A new Wipeout game is finally coming out next year, but it won’t be headed to its usual PlayStation home. Instead, the latest entry in the anti-gravity racing series is on its way to mobile devices, as publisher Rogue Games has announced Wipeout Rush for Android and iOS devices. Due for release in the early part of 2022, Wipeout Rush has its own single-player campaign, 60 ships from the original games, and a comic book-influenced approach to storytelling.
There’s also a new system for how you’ll speed through the game’s 12 championship cup races, as Wipeout Rush is described as a “card-based racing” game.
“We hope fans will come to it with an open mind because–although different–we’re proud to bring the Wipeout franchise back into focus with a fresh take on the formula,” Rogue Games CEO Matt Casamassina said to IGN regarding possible skepticism from fans. “And we’ve poured a lot of love into the presentation, which includes loads of iconic ships and tracks, a new comic book-inspired narrative, a fitting electronica soundtrack, and gorgeous visuals that run at 60 frames per second on modern hardware.”
The soundtrack that Casamassina mentioned was produced by veteran Sony composer Alastair Lyndsay for the mobile game. The last time Wipeout received a big release was in 2017’s Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4, whichremastered Wipeout HD, its Fury expansion, and Wipeout 2048. The first Wipeout game to not be developed by Studio Liverpool, the Omega Collection was well-received upon release and even received a free PSVR update in 2018.
Fans have been clamoring for a new take on the franchise since then, and even though the mobile spin-off might sound like an odd direction to take Wipeout in, the very lucrative potential of that market might explain why a PS5 version of Wipeout hasn’t been announced yet.
This isn’t the first time that Sony has brought one of its exclusive IPs into the mobile space, as its PlayStation Mobile division has been responsible for games such as Run Sackboy! Run! and Uncharted: Fortune Hunter.
The Metroid series is one of the oldest in modern gaming, having originated in 1986 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Despite its age, though, it’s arguably never been more relevant to games than it is today. The series helped define the “metroidvania,” and the influence of that genre can be felt in various other games that encourage exploration as a central mechanic. It’s also perhaps one of Nintendo’s least iterated series, having received fewer games than others like Mario or The Legend of Zelda. That cautious approach has led to each entry bringing something unique to the series. We’ve put together a list of the best Metroid games–not including spin-offs like Metroid Prime Pinball and Hunters–ranked from worst to best.
10. Metroid: Other M
Metroid: Other M
The Metroid series is incredibly small–just four main side-scrolling games and three first-person Metroid Prime games, along with a handful of remakes–and many of them are strong showcases of Nintendo’s first-party prowess. That all-killer, no-filler approach means a game that is merely pretty good, like Metroid: Other M, bottoms out the list. The project was spearheaded by Team Ninja, best known at the time for the Ninja Gaiden series, and as a result Other M was a very different kind of Metroid game. It was the first to feature melee combat, and the perspective was a mix of traditional 2D and Prime-like 3D.
It was a daring mix of ideas, and not all of them worked. While Other M was still a decent game, scoring a 79 review average on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, it received criticism for its uneven difficulty, and especially for its groan-worthy story and voice acting. Perhaps worst of all, it took one of gaming’s most iconic heroines and made her doting and immature, and removed her agency in favor of a commanding officer. We can only assume the mixed reception is why there has been no Other M2.
9. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
The third and final game in the Metroid Prime trilogy–at least until Metroid Prime 4 comes out–was widely hailed as a high point for a series that has already had several high points. Though fans differ on which ranks higher, this or Prime 2, it’s inarguably Rare at the top of its game and having learned the lessons from its previous Metroid outings. Corruption was slightly more action-oriented than the prior Prime games, and it relied on Wii motion controls for precise aiming. It was also hailed as one of the best-looking Wii games, in an era not especially known for top-tier graphics. If anything, Corruption suffers from only slightly diminishing returns because we had two fantastic Prime games to play already.
8. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime was critically acclaimed, setting the stage for high expectations from its follow-up, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Shockingly, Rare managed to deliver on that high standard, creating a sequel that built upon the foundation of Prime and expanded it with a new light and dark mechanic that also had an impact on the story. Just like the 2D Metroid games and the original Prime, Echoes sported a tightly-designed environment bursting with secrets to uncover and explore as you expanded Samus’ suite of abilities. It even introduced a moderately well-received multiplayer mode, which may have influenced the decision to release the much less lauded Metroid Prime Hunters on Nintendo DS two years later. Though some critics did ding the late-game hunt for keys, which many saw as artificial padding, it was generally regarded as a great successor to Prime.
7. Metroid
Metroid
The original Metroid on NES is certainly an artifact of its time, and going back to it today likely isn’t as fun as many others on the list. But it ranks for sheer influence. All of the pieces we recognize in Metroid today, from the sprawling map to the eerie tone, were present in this original sci-fi incarnation. This was Nintendo at among its most experimental, creating an entirely new sub-genre of action game. This is the proto-metroidvania, and while not as polished as some of its follow-ups it helped build the template for everything that followed. In the process, Nintendo created one of gaming’s most enduring icons.
6. Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid II: Return of Samus
How do you make a sequel to one of the most influential games of the 8-bit era? With a handheld game that improves nearly every aspect, of course. Return of Samus pulled in the perspective for a closer look at Samus as she explored SR388, the home planet of the Metroids. Her mission was to eradicate the creatures before the dreaded Space Pirates could exploit them for their own nefarious purposes, which made for an excellent merging of story and gameplay. Rather than simply uncovering the planet, you had to actually hunt down every single Metroid as tracked by an in-game counter. As the Metroid home, SR388 introduced new species and variants of Metroids. It all led to an ultimate conclusion in which Samus showed mercy to a Metroid hatchling–the last of its kind–a decision that has rippled through the story of every subsequent Metroid game.
5. Metroid Fusion
Metroid Fusion
The last chronological game before Metroid Dread, Fusion for the Game Boy Advance represents a later era of 2D Metroid that is both influenced by earlier games and forges its own path. This time Samus is critically injured by a parasite only known as the X organism, and scientists give her an experimental vaccine made from Metroid DNA to save her life. Functionally this makes Samus part-metroid, and able to absorb the X-parasites in the same way that metroids would absorb the life energy of their prey. (The DNA fusion also gave Samus a dope new suit.)
Though Fusion did include exploration elements like its predecessors, it was slightly more linear than other games. Rather than free exploration you were guided through missions with specific objectives to reach. This sanded off some of the edges that could be both thrilling and frustrating in other games, making a modernized version of the Metroid experience.
4. Metroid: Samus Returns
Metroid: Samus Returns
This remake of the Game Boy classic was a swan song for the Nintendo 3DS. While keeping the structure of the original Return of Samus intact, developer MercurySteam introduced new elements like a melee counterattack and a free aiming ability, along with a suite of new Aeion abilities. This was a remake at its best, taking the core structure of a classic game and making it more accessible to modern audiences without sacrificing what made it so special to start with. And Nintendo apparently agrees, as series producer Yoshio Sakamoto continued to partner with MercurySteam for the upcoming Metroid Dread.
3. Metroid: Zero Mission
Metroid: Zero Mission
Similar to Samus Returns, Zero Mission was a remake that helped reintroduce some early Metroid concepts to a new generation of players. This time, though, it was a new take on the very first Metroid game. The new version retained many of the same power-ups and structure of the original, but introduced new mini-bosses and an expanded environment to explore. It was also more narrative driven, incorporating one story moment that removed Samus from her Power Suit entirely. During this portion Samus had to make-do with her wits and a relatively weak pistol as she retrieved her suit. That memorable portion has gone on to define one of the character’s signature looks, the “Zero Suit Samus” seen in games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
2. Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before it, Metroid Prime took one of Nintendo’s most revered franchises and brought it into the 3D era. And in the journey to the third dimension, the player also got an all-new perspective: Samus. The first-person perspective had previously been reserved mostly for first-person shooters, but Retro Studios applied it to the otherworldly tone and atmosphere of a Metroid game. Even the little touches astounded, like seeing Samus’ face reflected in her visor when the light would hit it just right. The transition was impeccable, creating a truly innovative masterpiece that created something new while paying respect to its roots.
1. Super Metroid
Super Metroid
Widely hailed as one of the best games of all time and a major template for many modern games to follow, Super Metroid is a timeless masterpiece. Set immediately after the events of Metroid 2, Samus delivers the Metroid hatchling to researchers. Only moments later, though, the facility is attacked by space pirates, leading Samus back to the planet Zebes. The 1994 classic is remembered for its sense of isolation and exploration. The map was huge and multifaceted, brimming with passageways blocked by impassable elements that prompted the player to wonder when they would come back to open new passageways. It had a perfectly paced sense of empowerment as Samus gained new abilities and even upgrades to her iconic suit regularly. And the finale, which sees the baby Metroid sacrifice itself to save the woman who spared its life, is a hallmark of resonant, wordless storytelling.
The so-called “metroidvania” genre is named after a portmanteau of two of its most influential progenitors: the Metroid series, and Super Metroid more specifically, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. While it’s true that both were incredibly influential to the genre, Super Metroid beat Symphony of the Night by three years, and SotN itself was doubtlessly influenced by Super Metroid. That makes Super Metroid the core of one of the most popular and enduring game genres of all time, and it’s still one of the best examples of it. Super Metroid is playable on Nintendo Switch with a Switch Online membership.
Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol premieres Thursday, Sept. 16 on Peacock.
The premiere of The Lost Symbol, based on the third book in Dan Brown’s best-selling Robert Langdon symbologist series, is an earnest but half-cooked puzzler featuring capable, amiable leads and a clunky clockwork plot that offers few surprises.
After ABC’s Lost went off the air in 2010, networks scrambled to find the next supernatural mystery box series. Given how many Lost clones we suffered in the wake of that show’s conclusion, it’s actually surprising it took this long to get a Dan Brown book adapted for the small screen. Of course, it might be because his books were big screen Tom Hanks projects for a full decade, but Langdon’s adventures feel tailor-made for an episodic format. And that may very well be the case for The Lost Symbol, but the pilot episode — “As Above, So Below” — doesn’t exactly kick off this caper in crackerjack fashion. It’s very much an average, by-the-numbers scavenger hunt.
Fear Street’s Ashley Zukerman plays Harvard University professor Robert Langdon, a boastful brainiac of all things religious iconology and symbology. Zukerman is pleasant and punchy in the role, giving us a detective who’s awkward enough to be endearing and driven enough to be obnoxious. It’s sort of the sweet spot for TV snoops, that balance between perceptive and pesky. You want this type of character to be both out of their depth and in their element at the same time, and in this way, Zukerman is a solid, satisfying Langdon.
The mystery Langdon gets embroiled in this time around, involving the disappearance of his mentor, Peter Solomon (Eddie Izzard, once again in Hannibal-style danger), isn’t an instantly captivating corker. Reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it’s a loved one that prods Langdon into action, forcing him to uncover a rumored ancient portal that leads to unlimited knowledge and power.
Keeping things more Washington D.C. focused instead of some of Brown’s more globe-trotting treks, The Lost Symbol is a dive into Masonic mumbo-jumbo in which everyone will learn a valuable lesson about tinkering with the unknown and probing the past. In this regard, it’s satisfying popcorn content, but not much more.
“As Above, So Below,” directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg, features gruesome tableaus, hidden catacombs, booby traps, trademark Dan Brown secret society mercenaries, and — of course — Langdon’s signature luscious head of hair (which Hanks was lightly roasted for lacking). This introductory chapter moves well, fills in crucial character blanks via flashbacks, and spotlights Langdon as he quickly solves clues left behind by a villain named Mal’akh. It’s junior league mystery stuff that more or less disguises its ordinary nature by having everyone become fast-talking Wiki pages.
It’s satisfying popcorn content, but not much more.
Langdon’s think tank team on this ride includes Peter’s daughter, and Langdon’s former flame, Katherine, (The Tick‘s Valorie Curry), CIA investigator Sato (Sumalee Montano), and astute Capital policeman Nunez (Rick Gonzalez). Izzard provides key emotional stakes here (as well as a very distracting academia ponytail) while Langdon’s crusade is peppered with light bickering between him and Katherine because, well, he’s kind of s***ty about her field of Noetic science. That’s a science which, by the way, is portrayed as vastly more interesting than Langdon’s particular arena, which just seems like flashy infographic stuff (he’s literally teaching a Harvard class about how “some symbols now mean bad things”).
Nothing in The Lost Symbol is meant to crack molds or rattle cages, but if you’re looking to turn off your brain for a bit while a few “smart” characters spout off smart things, it’s fine entry-level intrigue.
Nicolas Cage has assured fans of his filmography that he never plans on retiring from acting.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-winning actor declared that he had banished the thought of retirement from his mind because he feels healthier and happier when he’s working on a project. He also recognized the importance of cinema and the role that the industry has played in his life.
“That can’t happen,” Cage said of retirement. “To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it. I’m healthier when I’m working, I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I’m never going to retire. Where are we now, 117 movies?”
“What’s funny is, my argument with people who go, ‘You work too much,’ was ‘I like working, and it’s healthy, I’m happy when I’m working, and by the way, guys like Cagney and Bogart, they were doing hundreds of movies,'” he explained. “And then I went, ‘I’d better check that,’ and I went, ‘Oops…'”
Cage has starred in a huge number of movies over the course of his acting career, and there’s no sign of his workload slowing down. He recently landed one of the biggest roles that Hollywood has to offer as he found himself cast as Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, directed by Tom Gormican.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent features Nicolas Cage as its fictional main character — someone trying to balance family life and a career while simultaneously finding himself caught in the crossfire of a Mexican cartel leader and the CIA. It’s expected to pay homage to some of Cage’s former films like Leaving Las Vegas, Face-Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds.
Before that, Cage will be seen in Sion Sono’s Prisoners of the Ghostland, portraying a bank robber who is offered his freedom in exchange for retrieving a wealthy warlord’s missing granddaughter. He stars in the neo-noir Western film alongside Sofia Boutella, Bill Mosley, Nick Cassavetes, and Tak Sakaaguchi.
Prisoners of the Ghostland arrives in theaters and on VOD and Digital on September 17 following its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January. IGN awarded the movie a 7 out of 10, calling it “a particularly surreal tribute to the Western, the Samurai film, and the Mad Max post-apocalypse.”
Former Bungie composer Marty O’Donnell, known for his work on the Halo series and Destiny, has been found in contempt of court over his use of Destiny music assets that broke the terms of a 2015 lawsuit between him and Bungie. O’Donnell now faces tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
As revealed by Eurogamer, Bungie served the Halo-famed composer with contempt of court papers back in April after it surfaced that Destiny videos breaking the terms of a previous 2015 lawsuit between the pair had been published to O’Donnell’s YouTube channel and other platforms.
On July 12 this year, after reviewing the evidence presented, Judge Regina Cahan of the Superior Court of Washington King County ruled in the studio’s favour. As part of the ruling, O’Donnell has reportedly been made to remove all relevant Destiny material from the internet. To ensure that a similar situation doesn’t arise in the future, O’Donnell has also been made to submit a range of his electronic devices for forensic examination in order to ensure that any assets relating to the case in his possession are deleted.
The composer has also been told pay Bungie any money that he has received from the sale of music uploaded to Bandcamp as well as the studio’s legal fees. While these fees are apparently still in dispute, they include both Bungie’s legal fees and the costs associated with the third-party forensic examination of his devices – a figure that Bungie reportedly argues is close to $100,000.
In order to ensure that damages caused by the composer’s previous uploads are limited, the court order states that O’Donnell must “post a message, the wording of which the parties agree to, on his Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud sites/channels stating that he did not have legal authority to possessor provide material related to Music of the Spheres or Destiny and asking anyone who previously downloaded any such assets to delete them and refrain from sharing and will destroy any copies of them”.
While O’Donnell has not as of yet written such a message, the court order further says that upon doing so, the composer is not permitted to directly or indirectly comment on inquiries made surrounding the post and should instead, “let the message speak for itself”.
O’Donnell served as Bungie’s Audio Lead until 2014 when he was fired. As part of the subsequent lawsuit at the time, the composer was ordered to ensure that ‘all material’ in his possession relating to Destiny was returned to Bungie. In addition, the composer was also told at the time that he was not permitted to perform or share any music relating to either work.
In 2019, however, O’Donnell began uploading videos and other materials relating to Destiny – including the foundation of its score, Music of the Spheres – to his online socials. As part of this, O’Donnell posted tracks and an album titled “Sketches for MotS” to Bandcamp where fans of the composer could pay him a voluntary fee to support him.
As part of the Eurogamer report, Bungie took issue with O’Donnell’s possession of the materials, which it argued violated the 2015 injunction. Bungie then filed a contempt of court motion against the composer which, as reviewed by Eurogamer, reads, “Mr. O’Donnell’s very possession of such materials proves he did not comply with the order to return ‘all material’ to Bungie.”
On June 4, O’Donnell asked fans to consider purchasing his unrelated soundtrack for the PSVR game Golem, stating that the money raised would help with his huge legal bills.
Please consider purchasing this soundtrack. The money will help with my huge legal bills. Thank you. https://t.co/YeEejHKCWy
Polyphony Digital’s wonderfully nostalgic new trailer for Gran Turismo 7, which Sony aired during its 2021 PlayStation Showcase last week, communicates a very clear message: this is a series with a long history that players look back upon with firm fondness.
Filled with sequences inspired by the unforgettable intro movies from several classic Gran Turismo games stretching all the way back to the series’ debut on the original PlayStation, this latest look at GT7 knew exactly which buttons to push to get fans ready for the much-anticipated return of the complete Gran Turismo experience.
Gran Turismo creator and Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi confirms the call-backs were something he wanted to do to help tie the history of the series to the next chapter.
“I felt that was the kind of thing the audience was really looking for now,” Yamauchi tells IGN. “When the development of GT Sport ended I had mentioned in interviews that I wanted GT7 to be a title that connects the past to the present and to the future, and that’s exactly what GT7 is about.”
Of course, there are a variety of hurdles that accompany the task of building a game for an audience as broad as that of Gran Turismo, which ranges from fans who loved the original nearly 25 years ago to kids who perhaps weren’t even born when the likes of GT5 and GT6 arrived within the last decade or so.
“I think that’s definitely a challenge that Gran Turismo 7 is actually facing, because 25 years ago the world was very different,” says Yamauchi. “There was lots of different car media out there, and kids would come into contact with cars all the time and naturally become car fans. Gran Turismo was born in that environment.”
“But when you look at the world now, all the different opportunities for new enthusiasts of cars to be born have sort of been lost over the years. I wouldn’t say GT is the only one, but GT is definitely one of the last mediums where a new car fan can be born.
I wouldn’t say GT is the only one, but GT is definitely one of the last mediums where a new car fan can be born.
“So the challenge of Gran Turismo 7 is to not only cater to the long-time fans of Gran Turismo, who are waiting for the depth and the level of realism they expect from Gran Turismo, but it is also about taking care of the kids who are playing the game for the very first time, and really teaching them about: what is the car world? What is tuning? What are these settings? What’s involved in a race? It was a challenge for Gran Turismo 7 to be able to convey all these different things, really from the ground up, to the new generation of potential car enthusiasts out there.”
Yamauchi concedes veteran players may find some of these basic beginner elements perplexing but stresses they’re important for the series to be able to accommodate first-time players and create both new car fans and new GT fans.
“For the players of Gran Turismo who are used to the series, you might actually find it too explanative of all the different things in the game,” he says. “You might think, ‘Why do I need to collect all these different cars, or learn about all these different cars? I know this already.’
“But the game was really designed for this new generation of kids that don’t know cars that need to be introduced into this world, but at the same time keeping the realism and the depth at a very high level that allows the fans of the series to be satisfied as well. And I think that we were able to balance this fairly well in Gran Turismo 7.”
We’ve seen glimpses of some of the classic features of Gran Turismo that haven’t been present since 2013’s Gran Turismo 6, including the return of the used car dealership, variable time and weather, and tuning (“Tuning and settings in Gran Turismo 7 is going to be really fun,” insists Yamauchi).
Also returning are two of Gran Turismo’s iconic fantasy tracks: High Speed Ring and Trial Mountain. Yamauchi is pleased with the response to the return of these tracks, which debuted way back in the original 1997 game but have been absent from the series for nearly a decade.
“Making original tracks has always been something that we like to do, and it does make us very happy that they have now been recognised as the heritage of the series throughout the years,” he says.
Of course, there are a lot of great fantasy tracks from the early history of Gran Turismo – including Grand Valley, Autumn Ring, and Deep Forest – so what made High Speed Ring and Trial Mountain the first two to bring back to GT7?
“In regards to the other tracks it’s not like we’re not working on recreating some of those as well, but that put aside, the reason we needed High Speed Ring is because it’s really a track that’s suited for a beginner driver,” says Yamauchi. “And Trial Mountain just happens to be one of my favourites as well, so that’s the reason it was selected.”
While returning features from GT6 are dominating a lot of the discussion around GT7, fans who have enjoyed the competitive multiplayer focus of GT Sport can “absolutely” expect everything Polyphony has learnt from its PS4 hit to be rolled into GT7, where it will exist alongside the traditional Gran Turismo experience.
Gran Turismo 7 will contain everything that was possible to do in Gran Turismo Sport.
“Gran Turismo 7 will contain everything that was possible to do in Gran Turismo Sport,” Yamauchi confirms. “Everything that had to do with multiplayer will be included in the new game, but at the same time improving its usability, and also the network reliability of those modes as well.”
“Gran Turismo 7 will really contain everything that was in GT Sport; there’ll be nothing lost there.”
So what will represent a success for Polyphony Digital upon the arrival of GT7 in early 2022?
“I mentioned this before, but Gran Turismo 7 really has two sides to it; two aspects,” says Yamauchi. “First is the side where we’re really trying to cater to people coming into contact with cars for the very first time, and then the other side who are already lovers of cars and who already love GT. We think we’ve balanced these two aspects at a high level, but we really want to know how people feel about how the game plays for them.”
Gran Turismo 7 is scheduled to arrive on March 4, 2022. 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the original Gran Turismo, which was first released in Japan in December 1997. With over 80 million games sold since 1997, Gran Turismo is the best-selling first-party PlayStation series ever.
Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter every few days @MrLukeReilly.
THQ Nordic marks its 10th anniversary this year, and the publisher is holding a special showcase to celebrate. The event takes place this Friday, September 17, and we’re rounding up all the key details on how to watch it and what to expect. One of the announcements has seemingly leaked ahead of time, as PlayStation’s Twitter account recently revealed a remake of Destroy All Humans 2. The celebration also includes free games and discounts, so be sure to read on to get all the information.
How To Watch The THQ Nordic 10th Anniversary Event
The showcase, which THQ Nordic is calling a “digital party,” is slated to take place September 17 starting at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET. You can see more local times below. Because it is a party, everyone is getting a gift as well (more on that later).
You can watch the THQ stream live on YouTube and Twitch.
Start Times:
12 PM PT
3 PM ET
8 PM BST
10 PM MSK
5 AM AEST (Saturday, September 18)
Who’s Hosting?
Geoff Keighley, a games media veteran known for hosting and organizing The Game Awards, Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event, and others will host The THQ Nordic showcase.
What To Expect
There will be six new game announcements during the THQ Nordic showcase, one of which is presumably the leaked Destroy All Humans 2 remake. The reveals will include sequels and original IPs.
“Witness the return of legendary franchises, where the fans are waiting for decades to get their hands on a new installment, sequels to beloved games, and new original IPs. We hope you are ready, kids!” the publisher said.
In addition to the six reveals, THQ Nordic will announce new information about the fantasy RPG Elex II will be revealed alongside an update on Expeditions: Rome.
Free Games And Sales
To celebrate the 10th anniversary birthday bash, THQ Nordic is giving everyone a free copy of the Titan Quest Anniversary Edition and the Jagged Alliance Gold Edition. Both games are free to claim on Steam beginning later today and running through September 23.
In terms of the anniversary sales, THQ Nordic’s 10th anniversary sale on Steam begins today, September 16, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Every game and franchise from THQ Nordic is on sale, but the publisher said the best deals are for Destroy All Humans, Biomutant, Wreckfest, Desperados III, SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, the Darksiders series, and the SpellForce series. The sale runs until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on Thursday, September 23.
There are similar sales for THQ Nordic games going on right now for Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Stadia. You can see all the deals through the links below; the offers are good through September 28 on Stadia and Xbox and September 29 for Nintendo.
The Yakuza series and its spin-offs are renowned for juxtaposing simmering crime drama plots alongside quirkier complementary diversions, but Lost Judgment is the first time that the side dishes have turned out to be more satisfying than the main course. An intriguing murder case at its center doesn’t quite go the distance thanks to a lack of late-game twists and turns and puddle-deep detective gameplay, but a surprisingly absorbing series of optional investigations that place returning star Takayuki Yagami undercover at a Yokohama high school go a long way towards redeeming the overall adventure.
When a body is found decomposing in an abandoned warehouse, the prime suspect has an airtight alibi: getting caught committing an entirely different crime at the exact same time the warehouse murder is believed to have taken place. It’s a provocative jumping off point to be reunited with private investigator Yagami and his likeable crime-solving cohorts, and it kept me enthralled in its opening hours as a series of contradictions were picked apart and modern concepts like deepfake technology were posited that made me feel like I was leading man in an episode of CSI: Shinjuku.
This initial intrigue doesn’t last, though, since all of the major parts and players in Lost Judgment’s main case have been identified and unmasked roughly by the start of the third act, which means any sense of mystery evaporates from there on out as the characters talk in circles and at length while re-examining the same pieces of evidence without revealing any new details. I kept waiting for a rug-pulling plot twist that never arrived, and despite the customary escalating boss fights in Lost Judgment’s closing chapters, I couldn’t help but feel like it was just going through the motions.
Defective Agency
I felt equally apathetic towards Yagami’s detective work which, despite some minor tweaks and additions, remains as disappointingly shallow and inflexible in Lost Judgment as it was in the original. Quick-time event-heavy chase sequences are repetitive and often ridiculous, running laps of the same small circuit and always seeming a few comedic toots of Yakety Sax away from being an actual Benny Hill skit. Meanwhile, the covert tailing missions are slightly less frustrating this time around thanks to the ability to press a button to “act casual” and hide in plain sight, but no less plodding.
Then there are the parkour sections, which are clunky enough to make an Assassin’s Creed fan want to fall on their hidden blade, and the stealth scenes that force you to throw coins in very specific spots to distract guards before you can take them out (just quietly creeping up behind them greets you with a greyed-out button prompt and no course of action other than to scurry back to your overtly signposted hiding spot). The added detection gadgets, like a highly sensitive microphone and a detector for hidden cameras, are certainly welcome but in practice they’re effectively not that different from the simple crime scene pixel-hunting from Yagami’s first outing.
The one aspect of Lost Judgment’s sleuthing that does feel a bit more involved is Yagami’s ability to eavesdrop on conversations between pedestrians in order to pick up certain words or phrases that can be used as search terms in the Buzz Researcher app on his phone. In doing so, he can sift through a feed of text messages and triangulate specific points on the map where new clues might be uncovered. It’s still relatively restrictive since you can only use the exact search terms you’re given, but as far as actual deduction goes it at least made me feel I was getting my hands dirty rather than merely having them held.
Private School Private Eye
And yet, despite all of these gripes, I can’t say that I didn’t end up enjoying my time with Lost Judgment overall, and that’s almost entirely thanks to the surprisingly meaty undercover side cases that Yagami can undertake at the Seiryo High School. Playing the role of a Japanese Johnny Depp in a 21 Jump Street-style high school sting feels refreshingly novel, and I enjoyed posing as a choreographer for the school dance squad or helping the robotics club refine their machines, while simultaneously sniffing around for clues to the identity of an unnamed professor suspected of recruiting students into criminal activity.
Playing the role of a Japanese Johnny Depp in a 21 Jump Street-style high school sting feels refreshingly novel.
These school stories often spill out into interesting places outside of the school grounds, and also do a great job of contextualising a lot of the mini-games found in Lost Judgment. The amount of time I spend in the virtual Club Segas found in Yakuza games has diminished with each subsequent sequel over the years; however, in Lost Judgment I was forced to brush up on my Virtua Fighter 5 skills in my efforts to endear myself to the school’s eSports team while I investigated one of its members accused of cheating in tournaments. I appreciated the way Lost Judgment cleverly takes previously peripheral ingredients and makes them feel vital.
In all, there are 10 different school societies to be infiltrated and investigated, combining to add more than a dozen hours of compelling casework to the package. It’s shocking to me that these are all entirely optional, since I found them to be far more engaging and mechanically diverse than anything offered by the main story. This is despite the fact that, since they’re treated as ‘side missions’, they’re sadly not given the same level of slick presentation gloss as the fully-voiced cutscenes that flesh out much of Lost Judgment’s main mystery.
My only major issue with the schoolyard subplots is that in a game that details the potentially horrifying ramifications of bullying, including youth suicide, you spend a surprising amount of time as a grown man beating the absolute snot out of teenagers. It only takes a few pranks played on the maths teacher for Yagami to morph into the meanest form of Mr. Miyagi and send a gang of troublemakers from the classroom to the emergency ward, which seems more than a little contrary to Lost Judgment’s virtuous main message.
Not Exactly Like a Dragon
Thankfully, the majority of Yagami’s street fights are contested against consenting adult combatants. Unlike the turn-based battles of 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Lost Judgment stays true to the real-time Streets of Rage-style beat-‘em-up action that the Yakuza series was built upon. That suits me, since my personal preference is for pulling off a swift combo-based beatdown rather than get bogged down in menus puzzling over which defense spell to cast next. In addition to the Tiger and Crane fighting styles that return from the original Judgment, Yagami now has a Snake style, which is heavy with slippery parry moves, and I gravitated towards using it more often than not thanks to the satisfying counter-attack opportunities it consistently creates.
However, Lost Judgment just can’t compete with Yakuza: Like a Dragon when it comes to sheer enemy variety. Whereas Like a Dragon packed in enough colourful characters to overcrowd the world’s angriest-looking Where’s Wally? poster, Lost Judgment just pits you up against more or less the same stock-standard street punks in the vast majority of its brawls. The scraps certainly increase in challenge as you go on, with gang members swelling in numbers and bringing in more deadly weapons like katanas and flamethrowers, but it ultimately feels a bit stale when the thousandth head you crack has the same scowling facial texture as the first.
Speaking of textures, the Kamarucho and Yokohama settings from Like a Dragon remain every bit as detailed in Lost Judgment, and as dazzling as ever to walk around – particularly at night. Yagami has access to a detective dog named Ranpo who can be used to sniff out hidden secrets, but I also enjoyed the simple pleasure of just peacefully walking him through the neon-lit streets. However, it’s a shame that Lost Judgment’s environment isn’t quite as functional as that of the last Yakuza, and indeed while vending machines are on every other street corner, you can’t actually buy items from them like you could in Like a Dragon. Instead you need to hustle to the nearest Poppo anytime you want supplies, ironically making these convenience stores seem somewhat inconvenient by comparison.
Kung Fu Kickflip
That extra legwork is mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of a skateboard, which ex-lawyer Yagami can magically whip out at any moment to go from lapsed legal eagle to wannabe Tony Hawk. However, it’s unfortunately pretty clumsily implemented. The button you hold down to run is the same one that activates the skateboard, and so I frequently found myself accidentally skating into a cluster of pedestrians and stacking it when I was merely trying to sprint past them. That made getting around substantially more stop-and-start than I’d have liked. Besides, cash is so easily earned that I was more inclined to just order a taxi from Yagami’s phone than I was to try to reach anywhere on foot.
Ex-lawyer Yagami can magically whip out [his skateboard] at any moment to go from lapsed legal eagle to wannabe Tony Hawk.
In fact, while Lost Judgment has an incredibly long list of features and some of them are really well done, skateboarding is just one of many that looks good on paper but is not so good in practice. It’s true that you can race in violent Road Rash-inspired motorcycle races, try and grind your way to high scores in a warehouse skate park, and go undercover at a Russian school for ninjas. But it’s also true that the motorcycle races are hampered by stiff controls and an impractically low chase camera, the skateboarding tricks are on rails (and not in the good way), and infiltrating the ninja school basically amounts to playing a game of darts and getting dragged along into yet another monotonous chase sequence. In some ways, Lost Judgment is a bit like a gacha machine – all those toys sure seem enticing and varied when you look at them through the glass, but once you dispense a capsule and crack it open you realise they’re surprisingly cheaply made and you’re suddenly not sure whether you actually needed it in the first place.
By that same 100 yen token, there are a lot of really fun activities that only emerge over time. I was over 30 hours into my playthrough and well beyond rolling credits on the main story before I unlocked a robust arcade boxing mini-game, complete with 24 different opponents and its own levelling system and unlockable special moves, for example. I’ve still only uncovered three out of the 12 game cartridges you can play on the Sega Master System in Yagami’s office. And what’s this? A hilarious mini-game where you have to drunkenly chat up barmaids in the local nightclub? There are certainly a lot of hidden delights to be found digging around in Lost Judgment’s sandbox, as long as you’re prepared to invest the time and take the good with the bad.
There’s a new GoPro Hero 10 on the block and it brings some major improvements with more resolution and faster speed.
The new GP2 processor is the breakthrough feature of the latest GoPro, and it unlocks 5.3K video at 60 frames per second (fps), 4K 120fps, 2.7K 240fps, and 23MP photos. On top of shooting sharper movies and images, the GP2 processor also boosts the overall quality of your content with improved video algorithms featuring local tone mapping and 3D noise reduction so you can capture finer detail, more realistic textures, and better contrast – even in low light.
This new high-performance processor also boosts the overall speed of the GoPro H10, so you’ll be able to jump between shooting modes, navigate menus, and review your content that much faster. This newfound speed also extends to transferring content to your phone.
According to GoPro, the Hero 10 can wirelessly offload 30% faster than the GoPro Hero 9. For the first time, you can also connect your phone directly to the GoPro Hero 10 through USB to speed up transfers by 50%. There’s also an option to automatically upload your latest footage while the camera is charging.
The GoPro Hero 10 also features improved HyperSmooth 4.0 in-camera video stabilization to make your all your extreme sports moment look like they were shot perfectly shake-free.
The GoPro Hero 10 Black is available for $499, but you can also buy it directly from $399 if you elect to go for the included one-year GoPro Subscription – after which the GoPro subscription will cost $49.99 annually or $4.99 a month.
Also, existing GoPro subscribers can purchase a Hero 10 Black with an accessory bundle (extension grip tripod, magnetic clip mount, spare battery, and 32GB SD card) without any added cost at $399.
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Kevin Lee is IGN’s SEO Updates Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.
