phillips spoke about his reluctance to make a comic book movie of his own. He said he’s been offered them in the past, but he always said no. “I don’t watch those movies,” he said. “It’s not because I don’t think it’s cool. It’s just like, quite frankly, they’re always so loud. It was just never something I imagined doing.”

It’s not exactly clear what convinced Phillips to sign on for Joker, but for what it’s worth, the film may not be a traditional comic book movie. He explained previously that his movie doesn’t borrow much at all from the source material.

“We didn’t follow anything from the comic books, which people are gonna be mad about,” Phillips, who also wrote the script, said in a July interview. “We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from. That’s what was interesting to me. We’re not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It’s about this man.”

Joker premieres at the Venice Film Festival this weekend before its wide opening in theatres on October 4. In addition to Phoenix in the title role, the movie stars Robert de Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy.

Joker is something of a change for Phillips, who previously made the Hangover and Old School comedies. He also wrote for Borat, which earned him his Oscar nomination.

New Terminator: Dark Fate Trailer Teases A New Apocalypse

In 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day told us when the world would end. August 29, 1997 was designated as Judgment Day, when the machines would rise up against the humans. Clearly, that didn’t happen, thanks to any number of movie sequels and timeline changes. However, the day still holds significance for Terminator fans, and Paramount Studios has chosen to celebrate it with a new trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate, the next film in the series.

The trailer explains what’s going on in this latest sequel. Although Sarah Connor successfully helped change the future in T2 back in 1991, she didn’t change humanity’s fate–which, based on the movie’s name, we’re guessing is pretty dark. There’s also an iconic Terminator line at the trailer’s end, so it’s worth watching all the way through.

While Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return for this movie shouldn’t come as much of a surprise–he’s yet to miss an installment–Dark Fate does see the return of two vital people. James Cameron is back producing the film, his first time being hands-on with the franchise since 1991’s Judgment Day. Also returning for the first time since T2 is Linda Hamilton, reprising her role as Sarah Connor.

The new film, from director Tim Miller (Deadpool), picks up 27 years after the events of Terminator 2, as Sarah and the original T-800 cyborg Schwarzenegger played in the first film come to the aid of a cyborg-human hybrid (Mackenzie Davis), who is trying to save a woman (Natalia Reyes) from being killed by a liquid metal Terminator (Gabriel Luna), sent from the future by Skynet. It should also be noted that Dark Fate is a direct sequel to T2 and is not connected to the franchise’s other installments–so don’t worry if you happened to miss 2009’s Terminator Salvation or 2015’s Terminator Genisys.

The movie will also reportedly flash back to the 1990s, with body doubles stepping in for younger versions of Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong (John Connor). The doubles will likely have their faces digitally replaced by CGI versions of both actors, as Bloody Disgusting points out.

Terminator: Dark Fate arrived in theaters on November 1.

Astral Chain: How To Get S+ Rank In Combat

One of the common features across stylish-action games such as Bayonetta or Devil May Cry is a system that grades your performance in combat. It’s motivation for playing better and using your suite of abilities to its full potential, which often leads to better rewards. Nintendo Switch exclusive Astral Chain does the same if you play on either Platinum Standard or Platinum Ultimate difficulty, but it works a bit differently this time around.

Astral Chain’s combat scenarios conclude by giving you a letter grade from D (lowest) to S+ (highest), and there are several factors that go into the grade you get. The number one thing to keep in mind is to use your variety of Legions and different skills as much as you can. Another important tip is to always hit your sync attacks and sync finishers; these account for a good chunk of points at the end of combat. Getting multiple chain binds and consecutive critical backstab hits also heavily factor into point totals.

Essentially any sweet move you can do in Astral Chain contributes to the overall score you get (10,000+ being the requirement for S+ rank). Time to complete the combat scenario is also part of your score calculation so its best to be efficient, too. There is nothing that will explicitly take points away from you since there are no negatives in the calculation, just points you leave on the table.

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However, Astral Chain differs from its contemporaries in a big way; its scoring system does not account for damage taken. That’s right, you can take as much damage as you want (though you don’t really want that) and still get the coveted S+ ranking–even using up your AED revives won’t prevent a top tank. The way damage can hinder your score is if your combos or abilities constantly get broken up, preventing you from pulling off the moves that add points to your overall score.

Though the game doesn’t make it explicitly clear what the conditions for achieving certain awards are, you can get a general idea of what they require based on their names. The following is a long list of the awards I’ve commonly earned in combat:

  • Legion Skill
  • Legion Skill Master
  • Chain Bind
  • Multi Chain Bind
  • Backstab
  • Perfect Call
  • Finishing Touch
  • Legion of Legions
  • Long Range Only
  • Running On Empty
  • Accident-Prone
  • Medicine Master
  • Dodge and Sync
  • Sync Attacker
  • Drop and Sync
  • Sync Attack Master
  • Naked Eye
  • Stunning
  • Full Arsenal
  • Multiple Legions
  • Item Hoarder
  • Chain of Command

At the end of the day, there are many ways to achieve S+ ranks in Astral Chain. It’s not exact science but in my experience, hitting multiple sync attacks, juggling between at least three different Legion, and using cool down attacks have been enough to earn consistent S+ grades. There comes a point in the game (especially in the endgame combat missions) where success is only really possible by playing in this manner; you’ll inherently earn top rank most times.

For more on Astral Chain, be sure to check out all our coverage and content:

Astral Chain Guide: Advanced Combat Tips, Advice, And Everything You Need To Know

Tips to Help You Master Astral Chain’s Combat

Platinum Games’ is a developer known for creating satisfying combat mechanics, and Astral Chain‘s has continued this tradition with a unique and exciting combat system. While it has a decent opening tutorial system to help you along, there are several tactics and maneuvers that the game doesn’t quite tell you early on. To help you become the ultimate anime cop, we’ve gathered some handy tips below.

Hopefully, these combat tips will give you the fighting edge against the vicious Chimeras! Those beasts can be a handful if you’re not careful, so definitely study what we’ve highlighted to ensure your survival during the game’s tougher encounters. For a look at how S+ rank combat looks, watch the video above. Otherwise, refer to the table of contents below to jump to the tips you want to hear about most.

Table of Contents

For the uninitiated, Astral Chain is the latest from Platinum Games, a studio most known for its work on top-tier action games like Bayonetta, Nier: Automata, and Vanquish. It’s possibly one of the developer’s best titles; GameSpot editor Michael Higham gave it an X/10 and said: “Astral Chain’s underwhelming story doesn’t overshadow what it does best. It’s an incredible execution of a fresh take on the stylish-action foundation. And its own anime-inspired swagger makes the satisfying battles all the more exhilarating.”

If you enjoyed this Astral Chain guide and want more, be sure to let us know in the comments below. And don’t hesitate to discuss any additional tips you’ve found while out on the battlefield.

Astral Chain Guide: The Tips And Advice You Need To Get Started

Anime Police Academy

Anime Police Academy

The latest from developer Platinum Games (best known for the Bayonetta series) is the Nintendo Switch exclusive Astral Chain. It shares a lot of similarities to its stylish-action relatives, but Astral Chain separates itself with a unique, thrilling combat system–you control a player-character and a Legion simultaneously. This makes for some incredible fights, and it’ll take some time to wrap your head around all its intricacies. There are systems layered on top of the tandem chaos, like Ability Codes and a skill tree to upgrade for new attacks, and we’ll point out some key things to pay attention to.

While we’ll help you with some basics to keep in mind during battle, there’s a lot more to the game than combat. Within segmented story chapters, you’ll explore semi-open hub areas side missions, investigations, and other optional content. Primary objectives are fairly straight-forward, but to get the most out of Astral Chain, you’ll need to do some poking and prodding to reveal hidden quests.

  • Not All Quests Appear On The Map
  • IRIS Is Your Best Friend
  • Accessing Ladders
  • Understanding The Chip..er…Ability Code System
  • Premium Material Codes Are A Premium
  • The Quirks Of Dodging
  • Don’t Get High On Your Own Supply
  • Red Matter Boosts Legion Energy Past Max
  • Rank Doesn’t Account For Damage, But Style
  • Listen For Meowing, Save Cats If Pawssible
  • Put Up Your Blue Shield
  • The Power Of Two Legions
  • Beast Legion’s Auto Dodge And More
  • Experiment With Legion Abilities

Astral Chain is out now, and chances are if you’re looking through this compilation of tips, you’re already set on playing the game. But if you’re interested in reading some detailed thoughts on the game, be sure to read my Astral Chain review, or check out my breakdown of how long Astral Chain takes to beat. For more advanced pointers, read through (or watch) our compilation of in-depth Astral Chain combat tips.

Gears 5 Has More Expansive Levels, But It Isn’t Trying To Be Red Dead Or Far Cry

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Gears 5 represents something of a change for the shooter series in that its campaign mode features levels that are “more open and expansive.” That’s according to The Coalition boss Rod Fergusson, who explained to GameSpot that while Gears 5’s levels will be larger, the studio isn’t aiming for a true open-world experience that’s similar to what you might find in the Red Dead and Far Cry franchises.

Some people who worked on Gears 5 previously developed open-world games in the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchises. They’ve taken those learnings to Gears 5, but the game is doing something different.

“We just knew that we weren’t trying to be another Red Dead or Far Cry or Ghost Recon,” Fergusson said. “We were just saying, ‘How can we take Gears and make it feel more open and expansive without trying to go toe-to-toe with Ubisoft?’ Because that’s not really what this game is. We just wanted to take inspiration from genres we love to give a bit more freedom and that idea of player choice.”

Making Gears 5 less linear than previous Gears of War games has been “one of our biggest challenges,” Fergusson said. That’s in part because of the unique dynamic of The Coalition.

The studio took over development on the Gears of War series after Microsoft bought the franchise from Epic. The team made its first brand-new game, Gears of War 4, which was more linear. With Gears 5, the studio ramped up its ambition further, and this wasn’t easy.

“The unfortunate part is once you figure something out, you have to go down to where you truly understand it,” he said. “So we had a team that didn’t make Gears before, so we made Gears 4. We were feeling pretty confident. ‘Okay, we know how to to make a Gears game, we know to do all this stuff,’ and then this little thing called ambition gets in the way and you start creating new ideas that nobody has a clue how to do necessarily. And it makes an interesting challenge again.”

Gears 5 also differs from previous Gears of War games in that it has some light RPG systems that provide branching narrative experiences. However, Gears 5 is not an RPG at heart. In playing a section of the campaign, GameSpot’s Mat Paget speaks about how Gears 5 still feels like a traditional gun- and action-heavy Gears of War game.

Looking ahead to the future, Fergusson said he struggles to see how The Coalition can top itself with a potential Gears 6 in terms of size and scale. Not only that, it seemingly remains to be seen if future games–which have not been announced–will continue to include new elements like larger levels and RPG elements.

“I have trouble imagining a bigger game than Gears 5,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see how people react to some of the changes. I don’t know how people will react to the RPG-ness, how people will react to the larger levels … “

Gears 5 launches on September 10, but the game unlocks four days early for people who buy the game’s Ultimate edition or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. The game is available to pre-load right now, and you can see GameSpot’s rundown of the Gears 5 server start times, launch maps, and more.

For more, check out GameSpot’s new preview of Gears 5: Gears 5: Huge, Open Levels And Creative Combat Deliver Big Changes

How Gears 5 Was Inspired By Bioshock: Infinite

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The Gears of War series is known for a specific pace of combat. The cover-based mechanics helped revolutionize shooters, but Gears 5 is taking a very different approach inspired more by open-world shooters. In an interview with GameSpot, studio head Rod Fergusson explained how the studio took notes from another game he worked on, BioShock Infinite.

“We were saying we want to challenge expectations of player choice,” Fergusson said. “What are ways that we can give the player more choice? And so one way is player-initiated combat. I learned that lesson from Bioshock Infinite. And so, the idea that there are battles that the swarm are just kind of meandering around and whatever, and you get to look around and see that there’s a weapon over there or there’s a flank point there or a sniper over there, and then what are the tools I have in Jack that I can sort of use to overcome the situation? We wanted to allow you that moment to take it in and decide how you wanted to play it out.”

Fergusson went on to explain that introducing enemies with health bars helps more clearly signal to the player how aggressive they can be, as compared with past Gears games, and the RPG elements and upgrades help add more variety to combat.

“What are the ways that people are going to play? We didn’t want there to be one where you would just fill up all the upgrades, and at the end, everybody plays the same,” he said. “That’s why we didn’t do the tech tree thing. We wanted people to be like, ‘Oh, I want to invest in this thing’ or ‘This is the way that I like to play. I like stealth, so I want to do this,’ or ‘I don’t like stealth, I like this.'”

Gears 5 launches on PC and Xbox One on September 10, but early access begins a few days earlier for Ultimate Edition purchasers or Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. For more detail, read our hands-on impressions of the campaign, Horde Mode, and how its microtransactions and multiplayer progression work.