Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Hyper Scape, its free-to-play battle royale. The trailer showcases how the game’s map will evolve for Season 3, which begins March 11.
At the start of Season 3, in-game map Neo Arcadia will transform into Neo Arcadia 2.0. This expands the overall size of certain landmarks and implements new types of traversal spaces, such as boats anchored in a river that allow you to bunny hop from one shore to the other and tunnels carved into rocky terrain that add brand-new chokepoints.
The corruption at the center of the map will also erupt to infect the immediate area, twisting the environment in unnatural ways. This will likely add a bit more of a challenge to navigating the most central zones of Neo Arcadia 2.0. In the trailer, you can see how areas of the train tracks have been destroyed, as have certain buildings.
In GameSpot’s Hyper Scape review, I wrote, “Hyper Scape is an okay battle royale game. The game has solid weapons and hero-like Hack abilities, but you’re at the mercy of being lucky enough to get what you need to have a higher chance of winning. The battleground doesn’t help in this regard, since it’s difficult to know where you’re going and make a plan about where to loot next without stopping to open the map. At least the individual moments in Hyper Scape are fun. A match could be ruined by the randomness working against you, but that doesn’t stop moments like turning into a ball and trying to out bounce three enemy balls any less fun in how ridiculously silly it is.”
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Hironobu Sakaguchi told me that three years ago, he had the chance to replay Final Fantasy VI with some of his peers who worked on the game with him. He was the lead producer on that 27-year-old classic, which is often regarded as the best entry in the storied series. “It really brought me back and reminded me why I love the RPG genre so much,” he said, thus, inspiring his latest project, Fantasian.
It’s been almost two decades since Sakaguchi had been involved with Final Fantasy, but as the creator of the illustrious franchise, he’s still trying to capture the spirit. “I went back to my roots into the pixel art era of RPGs and paid a lot of attention to that nostalgia element in the game’s overall construction,” Sakaguchi said when I asked him about how the past work of his development studio Mistwalker influenced Fantasian. However, he and the team aren’t simply resting on the laurels and relying on our love of old-school RPGs.
When Fantasian was first revealed during the Apple Arcade premiere in March 2019, Sakaguchi was shown working with handmade dioramas–this is how in-game environments are made for Fantasian. The game boasts over 150 dioramas used for scenes, backdrops, interiors, and overworlds to explore, and even the objects and props in these environments were physically created.
This is a unique method of constructing a game world, and I asked Sakaguchi how it affects the development process. “Once you commit to a design, there really isn’t a lot of leeway in terms of changes,” he said. “You might want to add a road here, maybe connect these two areas–that really isn’t possible. So in the concepting phase, it’s very important to have a clear vision of what it is you’re trying to build and create as the environment.”
As intimidating as that might sound, Sakaguchi also said working with dioramas was key for the vision of Fantasian. “When you construct these dioramas, seeing the actual objects in person can almost inspire and inform new gameplay or new elements in that, you see how a house is constructed,” he explained. He continued with examples of how he can set up in-game scenarios, concluding, “Because the object is present, it gives you a different perspective on how the characters might be able to interact with the environment, which was kind of fresh.”
Fantasian might draw you in with its elaborate diorama sets and throwback sensibilities, but Mistwalker is trying some new things gameplay-wise as well. What stuck out most to me was the Dimengeon system, which seems to solve the pesky problem of frequent random encounters. Essentially, the Dimengeon system lets you stack several instances of random encounters in your back pocket as you explore hostile areas, then initiate them all at once to take out all those enemies in one longer battle.
Although Fantasian uses a turn-based combat system, there are some active elements to battles. Some character abilities require you to aim spells in lines or curves to hit multiple enemies effectively, while some have area-of-effect properties. Sakaguchi also mentioned that boss battles will emphasize strategy, saying, “Even if the player’s characters might not be at the so-called recommended level, if they have a lot of cunning and items and use skills properly, then they can still defeat the boss.”
With world design and gameplay innovations, Fantasian seems to have a lot going for it. But a major reason why we hold some classic RPGs in high regard is for their storytelling. Fatasian has a familiar setup–the protagonist, Leo (who looks straight out of Nier), is in search of his father in their world governed by machines. He loses his memory after causing an explosion at a magic-tech (sounds awfully familiar!) and meets Kina, the girl in his one remaining memory. They embark on a multidimensional journey, jumping between worlds of chaos and order, and picking up several companions along the way.
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Fantasian – Official Special Features Trailer
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Sakaguchi explained the hooks of Fantasian’s story a bit more. “Because each character brought into the story has their own history, their own kind of encounters, and then departures from each other, this tension creates a unique feel and experience,” he said. He further explained that the game is made up of two parts or phases. The first of these is heavily driven by narrative, following storylines from different characters’ perspectives. The second part is said to bring the team together and give players more freedom to take on quests and choose how they want to progress.
If Fantasian sounds like a traditional RPG, that’s because it is. To address the elephant in the room, there’s a certain connotation that an RPG on a mobile platform carries. Even though it’s a mobile game exclusive to Apple platforms, titles curated for Apple Arcade have a more conventional design philosophy.
“First we took an approach quite similar to how we might set up the development team for a console game,” Sakaguchi said in response to overcoming the perception of a mobile game. He continued, “Diorama aside, we used a lot of the same methods and the same kind of approach in developing the world. The feel and the experience will be much closer to something you would expect to find on console in terms of the immersion and interaction.”
And one of the important aspects that’s hoping to drive that traditional Final Fantasy-like experience is the work of long-time composer Nobuo Uematsu. He’s scored many iconic soundtracks that Final Fantasy fans remember so fondly alongside the great gameplay experiences through the years–and he has composed 60 fully-orchestrated songs for Fantasian.
“Me and Uematsu-san being the age that we are, I think we’re kind of closer to the latter chapters of our game development careers. We’ve been talking quite a bit,” Sakaguchi prefaced. “And I don’t mean this to say Uematsu-san is going to quit composing music by any stretch of the imagination–but whether he takes on another entire game, he said, this might be the last time he composes an entire game on his own. I think because of that, he did pour a lot of his heart and soul into this.”
Uematsu had been composing Mistwalker’s games since the developer’s inception, and occasionally returns to Final Fantasy every now and then. But Sakaguchi asserts that Uematsu is still trying new things with his music. “There’s definitely going to be some recognizable Uematsu melodies, but there’s a lot of experimentation,” Sakaguchi mentioned. “Early on in the music composition process, he and I talked about implementing even some disharmonies as well as scales that [differ] from the standard C scale, etc. It branches off from that as well as integrating even the sound of some more ethnic instruments, which brings another flavor to it altogether.”
Fantasian seems to represent the old and new, from the gameplay and story concepts to the world design and music. Even late in his career, Sakaguchi still wants to capture that JRPG magic he once pioneered and understands that he and his team can still be inventive in the process. “Like the Final Fantasies of old, I always wanted to have this kind of spirit of innovation, which would kind of push the boundaries a little bit in terms of the genre,” he said.
As you can gather from his sentiments, Sakaguchi still has a lot of love for the franchise he created. So, I asked about how he feels looking at the franchise today. He reminisced about one of his last official Square-related projects, talking about Final Fantasy XI and the conversations of what to call it and how to handle the first MMORPG in the series and his insistence on making it a numbered entry. And he concluded, “[Naoki] Yoshida working on Final Fantasy 14 has done some amazing things. And even [Yoshinori] Kitase, who is working on Final Fantasy 7 Remake. They really pushed the boundaries in terms of visual expression and fidelity as a form of storytelling. I see everyone just working really, really hard on this franchise and it really just makes me very happy to see that.”
It likely won’t be long until we get to see how this project from Sakaguchi and Mistwalker comes together. Although there’s currently no definitive release date, Fantasian is said to be coming soon–and it will launch on Apple Arcade for iOS, Apple TV, and Mac devices.
Quotes used in this article were translated live by a third-party on a video call, which were edited for readability and clarity.
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Thor: Love and Thunder is currently filming in Australia, and once again as in early February, photos from the set have leaked. The photos, which were posted online by Daily Mail, reveal some upcoming surprise celebrity cameos in the Marvel film, as Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters) and husband, Ben Falcone (The Happytime Murders, The Boss) are both seen–in grainy pics–on set.
In the photos, McCarthy can be seen laughing maniacally in a green Hela headpiece, alongside Matt Damon as Loki and Luke Hemsworth as Thor. The latter pair previously portrayed these roles in Thor: Ragnarok for an Asgardian play that depicted Loki’s death in Thor: The Dark World–likely suggesting (and we’ll have to wait until the movie’s out to know for sure) that the Asgardian actors from Ragnarok are still acting. It’s unclear from the photos alone what role Falcone is portraying.
That McCarthy and Falcone would wind up on Thor: Love and Thunder is hardly a shock, given that the couple over the holiday break uploaded an Instagram “audition tape” to sell director Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth, and Marvel on adding them to the cast. Elsewhere on Instagram, over the weekend Hemsworthposted some photos of an ’80s-themed party, in which Damon and Idris Elba can be seen in Run-D.M.C.-style track suits.
Thor Love and Thunder is slated to come to theaters in May 2022.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises has announced that it will end the publication and licensing of six Dr. Seuss books, due to their “hurtful and wrong” portrayal of people of colour.
The company, which is responsible for the publication and licensing of books written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, will stop production of the following books: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.
“Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing” of the six books, said the company in a statement.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the statement reads.
As noted in NPR’s Code Switch column from a couple of years ago, some of Dr. Seuss’ classic children’s books contain harmful depictions of Asian and Black people. And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street features a Chinese character that is depicted with lines for eyes, carrying a bowl of rice, and wearing traditional Japanese-style shoes. If I Ran the Zoo features a portrayal of two men from Africa wearing just grass skirts and carrying an exotic animal.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises states that it is “our mission of supporting all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship.” The company says that ending sales of the six books is part of a “broader plan” to represent and support all communities.
Roblox Corporation, the company behind the popular game Roblox, has announced plans to introduce a voice chat feature. But given the game’s relatively young audience, the company also emphasized it will keep the feature “safe.”
PC Games N reports that the announcement came during its investor day presentation. The studio acknowledged that most communication in Roblox right now is text-based, but it will be implementing voice in a future update.
“Text chat is the core of Roblox communication today,” said VP of engineering Adam Miller. “In the future, we expect to open up communication through safe voice chat.”
Miller did not go into detail about specific safety features, but it’s top-of-mind for parents. The studio gave player data indicating that more than half of the daily active users are under the age of 13, making the safety features critical for implementing such a change. The studio also said that it has roughly 32 million daily active users.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to PS5 on June 10. It includes an upgraded version of the original game, plus a new episode featuring Yuffie. The PlayStation 5 game is now available for preorder (see it on Amazon), but the rollout is bit complicated. It comes in a few different editions, and owners of the PS4 version get some stuff for free. Let’s dig into the details.
If you want to preorder the game, it’s now available at all the usual retailers. And yes, it’s priced it like a standard PS5 game.
It’s worth noting that the PS4 version is on sale for $30 at Amazon right now, and it gets the PS5 upgrade for free. The Yuffie episode will cost extra, but Square Enix hasn’t announced how much.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Deluxe Edition
The game is also available in a digital-only deluxe edition. It includes the game itself, plus a digital art book and a digital mini-soundtrack.
What if You Already Own Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4?
With one exception, anyone who already owns Final Fantasy VII Remake for PS4 can download the PS5 upgrade for free starting June 10. (Remember, the PS4 version is on sale for $30 at Amazon right now). You will, however, have to pay extra for the Yuffie episode.
The one big exception is this: the PS5 upgrade is not available for people who got their copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake as a PlayStation Plus free game. It’s available throughout March 2021 for PS Plus members.
The PS5 upgrade includes enhanced visuals, a photo mode, and haptic feedback through the DualSense controller. It also includes the option to switch between “Graphics Mode” that prioritizes 4K visuals and “Performance Mode” that prioritizes 60 frames per second.
What is the Yuffie Episode?
The Yuffie episode puts you in the shoes of the Wutai ninja Yuffie Kisaragi. She, along with other new characters, is on a mission to infiltrate Midgar and steal “the ultimate materia” from the Shinra Electric Power Company. The episode also includes “new combat and gameplay additions.”
Note: The Yuffie episode is only available in the PS5 version of the game.
Fast food promotions for popular games are nothing new, but it’s relatively rare to see an indie game get the Happy Meal treatment. Fans of Shovel Knight may want to stop over at their local Arby’s to check out the seven themed “launcher tokens” that will come with kids meals. The promotion will last from now until May 31.
As the above trailer shows, each token comes with its own DLC code, which works on both Steam and Switch. It’s not necessarily clear what these codes do, but it appears to replace existing elements of the games into fast food, as well as adding some Arby’s-themed costumes to the mix.
Perceptive Shovel Knight fans will notice that the franchise’s bomb-throwing alchemist Plague Knight is referred to as “Doctor Knight” in the above tweet. Given the current conditions we live under, this isn’t exactly a surprising move. Then again, he does wear a doctor’s outfit of a sort, so it at least makes thematic sense. Let’s hope that he can go by his old title relatively soon. McDonald’s recently announced Pokemon Happy Meals, so if you really are on that fast food kick, check it out.
If you’ve been playing the Outriders demo ahead of the shooter’s launch you might have noticed its reliance on using cutscenes to transition between areas. According to its developer, People Can Fly, these are required for the game’s multiplayer to function seamlessly.
Eurogamer reached out to People Can Fly after noticing that the demo featured numerous instances of cutscenes for small transitions that would otherwise be an in-game animation. People Can Fly’s creative director Bartek Kmita explained that the decision was made to use cutscenes so that other players in your party have context for what transition is taking place.
“It started quite pragmatic, because we needed a system that would help us teleport the players and stream some other content to start to load the other arena,” Kmita explained. “A good example is opening the door. That was only because people in playtests said, ‘Oh, where am I? Why was I teleported?’ So, we needed to have these cutscenes. We couldn’t have done it so manually you can go through the doors, because we have a multiplayer game that opens different problems for us.”
Outriders doesn’t use dedicated servers to power its co-operative gameplay, so People Can Fly can’t rely on that architecture to support players transitioning and exploring different areas of the map at the same time. This means it requires these transitions to group everyone back up again, with Kmita explaining that it’s unlikely to change.
“I would like to have the door opening animation for two seconds, but still playing together with my friends, than just breaking apart through transmission,” Kmita continued. “So we chose this solution. We understand it’s not the best.”
The system is especially jarring when playing solo, which People Can Fly has advertised heavily as a viable option for Outriders. These transitions don’t disappear despite a lot of their purpose not being required, which makes the game feel old when compared to how many modern titles handle these asset loads.
Outriders launches on Xbox One, PS4, and PC on April 1.
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The newest update for Red Dead Redemption 2‘s multiplayer mode has landed, bringing with it a variety of opportunities to earn extra XP and save big on a variety of items. Rockstar ran down all the details in a blog post and we’re rounding up the key details here.
Featured Series
This week’s Featured Series event is the Most Wanted multiplayer mode with a “hardcore” twist. Most Wanted simple kill or be killed mode, but the twist is that the more kills you get, the bigger the target on your back. The idea, then, becomes to target the high-value players to earn the most points. No matter how you finish, everyone gets double RDO$ and XP in Most Wanted through March 8.
Special Bonuses And Extras
Also new in Red Dead Online this week are special bonuses for players who discover any collectible in Free Roam mode, except for the condor egg. You’ll get double the normal XP for finding these, while the Collector Free Roam events are paying an extra 50% RDO$.
Those who find and turn in the Tully Monster fossil, the Cephalopod fossil, and the rock bass to Madam Nazar to complete the Deep Blue Collection will get 30% off a Novice- or Promising-level Collector role item of your choosing.
Additionally, all fences in Red Dead Online are forgoing their usual rank requirements for weapons such as throwing knives, cleavers, dynamite, fire bottles, hatchers, machetes, and tomahawks. Additionally, there are no rank requirements for pamphlets up to rank 50 for the week. On top of that, all fast travel is free this week. “Go ahead, move like the wind,” Rockstar said.
New Items And Discounts
This week, the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Catalogue is offering a number of clothing and accessories that are new to Red Dead Online. These include the following:
Boutell Hat
Furred Gloves
Macbay Jacket
Winter Shotgun Coat
Morales Vest
Shaffer Chaps
Darned Stockings
Calhoun Boots
Cossack Hat
The new Macbay jacket
In terms of discounts, Rockstar is dropping the cost of the Collector’s Bag by 5 gold bars over the next week, while the Pennington field shovel and the metal detector are 40% off this week.
Additionally, all stables are offering 30 RDO$ off Criollo horses through March 8, while the local fence in your area has dropped the cost of weapon and ammo pamphlets by 30%. All boots and vests are also on sale this week, with discounts running 30% off.
Prime Gaming
Finally, Rockstar announced that everyone who connects their Rockstar Games Social Club account to Prime Gaming gets the following rewards:
A Free Bounty Hunter License
An Award for the Trimmed Amethyst Bounty Wagon Livery
Those who link their accounts by March 15 will receive 200 shotgun slugs, 5,000 Club XP, and the ability to buy the repeating shotgun for 50% off.
