Author: Trafficblast

Ninjala, the free-to-play melee action game from Let It Die developer GungHo Online, is out now exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can find it on the Eshop, but servers will only go live later today.

Ninjala is a primarily multiplayer-focused action game, with a style that should make Splatoon players feel welcome. It features two modes: 4v4 PvP matches and a free-for-all eight player battle royale. You’ll unlock new gear and weapons as in-game seasons progress, as well as Shinobi cards that reward you with passive buffs. You also won’t require Nintendo Online to play with other players.

Along with multiplayer, Ninjala will feature an evolving single-player campaign. The story is told through comic book panels, and accompanied by an anime series online that will flesh out some of its characters more over time. The campaign will also feature various types of campaign missions, included stealth-focused ones and large boss fights. Additional story missions will also be part of seasonal content, and added to over time.

Ninjala’s servers are set to go live at 7 PM PT/ 10 PM ET, but you can be ready for them by downloading the game now for free. Here’s to hoping it goes more smoothly than the game’s most recent open beta.

GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.

Ex-PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has put forward a case to reconsider the scale and scope of AAA video games, stating that the current large-scale offerings are unsustainable for the industry.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Layden discussed the issue at Gamelab Live following a conversation about The Last of Us Part 2, a game that was partially developed during his 25 year tenure at Sony. At approximately 10 hours longer than its predecessor and more technologically advanced, it likely cost a substantial amount more to develop. Yet it still retails for the same price – $59.99.

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“The problem with that model is it’s just not sustainable,” said Layden. He explained that current generation development costs reach between $80 million and $150 million (excluding marketing costs) for AAA games, with the work taking up to five years to complete. Furthermore, AAA budgets have historically doubled each generation, meaning that PS5 development budgets could hit $300 million.

“I don’t think that, in the next generation, you can take those numbers and multiply them by two and think that you can grow,” he added. “I think the industry as a whole needs to sit back and go, ‘Alright, what are we building? What’s the audience expectation? What is the best way to get our story across, and say what we need to say?’

He pointed out how these budgets are unsustainable if retail prices cannot be elastic. “It’s been $59.99 since I started in this business, but the cost of games have gone up ten times. If you don’t have elasticity on the price-point, but you have huge volatility on the cost line, the model becomes more difficult. I think this generation is going to see those two imperatives collide.”

AAA is not going to get any less expensive with the advent of 4K art and the expectation of large game worlds. Layden points out that this could also shut different types of creators out of the AAA business.

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“It’s hard for every adventure game to shoot for the 50 to 60 hour gameplay milestone, because that’s gonna be so much more expensive to achieve,” he said. “And in the end you may close some interesting creators and their stories out of the market if that’s the kind of threshold they have to meet… We have to reevaluate that.”

Layden believes that developers need to consider spending three years on a 15 hour experience, rather than five years on an 80 hour game, which could not only help keep costs in control and maintain the standard retail price point, but also help craft “tighter, more compelling content”.

For more in Sony’s huge budget games, check out our reviews of The Last of Us Part 2, God of War, and Horizon Zero Dawn.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

27 years later, Jurassic Park remains one of the all-time great summer blockbusters. Now Mattel is giving fans a new way to celebrate their love for the movie with a downright amazing action figure of Wayne Knight’s lovable villain Dennis Nedry.

IGN can exclusively reveal Mattel’s newest Jurassic Park figure, inspired by one of the more iconic scenes in the original movie. Check out “Barbasol Dennis Nedry” in the slideshow gallery below:

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This particular figure is inspired by the early scene where Nedry meets with Cameron Thor’s character Lewis Dodgson and receives the customized Barbasol shaving cream can that Nedry uses in his ill-fated attempt to smuggle dinosaur embryos out of the park. The figure itself (which is 1:18 scale and measures about 3.75-inches-tall) comes with scene-appropriate accessories like a bag full of money, a tiny Barbasol can and a slice of pie topped with shaving cream.

However, the packaging is clearly the star of the show here. The figure comes packaged inside a full-size replica version of the Barbasol can. The can acts as a display case, but it’s also an interactive toy in its own right. The base can be twisted to activate a light-up effect, and the top button can be pressed to hear one of several iconic Nedry lines from the movie (including “Uh, uh, uh! You didn’t say the magic word!”).

The Barbasol Dennis Nedry figure is one of several SDCC-exclusive pieces Mattel is releasing this summer. With the physical Comic-Con show canceled for 2020, these exclusives are being offered online instead. Barbasol Dennis Nedry is priced at $20 and will be available for pre-order through Entertainment Earth beginning at 9am PST on June 24. Pre-orders will also be available through the Mattel Creations website beginning in July.

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In other collectibles news, we recently got an early look at Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Classified Cobra Commander figure, an incredible detailed and very expensive statue of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and new Star Wars figures featuring fan-favorite characters like Ahsoka Tano and The Mandalorian.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Terry Crews has revealed that the Brooklyn Nine-Nine writers have thrown the Season 8 scripts “in the trash” after having lots of “deep conversations” about the Black Lives Matter movement.

In an interview with Access Daily, Crews, who plays Lieutenant Terry Jeffords on the show, spoke about the impact of the Black Lives Matters movement and how it has affected future storylines on the police procedural sitcom. He admitted four episodes that were “ready to go” have now been scrapped, and that the writing team is starting over in an effort to amplify themes coming out of the movement.

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“We’ve had a lot of somber talks about it and deep conversations and we hope through this we’re going to make something that will be truly groundbreaking this year. We have an opportunity and we plan to use it in the best way possible,” Crews stated. “Our showrunner Dan Goor, they had four episodes all ready to go and they just threw them in the trash. We have to start over. Right now we don’t know which direction it’s going to go in.”

“This is an opportunity right now for us all to unite and get together and understand what this is and that we have to battle this together,” he added, reflecting on the broader conversation about racial equality, and calling for permanent change.

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Crews didn’t elaborate on the storylines of the four episodes that won’t make it to air, but we are expecting the full regular cast to return for Season 8, including Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Joel McKinnon Miller and Dirk Blocker.

IGN stands in solidarity with the black community, and condemns racism. We encourage those reading to donate, contribute, and support Black Lives Matter and the fight for racial justice.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A new tease for Halo Infinite has confirmed that The Banished will be part of the long-awaited next game in the series.

The short teaser video, which sees a communication device decipher a signal, features a gravelly voice delivering a message to humanity.

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“The hour approaches. Forces occupy the ring. Within hours, it will be under our control. Humanity will burn. The brazen defiance will be all but a memory. No more Prophets. No more lies. We stand together, brothers to the end. We are his will, we are his legacy, we are The Banished.”

The Banished are a mercenary organization set up after a rebellion in the Covenant Empire, the alien antagonists in the Halo series. They are largely made up of Jiralhanae – better known as Brutes to humanity – but also count many of the Covenant races among their ranks, including the Grunts, Elites, and Hunters. The Banished featured as one of the two main playable races in Halo Wars 2, alongside the human UNSC, and so the plot of Halo Wars 2 may have impact or be referenced by Halo Infinite.

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The audio references the Prophets, a leadership race of the Covenant, as well as mention that “we are his will” and “we are his legacy”. Who the ‘his’ is in this is unclear, but may potentially refer to Atriox, the leader of the Banished in Halo Wars 2.

Brutes were not seen as enemies in Halo 4 or 5, so this signals a welcome return for the fan favorites. Now, where’s my Gravity Hammer?

We’ll likely find much more about The Banished’s role in Halo Infinite at the next Xbox Series X event, which has promised to show first-party games running on the upcoming console.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Cardy, Joe and Dale are here with a special episode talking full spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2. We breakdown the full plot, talk about what we loved and in some small cases, what we didn’t.

I think it goes without saying, but if you haven’t finished the game yet, DON’T listen to this till you do. Don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere.

Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: [email protected]

IGN UK Podcast: The Last of Us Part 2 Spoiler Special

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• IGN UK Podcast #544: Skate, Squadrons and Surgery!
• IGN UK Podcast #543: Our PS5 Reveal Reactions
• IGN UK Podcast #542: The Last of Us Part 2 Preview Impressions (No Spoilers Don’t Worry)
• IGN UK Podcast #541: Your Snyder Cut Feedback
• IGN UK Podcast #540: Drowning in Snyder Cuts

 

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Ahead of its expected gameplay reveal during Microsoft’s July Xbox 20/20 event, a short teaser for Halo Infinite has been shared on the game’s official Twitter account. The teaser features the ominous warnings from a member of The Banished–a splinter group from the series’ main antagonists, The Covenant.

The Banished first made an appearance in Halo Wars 2, which took place after the events of Halo 5. The Banished rejected the ideology of the Covenant and broke away from their compatriots, led by Atriox. Halo Wars 2 chronicles the conflict between The Banished and the crew of UNSC Spirit of Fire, which eventually spilled over onto a new Halo installation.

How this connects to Halo Infinite is still unclear, but it’s a hint at the direction the sequel might be taking. Developer 343 Industries has spoken before about how it’s trying something new with Infinite, powered by a brand-new engine called Slipspace to do it. Halo Infinite is expected to be one of the highlights at the Xbox 20/20 showcase, although an exact date for the event has yet to be confirmed. Halo Infinite will launch for both Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

Halo 5: Guardians launched in 2015 for Xbox One, although its campaign was not as well-received as others have been in the franchise. In GameSpot’s Halo 5 review, critic Mike Mahardy wrote, “There are signs of a phenomenal shooter here, but certain narrative aspects feel underdeveloped, holding the franchise’s newest sequel back from true excellence.”