Top New Game Releases On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week — September 13-19, 2020

It’s a great time to be a fan of platformers, thanks to Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Spelunky 2 both launching this week. It’s also a really action-packed week, with Crysis Remastered and WWE 2K Battlegrounds on the horizon, too. If you prefer to play something at a slower pace, you can also check out narrative adventure game Welcome to Elk. Here are some of the hottest games launching this week.

Spelunky 2 — September 15

Available on: PS4

The long-anticipated roguelike sequel has arrived. Spelunky 2 has you take control of new characters exploring randomly generated levels on the moon, which is full of new enemies to beat, traps to dodge, and treasures to collect. There’s a base camp where the explorers can hang out between runs, too. This week’s launch is for PS4 players only: PC gamers will have to wait until the 29th for the Steam version.

More Spelunky 2:

Welcome to Elk — September 17

Available on: Xbox One, PC

Welcome to Elk
Welcome to Elk

Frigg is a carpenter living on the island of Elk, and they spend their time talking to the island residents and listening to their stories. You’ll complete minigames to match what each islander is talking bout, and what’s more, all of their tales are based on true stories told to developer Triple Topping.

More Welcome to Elk:

Super Mario 3D All-Stars — September 18

Available on: Switch

Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are all coming to Nintendo Switch in one tidy package. All three games offer shiny new HD graphics to see, full soundtracks to listen to, and Switch-specific controls to try. Just note that you don’t have forever to pick this one up if you’re interested: 3D All-Stars will only be available through March 2021.

More Super Mario 3D All-Stars:

WWE 2K Battlegrounds — September 18

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Stadia

WWE 2K Battlegrounds

The WWE wrestling sim series is taking a year off, so we’re getting this cartoony take on the franchise instead. Battlegrounds features WWE superstars from all throughout wrestling history, from Andre the Giant and Jake “the Snake” Roberts to Bray Wyatt and Becky Lynch. You can throw down in all the modes you expect: Tag Team, Triple Threat, Royal Rumble, and more.

More WWE 2K Battlegrounds:

Crysis Remastered — September 18

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Crysis Remastered

Crysis Remastered is already out on Switch, but now gamers on other platforms can get their hands on it. The remaster includes new 8K textures, improved lighting, and ray-tracing support. Crysis was once the game used as a PC benchmark, but now it should look even better as you battle your way across an island occupied by enemy soldiers and alien invaders.

More Crysis Remastered:

September isn’t over yet: New Releases will be back to highlight even more games next week. We’ll be taking a look at Mafia: Definitive Edition and Serious Sam 4.

Now Playing: Top New Games Releasing On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week — September 13-19, 2020

Tenet Box Office Passes $200 Million Worldwide

Releasing into a movie market where many theatres remain closed and in regions where they are open, people are choosing to stay home, the box office results for Christopher Christopher Nolan’s new movie Tenet was always going to face an uphill struggle at the box office.

The financial fortunes of the mind-bending action movie continue to come into focus, with Deadline reporting that the film has now crossed $200 million worldwide at the global box office.

The film made a further $6.7 million in the US over the weekend, which is down compared to the Labor Day opening weekend in America. Across all regions in the world, Tenet made $37.3 million this weekend to push its global haul past $200 million.

Deadline reported that Los Angeles was the top market in the US for Tenet this weekend, which is odd given that theatres there are largely still shut. However, cinemas in Orange County recently opened, and the film is doing especially well at some theatres there.

The top 10 overall US markets for Tenet this past weekend were: Los Angeles (Orange County), Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Toronto, Greater New York (New Jersey and Connecticut), Houston, Atlanta, and San Diego.

According to EW, Tenet had a budget of as much as $225 million (before marketing), and it’s reported that the movie may need to earn $400 million worldwide just to break even.

Tenet stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh in a mind-bending story involving espionage and lots of action. For lots more on the film, you can check out GameSpot’s Tenet review and hear from the cast about their favorite video games in the story below.

Now Playing: Tenet Stars Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki Discuss Their Mysterious Characters & Favorite Games Ever

Crash Bandicoot 4’s Joyous Japanese Live-Action Trailer Is A Vibe We Need In Our Lives

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is, in many ways, a throwback to the 90s: a Crash game that aims to take players back to the time when mascot platformers were at their best. And now, the game has a new commercial that reminds us of another 90s icon, one of the greatest game commercials of all time–the Japanese ad for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The latest Japanese ad for Crash Bandicoot 4 features someone in a huge Crash Bandicoot suit dancing and cavorting with a family. They dance in their home, in the forest, and on the streets, and the father seems to be really getting into it.

There’s really nothing in the way of game footage here until the very end. Instead, this trailer is tapping into a feeling–the sheer joy of Crash’s return. The exaggerated actions, the silly song, and the emphatic dancing all feels pretty true to the Crash Bandicoot that fans know and love.

Check out the trailer below. It’s impossible to watch without smiling.

There’s a shorter version, too–but we say that you should treat yourself to the longer video above. It’s been a tough year. You’ve earned three good minutes and a fun song to hum to yourself for the rest of the day.

Crash Bandicoot 4 launches on October 1 for PS4 and Xbox One. It will feature a new N.Verted mode, which will change each level’s art style. If you’ve been waiting for a true Crash sequel since Crash Bandicoot 3, check out GameSpot’s pre-order guide.

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Mulan Debuts To Low Numbers In Chinese Cinemas Amid Controversy

Disney’s live-action Mulan remake is only available on Disney Plus is most markets, but the film has debuted in cinemas across China. The film, however, hasn’t done so well–it has opened to just $25 million in its first weekend, Variety reports.

The film, helmed by New Zealand director Niki Caro, opened to $23 million over the September 11-13 weekend. That made it the number 1 film at the Chinese box office, but not by the margin Disney would have been likely expecting, as the film seems to have been made with the Chinese market in mind.

The new film, which is more serious than the previous animated version (there are no talking animals or musical numbers), was subjected to a media blackout in the country after outcry against the movie’s troublesome production, where filming took place in the providence of Xinjiang, a region that contains interment camps used as part of an assimilation campaign.

The film also thanks certain government departments in the credits, and these departments have been linked to the internment camps. A growing dissent against the film has likely been part of the film’s low gross. There’s also the fact that the game has had a digital release in other parts of the world, meaning that it’s relatively easy to pirate. This was the case with the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

Of course, this is a strange year for cinemas, and goalposts and expectations have shifted so that Tenet’s $20 million opening is viewed as a modest success and promising start rather than a devastating failure. But there’s precedent for a much better number. Tenet opened to $30 million in China. The Eight Hundred, a film made in China, earned $161,000,000 when it opened wide across the August 28-30 weekend. It made $21.7 million last weekend, just below Mulan.

Disney has not released figures for how many people have bought Mulan through Disney Plus. The movie will be available to all subscribers at no additional cost from December.

In GameSpot’s Mulan review, Meg Downey expressed disappointment with the film. “Instead of being a normal-but-headstrong girl who, for all her flaws, desperately wants to do good for her family, hiding her fun-loving self under a mask of ‘proper’ girlhood, live-action Mulan is a literal superhero,” they wrote. “Her ‘chi is strong,’ which grants her some fantasy-inspired martial arts prowess even as a child that no one, not even the men in her life, seem to share, but because she’s a girl she must keep these powers hidden.”

Now Playing: Disney’s Mulan – Official Trailer

Tom Holland Gives An Update On The Uncharted Movie

After years of waiting and numerous false starts, Sony’s Uncharted movie is finally filming. Actor Tom Holland is currently filming the action flick, but he had a day off recently, and he spent some time interacting with fans in an Instagram Live Q&A.

One of the first questions was about the Uncharted movie, and Holland said filming is going well … except for an injury he sustained that led to a “glorious bruise.”

“Filming is going so well–the film is like everything I’ve ever dreamed it would be,” Holland said. “I was such a huge fan of the game, and it’s been going so well. I do have the biggest bruise of all time on my leg, but it’s in a bit of a revealing area for Instagram Live. I think I would get shut down by Instagram. But it is a glorious bruise.”

The Uncharted movie features Holland playing a young Nathan Drake, and the story is not a direct adaptation of any of the games. Mark Wahlberg stars alongside Holland as Sully, while Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, and Tati Gabrielle will also appear in the movie in unspecified roles.

While you’ll have to wait a while longer to see Holland as Nathan Drake, the Spider-Man actor’s newest movie, The Devil all the Time, is coming to Netflix on September 16. The Batman actor Robert Pattinson, who was recently diagnosed with coronavirus, also stars.

The Uncharted movie–which has been in development for more than 10 years–was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, jumping back from its March 5, 2021 date to a new October 8, 2021 release.

Venom and Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer is directing the Uncharted movie, which is the first project from the recently formed PlayStation Productions. This is a division of the gaming company focused on adapting its franchises for TV and film. The unit is also working with HBO on the upcoming Last of Us TV show.

BTS Promotes Xbox Game Pass And The New Samsung Phone In South Korean Ad

Xbox Game Pass is a critical component of Microsoft’s next-generation strategy around the world, and this includes South Korea where Samsung has released a new advertisement for the service featuring the world’s most popular boy band, BTS.

Analyst Daniel Ahmad posted an ad that is currently airing in South Korea. The spot is meant to promote Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 phone, and it also features members of BTS using Xbox Game Pass on the phone.

In August, Microsoft announced a sweeping partnership with Samsung to promote Xbox Game Pass. Those who pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 20 could choose the Gaming Bundle that comes with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a Power A controller.

It is a very big week for Xbox Game Pass and the streaming service xCloud. After months of testing, Microsoft will launch xCloud in 22 markets around the world on September 15.

For more on Xbox Game Pass, check out GameSpot’s editorial, “Microsoft’s Secret Weapon For Next-Gen Is Xbox Game Pass.”

And if you’re looking for more BTS in your life, the band is releasing their own video game very soon.

Now Playing: Xbox Series X And Series S Prototype Impressions

Crysis Remastered Is The First Game With Ray Tracing On PS4 Pro/Xbox One X

Crysis Remastered is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 18, and Crysis will, once again, push limits. If you’re playing on PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, you’ll be able to play the game with ray tracing enabled, making this the first game to feature ray tracing–a rendering technique that is generally used for superior lighting and reflections–on current-gen hardware.

You can check it out in the video below. It shows off how ray tracing is used in the remaster on consoles to produce higher quality reflections. The footage doesn’t show much actual gameplay, but you get to see ray tracing in effect during a brief firefight.

It’s not quite on par with some of the results we’re seeing on PC (check out this Cyberpunk 2077 footage with ray tracing, for instance). But this is the first time this rendering technique has been used at all on the hardware. Crysis Remastered will presumably feature ray tracing on PC, too; here’s what the new version of the game looks like on PC with the settings maxed out.

The game has already launched on Nintendo Switch; ray tracing is not available on Nintendo’s portable machine, though.

Ray tracing is a much-touted feature of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, too, and many games will make use of it on next-gen systems. Xbox Series X and PS5 versions of Crysis Remastered have not been announced, though.

Now Playing: Crysis Remastered – Current Gen Console Ray Tracing Trailer

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection: Custom Game Browser Mockups Shown Off

Among the many new and exciting features coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection in the future is a custom game browser that will let players take part in various custom games.

In a new blog post, developer 343 Industries showed off some mockup images of the custom game browser and discussed how it will work. The custom game browser is tentatively slated to come to Halo: MCC with the launch or after Halo 4’s release on PC later this year. You can see the mockup images below, but note that it is subject to change. The custom game browser is not yet working in the game, but the teams are working on it.

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“One of our key goals for the CGB, is to allow players to locate games you want to play quickly and easily so you can get into game fast without a headache of too many options and menus,” 343 said. “To accomplish this, we are going to keep the tool simple.”

You’ll find the custom game browser from the multiplayer menu screen, and from there, you can make other choices including Quickmatch, Browse, Filter, and Create. Quickmatch takes you into a custom game that the matchmaking algorithm chooses. The Browse selection opens up another menu from which you can view the custom games currently in rotation and choose one, while the Filter option does just that–it lets you filter which gametypes you want to play and which games you want to play. The Create option allows you to make a custom game that will then live inside the browser.

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343 has released mockups for the Filter and Browser screens, but again, remember that all of this is subject to change. There are no mockups available yet for the other options.

The custom game browser is just one of many new features scheduled for MCC this year. Others include crossplay, input-based matchmaking, server region selection, mouse & keyboard support on Xbox One, and file sharing on PC, among many others.

In other Halo news, Microsoft has delayed Halo Infinite. The game was scheduled to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X, but it’s now slated for release sometime in 2021.

Now Playing: What Halo Infinite’s Delay Means For Xbox Series X’s Launch | Generation Next

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Charles Barkley Doesn’t Appear In NBA 2K For A Very Good Reason

Charles Barkley has never been in an NBA 2K game, including this year’s NBA 2K21, and now we know why. In a video that has been circulating online, Barkley explains that he does not feature in the games because he’s disappointed at how little they pay some of the legacy players who feature–not because he needs the money himself, but because it could be a good revenue source for older players with less money.

The video seems to be from a recorded online fan Q&A that Barkley took part in, with the relevant question coming from a young boy named Nick, who has uploaded the video to his own YouTube. It’s pretty charming. This actually happened back in July, but went largely unnoticed until the YouTube recommendation algorithm started bringing it to people’s attention over the weekend.

Asked why he’s not in 2K, Barkley responds “That’s a great question. I’m asked that question a lot.”

Speaking about the benefits for current players in comparison to older, retired NBA stars, Barkley explained his disappointment at how 2K compensates them: “they pay the guys chump change.” He’s referring to the generations that came before him, who were paid far less and are much less likely to be be wealthy now.

“Just giving me some money doesn’t help anybody,” Barkley says, acknowledging that he’s already well-off. But he says that 2K calls him every year, and that he says he’ll do the game if they ever agree to pay the older, retired players featured in the game $1 million per year.

“I’m not talking about old retired players like me…there’s players older than me who didn’t make any money,” Barkley says.

Barkley has previously spoken out against 2K for their policies. In 2016, he said the following: “I’m not trying to be a pig or greedy. They should donate the money to the retired players. If they would give a million dollars a year to retired players union, they can use my likeness.”

Barkley is no stranger to the world of video games. Barkley: Shut Up And Jam started a brief series of street basketball games on the SNES and Genesis, before Barkley, Shut Up And Jam: Gaiden took the series in a very different direction over a decade later.

The NBA 2K games, meanwhile, make a huge amount of money.

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Polybius Mini Arcade Cabinet Celebrates A Game That Doesn’t Exist

Polybius is one of the greatest urban legends in video games, and it has persisted for decades despite no evidence of the arcade cabinet ever existing … aside from an homage bearing the same name. As the story goes, a machine from a company called Sinneslöschen was placed in a single arcade in Portland, Oregon in the early ’80s, but it was quickly removed after putting players into a hypnotic trance. Despite the game not being real, Numskull Designs took it upon itself to create a quarter-scale Polybius arcade cabinet to honor the mythos.

Created by the same company behind other quarter-scale arcade cabinets such as Galaga, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders, the Polybius cabinet’s design is based on internet images and rumors that have been swirling for years. The bubble-like lettering can be seen in “leaked” images, and its simple and imposing design seems like something a government agency would create when looking to brainwash people into becoming sleeper agents or whatever else conspiracy theorists have dreamed up.

Numskull Designs didn’t create a game from scratch for the Polybius cabinet. Instead, it displays a startup screen bearing the Sinneslöschen name and then plays a series of mesmerizing images and sounds. It also sports 10 USB ports on the back so that you can use it to power any other quarter-arcade machines you have in your collection.

Despite the small size, the Polybius cabinet features a full LED backlit marquee, a built-in speaker with volume control, and a full-color display. The Kickstarter campaign is currently a little more than 70% funded with a few weeks remaining (it interested me enough to back it) and rewards include the cabinet itself, a hat, and enamel pins. You can check out the rest of the lineup at the official Numskull website. A special 40th Anniversary Edition Pac-Man cabinet is also available.

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