Author: Trafficblast

Activision has announced Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, a brand new, canonical sequel to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Spyro Reignited Trilogy developer Toys for Bob is behind the brand new adventure, which is set to be released on October 2, 2020 for PS4 and Xbox One for $59.99.

It’s About Time is built from the ground-up as a new experience in the spirit of the original three Crash games developed by Naughty Dog for the original PlayStation. Players can play either as Crash or Coco Bandicoot for the full adventure, with other playable characters thrown into the mix like Neo Cortex. Featuring a brand new art style, marking a departure from what Vicarious Visions created for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, It’s About Time will feature new platforming moves, new masks with special abilities, two major control schemes, and plenty more. To get all the major first details, IGN spoke with Toys for Bob Design Producer Lou Studdert to learn about Crash’s brand new adventure.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/22/crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time-official-trailer”]

Why Crash 4?

Naming the next Crash game Crash Bandicoot 4 comes with a lot of expectations — in the ensuing years since Crash Bandicoot: Warped ended the beloved trilogy of Crash games developed by Naughty Dog, the marsupial’s subsequent adventures often received less favorable reception.

Studdert explained how Toys for Bob understood the expectations that came with this naming convention, describing how it also allows the team to convey both the story and, importantly, the gameplay players can expect.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time-first-screenshots&captions=true”]

“It’s not just Crash 4 because narratively we’re continuing off of where Crash 3 ended, where, Uka Uka, N. Tropy, and Neo Cortex are trapped in time and space. But we’re also continuing off of the gameplay of the original trilogy,” Studdert said. “It’s actually going back and looking at what worked so well about the original games. It’s bringing back that authentic, wholly unique to Crash gameplay, which is the unique perspective shifts of going into camera, being chased by things running out of camera switching to side scrolling.”

Crash Bandicoot 4 Gameplay

Crash Bandicoot 4 is built from the ground up, not based on existing or recovered code, but it will attempt to of course emulate the platforming gameplay fans of the original trilogy are familiar with. And that means Crash 4 is sticking to the traditional camera setup of those games, rather than becoming something more open world.

“Our intent was to give folks the sequel they never got,” Student continued, noting that the developer’s focus was on “tense, precise execution that is so ingrained in the DNA of Crash and bringing that to today’s standards.”

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/22/crash-bandicoot-4-first-gameplay-details”]

But Crash won’t just be running, jumping, spinning, and ground slamming. It’s About Time’s various locations have also facilitated the introduction of several new platforming moves. Crash can now wallrun, grind on and below rails, and rope swing to allow for various new challenges.

“It’s been this fun balancing act of us taking what we love about those original games and the feeling of those linear pathways, but then at the same time layering in new challenging asks for the players, new ways of finding all of the boxes, crates, finding hidden gems, finding all this different content throughout the level,” Studdert explained, noting the new levels and challenges have been built with a focus on elevating “the replayability of the game.”

“A True Sequel” to the Original Crash Trilogy, But a New Look

Through and through, Toys for Bob wants to emphasize that this is “a true sequel” to the original Crash trilogy. But, as is apparent from the first trailer and gameplay, this sequel incorporates a new, more animated look reminiscent of the cartoony, detailed characters of Toys for Bob’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which we praised in our review of those remakes. Studdert explained how this colorful, zany art style aimed to capture the spirit of the character and allowed for a more ambitious world design.

“While we are retaining the old-school gameplay of those unique perspectives, we wanted to open up the worlds from a visual standpoint,” Studdert said. “So that means larger vistas, huge scale, huge places that you’re going to get to go that couldn’t have happened on the original consoles and games. It’s taking that animated personality amplifying that fun, and then also giving you these amazing unique times and dimensions to explore.”

[poilib element=”poll” parameters=”id=f28af99d-b8d5-4044-8d6b-d4bcc25757be”]

That aim to capture the old and blend it with the new is true of Toys for Bob’s work on the actual gameplay as well, which is built in a “completely different engine, built from the ground up” for Crash 4, rather than reusing work from the N. Sane Trilogy. But Studdert explained that Toys for Bob’s experience working in part on the Crash remake trilogy and the Crash Team Racing did come into play when designing Crash 4.

“Having our hands in those games really allowed us to kind of analyze the foundational elements of what truly makes a Crash level feel like a Crash level, from how enemies are incorporated to the pace of a level, to the amount of encounters to the way they fold in on each other,” he said.

How Difficult Is Crash Bandicoot 4?

The original Crash trilogy has some notoriously tough levels. Just say the phrase “Road to Nowhere” to any self-respecting Crash fan and they’ll understand. Thankfully, Crash 4 is aiming to outdo the challenge of past Crash games while providing a smoother ramp in difficulty.

“We want to have less difficulty spikes,” Studdert said when asked about the difficulty compared to the original three games. “We want to onboard the players and get them into the story, but at the same time we wanted to see if we can actually exceed the difficulty of the original games. We wanted to see if we could add in extra modes, extra challenges, extra things that we’ll be talking about later to really bring the pain. A true Crash fan wants that level of difficulty, and I think we’ve met and exceeded.”

Crash’s New Mask Power-ups, Modern vs. Retro Modes

Core to the story of Crash 4 will be the, well, four Quantum Masks that Crash and Coco will encounter. Each of these guardians of space and time offers a different ability, and will be findable throughout the game at specific locations, like you would with an Aku Aku mask.

“Crash and Coco need to seek out the four quantum masks…[which] will help to re-fix the timeline,” Studdert explained of the duo’s objective this time around in their battle against Dr. Neo Cortex.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/18/crash-bandicoot-puzzle-teaser”]

The first two masks Toys for Bob is discussing are Kipuna-Wa, which offer the powers of time manipulation, and the other is Eka-Eka, the gravity mask. Like Aku Aku, they’ll both appear available at certain points in levels for players to activate to overcome certain obstacles.

“At certain points in the levels, they’ll come to your aid and they actually become suits on Crash and Coco,” Studdert said as he explained their powers, with the time mask allowing players to slow down time, while the gravity mask will let players alter Crash or Coco’s gravity as they navigate through a level.

And as the original trilogy is known for its many secret paths and levels, I asked Studdert about whether Crash 4 would include a similar level of discoverable content, and he had as best of an answer as I could hope for.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/29/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-review”]

But being true to that original trilogy also means the gameflow — players can switch between two modes, Modern and Retro, which changes how lives and Wumpa fruit collection is catalogued. Wumpa will now actually go toward end-of-level goals, and can be used as another currency in both modes. But in Retro mode, players can still have a set number of lives, collect 100 Wumpa fruit to gain a new life, and succeed or fail by those parameters.

“If you die, you’re going to restart at a checkpoint [in Modern mode], as simple as that,” Studdert said. “That means, ‘Okay, what do we then do with Wumpa?’ So what we’ve done is we’ve changed wumpa collection to be part of that collection currency of collectibles, end-of-level rewards. Retro is actually retaining the lives and game over system from the original game.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Stay tuned to IGN for more on Crash Bandicoot 4, but be sure to watch the first gameplay and debut trailer above. And for more on Toys for Bob’s most recent work, check out our review of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy below.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/12/spyro-reignited-trilogy-review”]

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and virtual bandicoot expert. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated marks the return of one of the most iconic licensed characters to enter the 3D platforming fray. Sadly, this flashy remake feels more like a skin-deep remaster in practice, doing little to fix the issues that plagued the original adventure. Its graphical update is accompanied by some imaginative improvements, but those few bright spots aren’t enough to bring Battle for Bikini Bottom’s passable but simplistic and collectathon-heavy gameplay up to the standard you’d expect from a platformer released in 2020 – especially with remakes like the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Spyro Reignited Trilogy showing how a revival like this should be done.

In our October 2003 review of the original Battle for Bikini Bottom, reviewer Mary Jane Irwin said: “The love for the SpongeBob franchise really shines through in Battle for Bikini Bottom — and if it weren’t there this would be a very dreary title.” As I replay it nearly 17 years later, that feels extremely accurate – and what’s dreariest about Rehydrated’s 10-ish hour campaign is all the missed opportunities to truly modernize this adventure for first-timers and those of us who look back on it fondly alike.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/spongebob-battle-for-bikini-bottom-2003-vs-2020-graphics-comparison”]

To its credit, Rehydrated runs cleanly on PlayStation 4 Pro, its remastered soundtrack’s cheery tunes have earwormed their way into my mind, and the actual feel of running, jumping, and bubble-blowing as SpongeBob is precise and responsive. But it’s largely the adventure around those mechanics which, while admittedly fun and enjoyable for how it took advantage of the SpongeBob license just a few years after its debut, remains as limited in its scope, design, and overall thoughtfulness so many years later as it did back on the original Xbox. Worse, it now comes with the added context of having been so thoroughly surpassed by almost two decades worth of amazing 3D platformers.

F Is for Faded Memories

Playing a nostalgic platformer remake is something I’ve done quite a few times at IGN. Crash felt fresh again when the N. Sane Trilogy revamped it, while Spyro’s Reignited Trilogy became the fiery new standard for what I thought these remakes could do. But in playing with beloved source material that has long outlived the original game’s era, Rehydrated is in a strange place. Its jokes and episode references remain kid-friendly and largely based on the earlier seasons of the show, leaving the majority of the series’ rich comedy deposits untapped. There’s very little, in fact, aside from a few SpongeBob meme references here and there, that offer something new for returning players like myself.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”legacyId=20097828&captions=true”]

It’s been years since I’ve watched SpongeBob, and the pleasantness of returning to Bikini Bottom for a few hours was occasionally fun. But even though it’s called a remake, in every conceivable way it feels like a disappointing remaster, with its PS2-era hang-ups often getting in the way. A remake should do its best to modernize and improve aspects that haven’t aged well, but Rehydrated rarely does that. Every entrance to a new area is saddled with a few seconds of load time, even when going into a small building like Patrick or Squidward’s one-room homes (PlayStation 5, you can’t get here soon enough!). All three playable characters – SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick – have the same repetitive line or two of dialogue they bleat out after finding collectibles, grabbing health, or hitting enemies. The first couple of times it’s amusing enough to hear Patrick’s uncertainty about wearing SpongeBob’s underwear, but by the 10th it’s grating. And by the 30th, I wanted to stop playing.

Battle for Bikini Bottom still hits that sweet spot of absurdist mayhem that SpongeBob episodes so often nailed, but it doesn’t really work as a cohesive SpongeBob “episode” (or even movie) because the individual stories of its already disjointed levels are barely present. Mrs. Puff and Barnacle Boy deliver some great, cutting lines that go over SpongeBob’s head, and SpongeBob interpreting paragraphs out of Gary the Snail’s Meows is still a joy. But, even as someone who hasn’t watched the show in ages, it’s absolutely jarring when one of the original voice actors doesn’t voice their own iconic character, like Mr. Krabs’ Clancy Brown who was absent in the original and is still not voicing the role in Rehydrated since very little new dialogue was seemingly recorded.

U Is for Unimaginative Gameplay

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/23/12-minutes-of-spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-gameplay-gamescom-2019″]

Playing Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated in 2020 is a strange roller coaster ride of platforming love and hate. Overall, it’s an incredibly easy platformer, with only a few truly challenging section thrown in. The welcome challenge in levels like SpongeBob’s Dream is often fun, but they’re such whiplash from the rest of the adventure, which then reverts to being simple for its final levels.

Like in the original, you can intermittently swap between SpongeBob, Sandy and Patrick, often to solve character-specific puzzles, but it’s rare that Battle for Bikini Bottom makes interesting use of this. Also, why do I have to keep trudging back to a specific location to switch characters instead of just quick-swapping with a button? That adds nothing but busywork, standing as an easy example of something a proper remake could have addressed.

As an obsessive collector in platformers, Battle for Bikini Bottom passably makes the process of nabbing golden spatulas and Patrick’s socks engaging, if not challenging. Every level is upfront about how many of each item it holds, and are perhaps overly clear in explaining how to reach every collectible, occasionally robbing me of the joy of discovering something through my own ingenuity. Shiny objects, meanwhile, are infinite. So, if you’re in need of a few thousand more to hand over to Mr. Krabs, just keep intentionally dying and respawning at convenient spots and you can grind for shinies to no end without consequence.

N Is for Not Much Notably New

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-welcome-to-rock-bottom-trailer”]

If you’re just looking to replay the original Battle for Bikini Bottom adventure to revisit its sporadic bright spots, some amusing character interactions, and a romp around Bikini Bottom, then you’ll find that intact.

Battle for Bikini Bottom still feels a generation behind, but its graphical update is largely appreciated. The bright, cheery, almost neon-drenched world feels a lot closer to the energy of the show and its title character than the original’s look. Characters animate well in cutscenes, with the most care clearly put into the principal cast and locations as opposed to the lifeless denizens of Bikini Bottom, who walk around serving no purpose other than set dressing. Some of the most iconic locations and buildings’ shift into three-dimensions much more cohesively than their chunkier forms did two console generations ago. But because the entire world has been made more vibrant, there’s occasionally little distinction between platforms you can actually jump on and set decoration ledges that fooled me into thinking I had found a new secret path.

[poilib element=”poll” parameters=”id=1400ff88-0e59-4095-9b16-60391b5c4f1d”]

It’s still nice to see the different neighborhoods of Bikini Bottom brought to life, from the dingy Rock Bottom to the Mermalair to Bikini Bottom itself. And SpongeBob’s Dream gets to play with wacky, surrealist level design buoyed by the graphical update that made me wish for an entirely new game inspired by it rather than a remake. Unfortunately, the hollowness of some of the world feels stuck in its earlier incarnation and despite plenty of Bikini Bottom residents walking around each area, interacting with them does nothing. No silly quips, no angered screams when hit, no shout of “My leg!” Just… silence, which is as loud a reminder as any of what could have been.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/spongebob-squarepants-battle-for-bikini-bottom-rehydrated-multiplayer-trailer”]

Battle for Bikini Bottom adds a new wave-based horde mode that lets you and one other person, either locally or online, battle against wave after wave after wave of the robotic enemies you fight in the campaign. And it is…a waste of your time. The mode is so simplistic, so monotonous, and so unrewarding that it would have been a poor addition when the original Battle for Bikini Bottom debuted in 2003 and is even worse now. Including playable characters you don’t control in the campaign is a nice touch, but they all largely play the same with only visually different melee or ranged attacks. So, sure, it’s funny to hear Squidward use his clarinet to attack the first time, but, like the repeated dialogue of the base game, it becomes grating after hearing it 10, 20, 50 more times.

And the waves devolve into very little strategy other than mashing attack and corralling swarms of enemies to easily dispatch them with a ground pound. The various attacks for each character really made essentially no difference. The biggest obstacle moreso than enemies is that every few waves takes place on a different island, and plenty of enemy attacks can knock you into the surrounding water there pretty easily. But so long as one player survives a round, you both move on, and both of you dying just resets that wave. There’s little risk in being overly aggressive with enemies, and there’s little other option because the mode itself is so limited. Completing all 27 islands with a friend, each with three waves, took about 30-40 minutes. And it’s 30-40 minutes I wish I could have back.

Crash Bandicoot has been missing in action for years at this point, with remastered versions of his past adventures and racing spin-offs keeping fans occupied. However, the time to wait is almost up, as the famous mascot is back this year with a completely new adventure that Activision is calling a “true sequel.” Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a follow-up to the original PlayStation trilogy, and it’s being designed by a group of longtime fans.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time has a release date of October 2, 2020, and it will release on PS4 and Xbox One. Unlike the N. Sane Trilogy, it hasn’t been announced for PC or Switch. It’s in the works at Toys For Bob, which also handled the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Crash 4 uses the same basic platforming gameplay of the original titles, but with advanced and modern twists such as wall-running and grinding rails to make it through tougher areas. The art style has been overhauled for the latest systems, and you’ll be able to play as Neo Cortex alongside Crash and Coco.

Set at the very end of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, the new game sees Neo Cortex, Dr. N. Tropy, and Uka Uka finally escape from their remote plant and return for another attempt at multiverse domination. Of course, you stand in their way, and you’ll have access to four special Quantum Masks to “bend the rules of reality” itself and make it through difficult areas. These include the Time Mask (slows down time) and the Gravity Mask (lets you platform upside down).

You can watch the Crash trailer and check out the first screenshots below, or check out our Play For All interview above, in which we dive further into what you can expect from new game.

Joker from Persona 5 and the Hero from Dragon Quest 11 will be released as amiibo this Fall.

Announced as part of today’s DLC announcement for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, creator Masahiro Sakurai explained that the team still plans to make amiibo for every DLC fighter in the game, but that he’s not sure how many will be made.

The Joker figure appears to be a complete design, while the Hero figure is apparently still in development.

If the remaining fighters are indeed developed as amiibo, that would mean we’ll get figures of Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, Min Min, and 5 unannounced fighters.

The announcement comes alongside the reveal of Challenger Pack 6, which will bring Arms’ Min Min, a Spring Man assist trophy, a Spring Stadium stage, and new Mii Fighter costumes (including Vault Boy from Fallout) to Smash Bros. Ultimate on June 29.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Min Min from Arms will be the latest Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC fighter. She will become available on June 29 for $5.99 (and is included as part of a purchase of Fighters Pass Vol. 2).

Announced by series creator Masahiro Sakurai from his own home, the spring-armed fighter will be able to use both of her extendable limbs for a variety of attacks.

Unlike most characters, the A and B buttons are mapped to Min Min’s left and right arms respectively, rather than used for regular and smash attacks. As in Arms itself, Min Min’s arm attachments can be swapped, offering a variety of different effects.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=min-min-announcement-trailer-images&captions=true”]

Arm attacks can be bent in mid-air to adjust your angle of attack but, as a downside, Min Min is built for longer range combat, with attacks easy to dodge from close range.

Min Min’s Final Smash move summons every member of the Arms cast to deliver a barrage of punches to any unlucky recipients. Arms’ Spring Man will also join the game as an Assist Trophy and uses a similar (if less powerful) move when activated.

Spring Stadium is the game’s newest stage to fight across, and features bounce platforms on either side, as well as an arched ceiling that can ricochet flying characters back toward the arena. Arms drones will also periodically carry items across the stage, too.

New Mii Fighter costumes include Ninjara from Arms, Heichachi from Tekken, Callie and Marie from Splatoon, and Vault Boy from Fallout(!). All of the costumes will also be available on June 29.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/22/super-smash-bros-ultimate-mii-fighter-costumes-6-trailer”]

Sakurai also announced that Persona 5’s Joker and Dragon Quest 11’s Hero will be released as amiibo this Fall. The director reiterated that the team plans for all DLC charcaters to recive amiibo figurines.

Min Min and the rest of the announced content makes up Challenger Pack 6, the first of six new fighters being added to Smash Bros. Ultimate before December 2021, and part of Fighters Pass Vol. 2.

Min Min marks a change from the plethora of sword-using characters, particularly from Fire Emblem – even Sakurai himself has admitted there are too many Fire Emblem characters in the game, so we’re hoping Min Min marks the start of a variety of more imaginative characters in Fighters Pass Vol. 2.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Netflix has announced that principal photography on The Witcher Season 2 will officially resume in the UK on August 17.

The Twitter account for the hit Netflix show confirmed that filming would resume in just under two months via a nifty little ditty, written in the poetic style of fan-favourite bard Jaskier.

I’m dusting off my lute and quill,
I have some news, some mead to spill:
After all the months we’ve been apart
It’s time for production to restart.
The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless,
Will reunite on set 17 August.

— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) June 22, 2020

“I’m dusting off my lute and quill, I have some news, some mead to spill: After all the months we’ve been apart it’s time for production to restart. The Witcher and his bard – who’s flawless, will reunite on set 17 August,” the post read.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/the-witcher-season-1-ending-explained”]

The Witcher season 2 suspended its production in London back in March, as Netflix paused filming on all of its films and TV shows in the US and Canada in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, several productions have recently been given the “green light” to take their first steps back into production after a new mandate of safety protocols were approved in the UK.

“This is a green light that signals that the UK is open for business again for film and high-end TV production,” an industry source told The Guardian at the beginning of June. “Many productions have to get up and running again in the next two months or they won’t get made this year as they rely on summer weather and conditions.”

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true”]

The Witcher has been a huge success for Netflix, with 76 million households watching the first season of the action-packed fantasy-drama, and yet many fans were left bemused by the show’s “controversial” multi-timeline format. Although showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has stood by this as a storytelling device, she has promised that the second season will be more streamlined, now that the characters’ individual stories have intersected to exist on the “same timeline.”

The Witcher Season 2 is due to stream on Netflix in 2021.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

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

Call of Duty: Warzone added a new melee weapon in Season 4–the Kali Stick, a pair of sticks that can be used as melee weapons to quickly beat down an opponent. Generally, a new melee weapon is not as exciting in a game like this as a new powerful gun. As it turns out, though, the Kali Stick is incredibly deadly in the right hands.

YouTuber Vikkstar123 has released a video of him and the other members of his three-person squad racking up a win in the Call of Duty battle royale game only using Kali Sticks to hurt their enemies.

While secondary grenades like flashbangs are used, and the squad also use vehicles to move around the map and riot shields to protect themselves, their kills are all scored with these sticks.

The first attempt in the video below doesn’t end in victory, but the squad comes very close, placing 2nd. The second match captured, which begins at 9:30, ends the same way.

Skip to 16:55 in the video below if you just want to see them take the victory.

In other news from the latest season of Warzone, the Grau might see a nerf soon, as it has proved very powerful. The game also added a new mode called Rumble.