More details have emerged about the canceled Aliens RPG that was in development at Fallout: New Vegas studio Obsidian Entertainment. Writer Chris Avellone, who worked on the game, told VG247 that the game, Aliens: Crucible, was aiming to be “basically Mass Effect but more terrifying.”
It didn’t work out, in part due to various issues, Avellone said. “It would be like–this is going to be really rough comparison–basically Mass Effect but more terrifying. We wanted to make it. But by that point Sega, I think, was… the publisher/management relations had gotten to a point where they were just tired of dealing with [Obsidian].
“Everyone working on Aliens: Crucible was really excited about it. It was shaping up to be a really cool game. The prototype was really cool. But then Sega’s like, “Nope!'”
Avellone shared that one of the difficulties with Aliens: Crucible was to retain the element of fear in the midst of a conversation. “You can make conversations stressful and frightening. How do you do it so that an alien could be attacking you at any moment?” he said. “You can’t take shelter in a conversation with two talking heads while you try to figure out what to do.”
As for Obsidian, the studio was acquired by Microsoft at the end of 2018. The studio is currently working on a sci-fi RPG called The Outer Worlds that will be published by Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead parent company Take-Two Interactive’s new indie label.
One of the biggest questions about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is if the sci-fi film will address Rey’s parentage. We still don’t know, but now director JJ Abrams has teased that there is “more to the story” than what we’ve seen so far as it related to who Rey’s parents are.
Abrams was asked directly by ABC News, “Are we going to find out who Rey’s parents are?” Abrams responded by saying he intends to have The Rise of Skywalker end in a satisfying manner, and that’s important given the film is the end of not only the new trilogy that began with 2015’s The Force Awakens, but also what’s known as the Skywalker Saga that began in 1977. He went on to say that The Rise of Skywalker will “honor” The Last Jedi, but it remains to be seen if viewers will find out who Rey’s parents actually are.
“I will say that we knew going into this, that this movie, it had to be a satisfying conclusion. And we were well aware that [the discussion surrounding Rey’s parents is] one of the things that’s been out there. I don’t want to say that what happens in Episode 8 [didn’t happen],” Abrams said (via IGN). “We have honored that. But I will say that there’s more to the story than you’ve seen.”
In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) told Rey (Daisy Ridley) that her parents were no one of significance; they were only “filthy junk traders,” according to Kylo Ren. Because it was Kylo Ren who told Rey this in the midst of an tense, emotional scene where he was trying to manipulate her, many have wondered and theorised that Kylo Ren might have been lying or obscuring the real truth about her parents.
The Rise of Skywalker comes to theatres in December, so we’ll find out soon enough. The movie is said to be the last one for some time, as Lucasfilm is putting the series on “hiatus.” You can check out the first teaser trailer for The Rise of Skywalker in the embed above.
Pokemon Go developer Niantic’s next big game, Harry Potter Wizards Unite, is beginning its global rollout with a soft-launch today in New Zealand. A beta for the game is now available in the country for iOS and Android, Niantic has announced. The purpose of the beta is to provide feedback that Niantic says will ultimately help the final release when it’s ready.
Those in New Zealand eager to play Wizards Unite should be aware that, because it’s only a beta, a number of features, design, supported languages, and the “overall appearance” are all subject to change. “The product might be buggy and unstable at times. We’re looking forward to your feedback so that we can improve the game experience,” Niantic said.
In Wizards Unite, you play as a member of Statute of Secrecy Task Force, and you are challenged with exploring the real world, locating Foundables (important people and items in the wizarding world), and dispelling the Confoundable magic that’s trapping them. While the basic premise of the game is similar to Pokemon Go, it also bears many similarities to a traditional RPG, with a stronger emphasis on story and RPG elements like skill trees and potion brewing.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 before being delayed into this year. You can read more about the title in our hands-on impressions, and Android users can pre-register for it on Google Play. There is no word as of yet regarding when the final game will be available around the world.
While you may have to wait a while longer to play Wizards Unite, the other new Harry Potter mobile game, Hogwarts Mystery, is available around the world right now.
The Switch is pretty sweet as-is, but add in some accessories like a second Nintendo Switch dock, a screen protector, and a Switch Pro Controller makes it even better.
Gamescom 2019 will kick off with Opening Night Live, a new livestreamed show hosted by Geoff Keighley.
Opening Night Live will include “announcements from major game publishers and independent developers, world premieres of new game footage and special guest appearances from the stars of the gaming industry.”
The event will take place on Monday August 19, at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern, 7pm UK (that’s 6am AEST on August 20).
Gamescom has traditionally held an opening event, but this will presumably replace that show. Keighley also hosts The Game Awards and E3 Coliseum, which might be seen as something like blueprints for Opening Night Live.
While E3 has traditionally been the epicentre of the gaming announcement calendar, Gamescom has remained the world’s most-attended games show and, with some big names dropping out of the LA event this year, it may be that some are preferring the German show.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a house with the team members of Dallas Fuel and Jack Box? Well, here’s your chance! We’re giving away the opportunity for YOU to be a guest character on the new 6-part series, “Fuel House!” Entering our Giveaway is easy—just comment below and tell us which superpower (ANY superpower) you would choose and why.
If you have trouble viewing the form please click here.
As with many of the Inside Xbox livestreams, the latest one had plenty of news and announcements that paint a clearer picture of Xbox’s future. You may have heard about Sony revealing details on the next PlayStation console, but Microsoft has a new console of its own coming soon–an Xbox One S without a disc drive. The all-you-can-eat game downloading service Game Pass will get a new tier option that packs in Xbox Live Gold, and Gears 5 multiplayer will be shown very soon. What’s probably the most exciting thing is head of Xbox Phil Spencer stating that Microsoft’s E3 2019 presentation will feature “things nobody has seen before” from the company’s new game studios.
If you want to watch the stream yourself, check it out here. Otherwise, read through all the good stuff we plucked out from Inside Xbox.
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition Confirmed
Rumors and leaks preceded this reveal, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when Microsoft made the official announcement for its disc-less Xbox One S. The new version of the console will launch on May 7 for $250 USD and come bundled with Sea of Thieves, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon 3. It’s built with the same exact specs as the Xbox One S, sans the disc drive of course.
Combining Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold into one subscription option has also been rumored for a while. Microsoft confirmed that it’s bundling the two services and calling it Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which sensibly coincides with the all-digital Xbox One S announcement. While it’s available for a few select users, it’ll launch in full later this year for $15 a month.
Phil Spencer Says Big Things From New Studios Coming For E3 2019
Inside Xbox concluded with a few words from head of Xbox Phil Spencer. He affirmed Xbox’s presence at E3 by saying, “We are the platform holder that has a live stage show…We’re taking the responsibility of being out there representing gaming.” He continued to say that some of Microsoft’s newly acquired studios will have things to show that nobody has seen before.
Spencer Also Says He’s Been Grinding In Destiny 2 Using Project xCloud
While Microsoft’s cloud-based game streaming service Project xCloud is still in development, Spencer stated that he’s been using a sort of alpha build himself. He said he’s still trying to grind out light level 700 in Destiny 2 and has been doing strikes on his phone using an Xbox controller.
Gears 5 Multiplayer Reveal Coming Soon
The focus of the Gears 5 content during the Inside Xbox stream was esports. The Coalition’s studio head Rod Fergusson stated that TBS’s show ELeague will be doing a six-part series on the professional competitive scene for Gears of War in June, which will include a Gears 5 multiplayer reveal. A Gears 5 invitational competition will also take place in July, ahead of the game’s release later this year.
The 2008 stylish character-action game Ninja Gaiden 2 is now backward compatible on Xbox One along with a suite of visual enhancements for Xbox One X. Like any of the backward compatible games, you can either use an existing physical copy of the game or download it digitally.
Splinter Cell And Fable Games Get Xbox One X Enhancements
While we may not have a new game in the storied stealth-action franchise from the Tom Clancy extended universe, three last-gen Splinter Cell games just got Xbox One X Enhancements. Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox 360 version), Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist now include enhanced visuals and resolution. The same treatment was extended to the RPGs Fable 2 and Fable 3.
Game Bar For PC Gets A Major Upgrade
PC gamers got a little bit out of the Inside Xbox stream as well; Windows 10 users are getting a significant update to Game Bar. It’ll now be widget-based with modules that you can pop in and out to customize the things you want. For example, you can have chat volume mix, Spotify, and streaming accessible while staying in-game using the new Game Bar overlay.
Rage 2 Gameplay Walkthrough
Tim Willits, director at developer Avalanche Studios, walked us through a brief Rage 2 gameplay segment. Rage 2 is confirmed to feature the coveted, overpowered gun of Doom fame, the BFG 9000. There will also be Arcs, which are sci-fi-styled underground tombs with weapons and abilities to earn.
Xbox Fan Fest At E3 2019
Xbox Fan Fest will be expanding this year by offering 700 tickets. This grants you access to Microsoft’s E3 stage presentation, hands-on with upcoming games, some swag, and much more. Tickets are acquired via random drawing and those 18 years old and up can enter starting April 19 at 9am PT–winners will be announced on April 25.
The cheeky new advertisement for the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition showed a group of people playing Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer with split-screen. Some took this as a playful tease that the game might, finally, get updated to support split-screen–a feature the game controversially left out.
Unfortunately, it was merely an editing issue. Halo community director Brian Jarrard confirmed on Twitter that the depiction of split-screen for Halo 5 in the trailer was only “a little bit of good old fashioned creative liberty in the editing bay.”
Sorry to disappoint but no, splitscreen isn’t being added to Halo 5. The footage in question looks to be a little bit of good old fashioned creative liberty in the editing bay.
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition launches on May 7 for $250 USD. For lots more on the pros and cons of the digital-only system, check out the video embedded above.
