Category: Games

Sega’s executive director on the Yakuza series of games, Toshihiro Nagoshi, was recently asked about his thoughts on Ghost of Tsushima, and he had plenty of warm words for everyone involved in the production of the Sucker Punch developed game. “To be honest, we [Japan] were beaten. Yeah, of course, we’re losing. Honestly, I think that’s a game that should be made in Japan,” Nagoshi said in a Sega live stream (via Hachima).

“Foreigners who tickle the fancy of Japanese people more than Japanese people are…rather amazing, no? There’s like a notion that Westerners don’t understand things (about Japan), but that hypothesis itself is mistaken.”

Nagoshi was also impressed by the performances within the PS4 game and protagonist Jin Sakai’s design, who he jokingly said would have been scrapped in the design phase for not fitting the typical mould of a cool hero if the game had been developed in Japan.

“The protagonist [Jin] isn’t a particularly handsome lead, don’t you think? At your typical [Japanese] company, if you showed concept art for a character like him, I don’t think it would be approved. All this money and development time is being spent on this middle-aged dude.”

Ghost of Tsushima has proven to be another massive success on the PS4, having sold sold over 2.4 million copies within its first three days of launch and becoming Sony’s new fastest-selling original IP.

The game was also recently patched, introducing a new low-intensity mode that makes combat easier. For players seeking to embrace their inner samurai, they can also switch to the new Lethal difficulty option which will amplify damage dealt by more aggressive enemies, while also increasing Jin’s own deadly combat skills.

UFC 3’s career mode was its biggest highlight, and with UFC 4, developer EA Vancouver is looking to double down on the mode with a new threefold focus of building confident players, making choices matter, and sticking to the authentic UFC experience.

Building Confident Players

One of the biggest challenges that UFC games face is teaching new players how to utilize the many different facets of mixed martial arts without completely overloading them with tutorials right out of the gate. UFC 4 is attempting to address this by making its career mode the primary onboarding process for the game.

To accomplish this, UFC 4 introduces Coach Davis, a coach you meet during your very first amateur MMA fight who invites you to his gym and introduces you to the fundamentals of MMA. You’ll learn about the various disciplines of MMA, including boxing, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, and wrestling, and after each training session at the gym, you’ll face off against a fighter who specializes in that specific aspect of MMA.

“One of the reasons why we added Coach Davis is because he takes you through the fundamentals in a much more measured [way],” said Creative Director Brian Hayes. “As opposed to trying to create a five-minute opening experience where we show you a hype video and then give you some pop-ups during gameplay to try and teach you all the myriad of controls involved with an MMA game, we decided to make the opening experience the introduction to Coach Davis, you jumping into your amateur career… and then use that experience to be a better onboarding tool to show you boxing, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, and wrestling.”

Making Choices Matter

Choices and consequences are central to UFC 4’s career mode, with your choices being the main driving force behind the direction your own personal story takes you. The career mode is unscripted, so no two players’ journeys will be exactly the same.

Some of the biggest choices you make will be in your training camp. In UFC 4, to improve your fighter, all you have to do is fight. The more you use a specific move, whether it’s in training camp or in an actual fight, the more that move will level up in real time. Leveling up a move not only improves its effectiveness, but it also rewards you with evolution points that you can spend on either attribute points or perks that could make you consume less stamina with every attack, give you faster hooks or faster kicks, and so on.

To facilitate this fighter evolution system, you can choose specific sparring techniques in training camp, whether it be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, or Wrestling. Each sparring session is specifically focused on the moves related to that discipline, allowing you to best prepare for the upcoming fight. Also, this time around you won’t know what type of fighter you’re going up against just by looking at the fight contract. Instead you’ll have to choose to watch tape on a fighter if you want to know what their attributes are, their top five moves, or their overall style.

The Authentic UFC Experience

The final key focus of EA Vancouver in UFC 4 is to remain authentic to the actual UFC experience. That means that you begin on the amateur circuit, eventually make your way to the World Fighting Alliance (WFA), potentially make your way through Dana White’s Contender Series, and finally wind up in the UFC where your ultimate goal is to become not only a champion, but secure that Greatest of All Time (GOAT) status.

To this end, you’re also given choices with regard to how your journey plays out. You now have the choice to decline fights if you feel like you’re not ready for them yet. You can even stay in the WFA for your entire career and never make the jump to the UFC if you want. Whatever choice you make has a consequence, though. If you decline a fight, the other fighter will drag you on social media, affecting your popularity; if you stay in the WFA, you’ll be able to improve your stats and skills, but you won’t get any closer to completing your GOAT goals; you can respond cordially to fighters and build a relationship that lets you eventually invite them to your gym and learn their moves; or you can taunt them and build hype for your eventual showdown.

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“We wanted to make character choices matter more this year than in [UFC 3],” said Career Mode Producer Raman Bassi. “[In UFC 3], a lot of the champions were set in stone and we built a rival story around them. In UFC 4, we wanted to break that open completely.”

UFC 4 is set to release on August 14 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with EA Access subscribers getting it a full week earlier on August 7.

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Mitchell Saltzman is an Editorial Producer at IGN and would be terrible in a fight, but still loves UFC and Mixed Martial Arts nonetheless. 

 

Sports Interactive has announced that Football Manager 2021 is still coming this year, but will do so later than planned.

Fans have been wondering about the whereabouts of Football Manager 2021 as word on it has been quiet. Studio director Miles Jacobson released a statement today to quell fans’ fears on what that silence could mean, saying the game is still coming but will come out “a little later than we’d originally planned.” Given the last five mainline Football Manager games have arrived in early November, it seems likely that this was the planned release window for this year’s entry.

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“What I can confirm today is that, despite all the problems going on in the world, there will be new Football Manager games released later this year,” Jacobson said in a blog post. “They will be delivered a little later than we’d originally planned, but they’ll have exceptionally strong feature sets…albeit different to those we thought we’d settled on back in January when I completed my ‘dream feature set.'”

Jacobson didn’t expand on what that dream feature set would have been, nor what features have made it into the final version.

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Sports Interactive says it’s taken a monumental effort to make Football Manager 2021’s release possible this year and has required a lot of flexibility from the team. The game has changed scope on an almost “weekly basis” scaling both upward and downward, but Jacobson says it believes fans will appreciate all of the improvements and new features in this year’s game.

“Our games will be on more platforms and available on more stores than ever before when they’re released later this year but, with regards to features and release dates, it’s a little too early for us to talk about the specifics right now. Please cut us a little bit of slack and rest assured that we will once again deliver a set of games that provide hundreds of hours of entertainment and remain the best value for money on the market — and something to help you escape from the real world at the moment, at least for a while.”

While waiting for the latest iteration in the series, check out our thoughts on last year’s game in our Football Manager 2020 review.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

While we see deals on the Resident Evil franchise somewhat regularly for consoles, finding good Steam discounts on RE games like the recent remakes, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 2, is less common. If you’ve been hoping to add these games to your Steam library, now’s a great time, as PC store Newegg is offering some fantastic prices on Steam codes for RE2, RE3, RE7, and even RE0 today. All of these games are currently full price on Steam. Here’s the catch: You’ve got just hours to take advantage of the discounts on RE3, RE2, and RE7 as they end around 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET today (it’s not clear when the RE0 discount will end). You can check out the Resident Evil deals and their prices below.

Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 are remakes of the classic PlayStation games. Released just one year apart, RE2 follows Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they attempt to escape Raccoon City on the night of the outbreak, while RE3 follows S.T.A.R.S. agent Jill Valentine, who is being pursued relentlessly by a giant monster named Nemesis.

Resident Evil 7 released in 2017 and is played entirely in first person, a first for the Resident Evil series. In RE7, you play as Ethan Winters, who enters a creepy house in Louisiana to search for his missing wife. If you’re looking to go further back in the history of Resident Evil, you can also snag Resident Evil Zero, a prequel to 1996’s Resident Evil, that follows officer Rebecca Chambers as she sets out to investigate a series of murders on the outskirts of Raccoon City.

HBO has released all-new episode details for Lovecraft Country, the upcoming supernatural horror series from executive producers Misha Green, Jordan Peele, and J.J. Abrams.

ComingSoon.net has shared an overview of the first half of season one of Lovecraft Country, which outlines episode titles, plot synopses, and debut dates for the first five episodes of the highly anticipated new series, which is set to debut on HBO’s premium cable network on Sunday, August 16.

The series premiere will also be available to stream on HBO Max shortly after airing, with all subsequent episodes in the show’s ten-episode run added to the platform each week.

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Check out the full episode details below:

Episode 1: Sundown (August 16 at 9:00 pm ET/PT)

Veteran and pulp-fiction aficionado Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) travels from the Jim Crow South to his South Side of Chicago hometown in search of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams). After recruiting his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) to join him, the trio sets out for “Ardham,” MA, where they think Montrose may have gone looking for insight into Atticus’ late mother’s ancestry. As they journey across the Midwest, Tic, Leti, and George encounter dangers lurking at every turn, especially after sundown.

Episode 2: Whitey’s on the Moon (August 23 at 9:00 pm ET/PT)

Inexplicably recovered from their terrifying night, Leti and George luxuriate in their new surroundings, while Atticus grows suspicious of their Ardham Lodge hosts – Christina Braithwhite (Abbey Lee) and her elusive father Samuel (Tony Goldwyn) – who unveil cryptic plans for Atticus’ role in their upcoming “Sons of Adam” ceremony. Later, after Tic, Leti, and George stumble upon a clue that could lead them to Montrose, each takes an unwelcome walk down memory lane.

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Episode 3: Holy Ghost (August 30 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Hoping to mend her relationship with her sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku), Leti turns a ramshackle Victorian on Chicago’s North Side into a boarding house – an endeavor that stokes neighborhood racism and awakens dormant spirits stuck in the house. Meanwhile, Atticus remains burdened by a guilty conscience as George’s wife Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis) presses him for the full story of what happened in Ardham.

Episode 4: A History of Violence (September 6 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT)

After Christina mysteriously shows up at her doorstep, Leti confronts Atticus about his plan to surreptitiously return to Florida. Later, in search of missing pages to a crucial text, Leti, Tic, and Montrose head to Boston, with Hippolyta and Diana (Jada Harris) along for the ride. Back in Chicago, a handsome stranger nurses Ruby’s disappointment over a squandered job opportunity.

Episode 5: Strange Case (September 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT)

After making a devil’s bargain with William, Ruby steps into the charmed shoes of a white woman, but her transformation only fortifies her resentment of the racial divide. A betrayal by Montrose unleashes Atticus’ pent up rage, leaving Leti deeply disturbed and sending Montrose into the comforting arms of his secret lover.

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All five episodes have been penned by Misha Green, however, Jonathan Kidd and Sonya Winton joined her on episode five. Yann Demange directed the first episode while Daniel Sackheim helmed episodes two and three; Victoria Mahoney took over directorial duties for episode four and Cheryl Dunye stepped up to direct episode five of the subversive horror-drama, which has a monstrous new poster.

Lovecraft Country debuts on HBO and HBO Max on August 16, 2020. For more on WarnerMedia’s streaming service, read our review round-up of the best and worst HBO Max originals.

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

The weekend is almost here, which means it’s a great time to dive into some new games. Fortunately Ubisoft is running a sale in its official store for some of its best and most popular games and franchises. That means you can save big ahead of the weekend, and spend Saturday and Sunday enjoy the discounted fruits of your labor.

The deals in the Ubisoft Store are good through August 6, so there’s not really a massive rush, so if you’re on a different pay schedule or just don’t feel like buying a game right now, you still have time.

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On top of the deals on Ubisoft games in the Ubisoft store, several retailers are currently offering deals on Far Cry 6 preorders. Far Cry 6 has a February 21, 2021 release date and is coming to PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbo Series X, and PC. The discounted preorder prices are below, and if you claim your preorder now, the price is locked-in until release. Even better, at Amazon, if the price goes any lower between now and release, you get the lower price as long as you have a copy claimed before any potential price drops.

You can also preorder the Ubisoft Store exclusive version of Far Cry 6.

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• Far Cry 6 Standard Edition at Amazon for PS4/PS5 – $49.94
• Far Cry 6 Standard Edition at Amazon for Xbox One/Xbox Series X – $49.94
• Far Cry 6 Standard Edition at Walmart for PS4/PS5 – $49.94
• Far Cry 6 Standard Edition at Walmart for Xbox One/Xbox Series X – $49.94

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Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

 

Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly has announced that it is working on a next-gen action-adventure game led by Just Cause 3 director Roland Lesterlin.

The game is currently untitled but it will be a AAA “highly ambitious, groundbreaking action adventure title” set to release on next-gen consoles — presumably Xbox Series X and PS5 — as well as streaming platforms and PC. This game is being led by People Can Fly head David Grijns and Lesterlin, who is serving as the creative director on the game.

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“There is electricity in the air at People Can Fly,” studio CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski said in a press release according to Gematsu. “Last year, we announced the opening of our New York Studio and revealed Outriders for the first time. Today, we have surpassed 250 staff and are excited to announce the next chapter in the development of our company.”

The New York-based studio is currently working to hire dozens of new staff members over the next year for this untitled project. People Can Fly will be working with studios in Newcastle, Rzeszow, and Warsaw alongside a soon-to-be startup studio in Montreal.

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“Our intention from the beginning has been to expand People Can Fly into a multi-project studio and continue to build a global presence for our brand,” Wojciechowski said. “We are making this unique moment with the presentation of PCF’s refreshed visual identity. With the launch of the next-generation consoles later this year, we are incredibly excited about the future of People Can Fly and the games industry as a whole.”

People Can Fly is not only busy with this untitled AAA project but it’s hard at work on its forthcoming game, Outriders, set to release this holiday season. In the meantime, read about how People Can Fly would love a second life for their Bulletstorm series.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

CD Projekt Red has made clear that it has no plans for a Cyberpunk 2077 beta, after scam emails appeared to offer recipients the chance to join one.

On Twitter, the Cyberpunk 2077 account made clear that recent emails promising beta access were not legitimate. The developer also made clear that any official communication to fans or content creators would come from a CDProjektRed.com address, never from a third-party.

1/2 If you recently received an email claiming to be granting you beta access to Cyberpunk 2077, it’s not from us. Unfortunately, there have been more of these being sent out over the past few weeks. When we contact you via email, it’ll always come from @ cdprojektred com address

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) July 30, 2020

It’s not clear what the scammers were hoping to gain from unuspecting Cyberpunk fans, but it seems likely that it would have asked for login details for gaming accounts. It goes without saying that you should be vigilant for anyone trying the same in your email inbox.

When asked if there were official plans for a Cyberpunk 2077 beta, the account replied: “We do not have plans for that. Sorry!”

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We shouldn’t have to wait too long for more Cyberpunk information, even if we aren’t getting a hands-on for ourselves – at the end of June, it was said that we’d be getting a second episode of Night City Wire (the game’s digital news broadcast) in “just a few weeks”.

Some of our number were lucky enough to play 4 hours of Cyberpunk 2077, and we offered rundowns of both what the prologue holds for us, and what secrets the open world of Night City holds in its darker corners.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be released for Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 19 (following a delay), and will get a “robust” next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021.

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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].