Nintendo Switch Online is expanding its selection of NES and SNES games this month, with the addition of six new games on December 12. These include four SNES titles and two from the NES, expanding the system’s offering out to 50 NES titles and 24 SNES titles. The new games are a mix of familiar SNES titles and perhaps lesser-known NES games, including one SNES game that only received an official release two years ago as part of the SNES Classic Mini—Star Fox 2.
The three other new SNES titles coming are Super Punch Out!!, Kirby Super Star, and Breath of Fire II. Of these titles, Breath of Fire II is the only one not also available on the SNES Classic Mini, and both SNES Breath of Fire titles are now available to subscribers on Nintendo Switch. Star Fox 2 is likely the highlight for many, though–the game was completed in the 90s but was never released. Although it only earned a 5/10 in our review, it’s an interesting curio.
The NES titles added are Crystalis, an action-RPG set in a ruined civilization, and Journey to Silius, a run-and-gun shooter. While both titles are less well-known than your Metroids and Super Mario Bros., they’re interesting additions to the service. From December 5, Nintendo will also be discounting its NES controller bundle by 50%, if you want the authentic experience.
This is the first set of new games to appear on Nintendo Switch Online since September, when the first 20 SNES games all dropped at once. Nintendo has said that updates will happen less often from now on, so don’t necessarily expect more games in January. Nintendo Switch Online users also have access to games like Tetris 99 and Super Kirby Clash.
Apex Legends‘ latest update, which increases the level cap, hit the PC version of the game a bit before consoles. Now, the patch is available to everyone, and PS4 and Xbox One Apex Legends players can continue their journey to level 500. But that’s not the only reason to jump into Apex Legends right now–a great free skin has also been released.
The new skin is a tie-in for Respawn’s other big game of 2019, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It lets you dress up Apex Legends’ robot, Pathfinder, like BD-1, Cal Kestis’s companion from the new Star Wars game. To don the white and red color scheme, players won’t have to part with any money–all you need to do is log into Apex Legends between now and January 14, 2020. Just jump in and you’ll earn this free skin.
In celebration of the launch of #JediFallenOrder, we’re releasing the BD-1-inspired, “BP-1 Pathfinder skin.” To claim the skin, simply log in to Apex Legends from Dec 3 – Jan 14. Congratulations once again to the Jedi team here at Respawn! ❤ pic.twitter.com/Y075K3VjtF
Here’s a close-up look at the new skin, alongside the robot that inspired it.
Apex Legends is not the only battle royale to get a Star Wars tie-in recently: Fortnite has already offered up Stormtrooper costumes, although they’re no longer available.
After being delayed for Xbox One and PS4, Apex Legends Update 3.2 is now live across all platforms. The update is huge–both in terms of data size and the quality-of-life changes it implements.
The major component of the update is the changes to in-game progression. For the first time since launch, the in-game level cap is being increased, going from 100 to 500. The necessary XP to reach level 100 has also been reduced. While leveling, there are more opportunities to earn Apex Packs. The full breakdown is below–all rewards are retroactive, so you’ll automatically earn 14 Apex Packs if you’re already level 100. You will also now earn a new gun charm every 100 player levels.
In celebration of the launch of #JediFallenOrder, we’re releasing the BD-1-inspired, “BP-1 Pathfinder skin.” To claim the skin, simply log in to Apex Legends from Dec 3 – Jan 14. Congratulations once again to the Jedi team here at Respawn! ❤ pic.twitter.com/Y075K3VjtF
The more notable adjustments are in all the quality-of-life changes. The update adds a button prompt for you to cancel a finisher halfway through the animation–allowing you to immediately return to the fight if you’re ambushed. The legendary armor spawn rate has also been reduced, so it’s less likely you’ll have to worry about running into squads completely outfitted in Gold body shields near the end of a match.
There have also been game-changing adjustments made to knockdown shields and Wattson’s Ultimate ability, Interception Pylon. Common and rare knockdown shields are significantly stronger now. Wattson’s new Interception Pylon is now more effective at locking down a zone and allowing her squad to launch an offensive against enemy teams–as it now only intercepts grenades and explosives being thrown in, not out.
Additionally, there’s now an option to toggle whether you want the option to automatically exit out of looting death boxes when an enemy team shoots at you. Final circle locations have also been changed to account for setting up even playing fields at the end of a match, as well as a greater variety of locales for final circle confrontations. The overall color of helmets and armor have also been adjusted to be easier to discern for players with colorblindness.
Update 3.2 also implements dozens of bug fixes, which are listed below. You can also find them–as well as additional detail for all the aforementioned changes–in the update’s full patch notes.
Apex Legends Update 3.2 Bug Fixes
Fixed bug where other players would appear to be in the wrong Rank (e.g. they are actually Apex Predator but appear Bronze IV)
Bunch of bug fixes to World’s Edge related to collision, geometry, supply bins spawning in bad areas, and cases where loot couldn’t be picked up in certain areas near Geyser.
Fixed bug where sometimes the Respawn Dropship would be silent when arriving.
Fixed bug where Bangalore would reference the Skullpiecer hop-up when pinging a Wingman.
Fixed issue where player banner would appear off-center in the match summary/squad eliminated screens.
Fixed a visual bug where the progress bars for Shield Cells and Phoenix Kits appeared desaturated and hard to read.
Fixed bug where players were able to instantly revive in certain locations.
Fixed bug for rare cases where a player was unable to revive a teammate while outside the Ring.
Fixed bug where the visual FX for the knockdown shield would remain visible after being destroyed by an enemy.
Fixed bug where equipping the EVA-8 Auto Shotgun Double Tap hop-up would remove the rate of fire increase from equipped shotgun bolt.
Fixed bug where some Legends would relay incorrect “ability not ready” sound FX when trying to activate an ability that was still on cooldown.
Fixed a visual bug where sometimes when a Legend starts using a Shield Cell it causes their weapon to appear to be briefly floating past their arm.
Fixed bug where sometimes the Train’s lead car would detach from the rest of the Train after a player stops and then starts it back up.
Fixed bug for cases where players could get crushed by the Train while standing near the back of the front car.
Fixed bug where Legend’s faces would appear distorted in third person during matches and while browsing inventory.
Fixed issues with corrupted graphics and frame drops that we found were related to detonating ordnance in certain locations causing object to trigger bad pixels.
Fixed bug for cases where flying Crypto’s Drone near the Train can cause Crypto to move around without player input.
Fixed a bug where Crypto’s tactical hud looked like it was stuck recharging until you used it.
Fixed bug for cases where a deathbox would not come to rest on stairs and players were unable to retrieve the player’s Banner Card.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate turns a year old on December 7, and to celebrate Nintendo is tripling the rewards handed out at the end of Spirit Board fights for anyone who plays the game over the weekend. The new Smash Bros. event triples EXP and SP rewards. This will help you to level up your spirits much faster.
For 3 days, starting on 12/6, this event celebrates the 1-year anniversary of the release of Super #SmashBrosUltimate! During this event, EXP and SP you earn after battle will be tripled, and you’ll get the Damage 50% item! pic.twitter.com/TM7FDf9yoJ
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has doubled or tripled the rewards on the Spirit Board a few times, but this is the first time it’s had a clear celebratory purpose–and because of that, everyone gets a present too. You’ll be given a Damage 50% item after your fights, which will come in handy–it forces your opponent to start the fight with 50% damage. These rewards will be active from December 6 through December 8, after which time the rates will return to normal.
Unfortunately, this also means that the Resident Evil Spirit Board event has ended; hopefully we’ll see more guest characters appearing on the board in the near future.
While you’re in-game, if it’s been a while and you’re a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber you can nab a bonus. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s fourth DLC character, Terry Bogard, recently joined the fight, but there are more fighters in the works beyond him.
NHL 20 is getting a big new update this week that introduces a significant change surrounding player physics. Specifically, the “pivot” system is being updated in what could be a big way.
In the game as it stands today, players can pivot while controlling the puck as a means to slip around defenders, confuse them, and control the puck. However, players have discovered that the pivoting system can be abused to take it to a level that compromises the integrity of the game.
Those with advanced pivoting skills can, in essence, game the system to give themselves an advantage beyond what should be possible in a simulation game. In a blog post, EA acknowledged that the steps its taking to address the matter are “a fine line” because some of the NHL’s best players can in fact perform advanced-level pivots while retaining control of the puck.
With that in mind, the December 5 update to NHL 20 will slow down the skating animation when players are using a pivot move. You can see examples of the the pivot-spamming and changes in action in the videos posted on EA’s website and below.
NHL 20 Pivot-Spamming
NHL 20 Pivot Speed Changes
If these changes aren’t enough, EA said it might consider creating scenarios where players lose the puck completely while performing a pivot at high speeds. This makes sense practically, as any hockey player will tell you it is very difficult to perform advanced moves at high speeds.
NHL 20 Pivot Puck Loss
“We believe these are agreed upon, community friendly changes that will benefit gameplay without shaking things up too drastically,” EA said.
You can see the full December 5 patch notes below.
Restricted directional toe drags to when a skater is moving forwards
Improved player switching cases when a teammate has been injured
Fixed a rare issue where tall players were unable to receive passes consistently (This would have been seen the most on D to D passes to stationary players pivoting to face the net)
Fixed physics updates with goaltenders.
AI
Improved ability for Weakside defender to stay with their check on the rush
Skating
If players continually pivot, their skating will be impacted more realistically
Puck carriers pivot speeds will be impacted by trying to pivot at high speeds to simulate what they would need to do to keep control of the puck
Presentation
Added additional celebrations
Various overlay fixes
Fix for the Zone camera not working as intended
Various environment camera clipping fixes
Tournaments
Added 2019 Spengler Cup tournament
HUT
General
HUT Team Abbreviation no longer displays in Pause Menu prior to puck drop
HUT Rivals
Implemented a matchmaking cap for very high and very low Skill Ratings to improve the likelihood of these players finding games
Fixed multiple display issues in the Ranks and Division screens
Fixed an issue where Coin Items could not be redeemed if a player had 2,000 HUT Champions Points
Squad Battles
Fixed an issue where expired Loan items displayed an incorrect contract length when viewing Opponent Squad
World of CHEL
Content
Customize Club – The 2019-20 Canucks logo has been added, and the 2018-19 Canucks Logo has been moved to the vintage section
New content added to World of CHEL which is to be revealed through the Chel Challenge card. Tune in regularly to see what exciting new stuff you can earn
Fixes
Fixed an MTU exploit in online modes
Fixed an issue with the Instant Replay timeline not functioning prior to puck drop
Fixed an issue where EASHL overlays show the player position as C
In The Valley of Gods, the follow-up to Firewatch from the team at Campo Santo, is on hold indefinitely while the team involved works on different games at Valve, including the upcoming VR title Half-Life: Alyx. It’s unclear whether or not work on the title will ever resume, and if it does, whether it will be the same game that was originally announced in late 2018. Now, one of the game’s contract writers–who has not been moved to another project within Valve–has opened up about how deeply he cared about the work he was doing on the game, giving some insight into what it might (or might have) looked like.
Duncan Fyfe, who wrote for Neo Cab and was working as a contractor for In the Valley of Gods after having worked previously with Campo Santo, said that he’s unlikely to work on the game again now, and is currently seeking new work. In a Twitter thread, he discussed the work he did for the game, and hinted at some of the themes and concepts the game was going to work with.
If I’ve seemed eager to find work writing video games lately, this is why. I’m disappointed to be done with a game that I really cared about. https://t.co/LG0xOudMlb
Over a series of tweets, Fyfe explains how he started working for Campo Santo six years ago, writing articles for their website, calling it “the best and most empowering job I’ve ever had.” He talks about getting to work on the follow-up, and the research that went into his writing for the game. “I wanted to make myself invaluable to this game and to an amazing team by becoming a person who knew what it meant to tell a mystery adventure story in 1920s in Egypt,” he says. He spent time poring over “19th century maps and guidebooks, cartouche diagrams and tomb plans, theses and excavation reports, figuring out creative solutions to narrative problems.”
There are plenty of interesting anecdotes about the lengths he went to for his preparation throughout the thread, including the one below.
I really wanted the 1929 edition of an Egypt travel guide that Thomas Pynchon used to write V. I found it as a PDF behind the paywall of a private Lovecraft enthusiast forum, & I had to pretend I was a Lovecraft devotee who designed Call of Cthulhu RPG modules in his spare time.
In his thread, Fyfe says that “the white western world of the 19th and 20th centuries twisted race science to assert that the Egyptians who actually created all that good stuff were themselves white,” and that the game, which is “about two black women in a world of white Egyptologists,” would have dealt with this directly.
Towards the end of his thread, Fyfe directly discusses what he believes the game was “about”:
For a while, I thought this game was kind of about what we lose when we die.
There’s what we think will happen, and there’s what does, thousands of years later: people forget the basic facts of our existence, and our bodies are ground into fertiliser, displayed naked in a museum, or crushed underfoot in a dash for something pretty in our tomb.
The full thread is worth a read to see the amount of work that was going into writing the game, and the passion for the project. One tweet from Fyfe simply reads “I loved working on this game so f***ing much.”
The fate of In the Valley of Gods remains uncertain. The next game from Valve, Half-Life: Alyx, releases for PC VR devices in March 2020.
On this week’s episode of IGN’s weekly PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Max Scoville, and Lucy O’Brien to discuss our favorite games from each home console generation of PlayStation in honor of PlayStation’s 25th anniversary.
The group runs down their favorites from the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4, including Bloodborne, Uncharted 2, God of War, Metal Gear Solid, SIlent Hill, and much more.
Have questions, comments, or Memory Card stories? Write in to [email protected]!
Download or listen to the show on these platforms:
We here at IGN recently posted our top 25 best anime of all time list, so, naturally, we wanted to know what you think are the best anime series of all time, and we’ve got those results for you in this week’s episode of Power Ranking.
Power Ranking, which breaks down fan-voted suggestions for top-ranked lists, like the cutest Star Wars characters, and compiles all that data together to determine what IGN fans across platforms think are the best every week. For this week’s episode, which you can watch above, we asked you what are the best anime of all time and then to vote on the top five most suggested series. Over 660,000 of you voted in the final poll across IGN.com, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter, and here are the results.
