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It’s Friday! Or is it? Time is a social construct, so I could tell you it’s Wednesday today, and how could you prove me wrong? It’s Friday because it’s the fifth day this week, but when did this week start? Can’t prove that either, I’m afraid. Well, the calendar in the bottom right corner of the monitor says it’s Friday. Who told the computer that it’s Friday? Anyone could change that display in the settings. What I can say, for certain, is that events occurred and news transpired in this indefinable time period, and it’s been turned into bite-size chunks, here in the round-up…
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit the planet Jupiter on July 16, 1994. It was our first opportunity to observe the effects of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects, and illuminated the theoretical “role” of Jupiter with regards to life on Earth. The Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet was approximately 1,500 meters long and 300 meters across and was made up of multiple bits of rock in its nucleus. If that collided with our planet, that would have been something to write home about. But, it was pulled into Jupiter’s orbit instead, and provided evidence that Jupiter acts as a “cosmic vacuum cleaner” that collects objects that would have crossed into the inner Solar System and caused devastation upon impact.
I think Life is quite an enjoyable film, even if it is essentially Ridley Scott’s Alien but again. I was also playing Disco Elysium for the first time the other day, and that has a strange mechanic wherein your RPG skills talk back to you. These may seem like unconnected statements following an unconnected ramble about comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. However, I was thinking of a game in which the player is an astronaut infected with an alien virus that was collected from a comet orbiting Jupiter, all in the name of “science!”. The alien virus wants to propagate and take over the host and the host’s pals, but you’re still at the wheel of this shambling sack of meat. Do you tell your teammates that you’ve been infected, or do you keep it secret, in order to remain calm and refuse to let your heart rate rise? The alien virus might use sneaky shortcuts and control segments of your body and brain in its quest for survival.
Maybe you get some gnarly super-abilities as a result. Super-strength would let you pull space station doors shut and make sure people are safe, or adaptability to low oxygen would let you travel out to return floating machinery. This is great! Not really though, because these abilities are a sign that you’re getting sick, and your team might have to make a tough decision about who and what is coming home to Earth. If they make it back at all. Anyway, that’s a game idea I had, and here is the news.
Square Enix accidentally leaks Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND release date
Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND will release for PlayStation 4 on January 23, 2020, and for Xbox One on February 25, 2020. Square Enix did its best to yank the trailer offline before anyone caught wind of it, but this is Kingdom Hearts. People have probably been eyeballing that official Kingdom Hearts YouTube account since the ReMIND DLC was announced. So, the expansion pack will add a photo mode, slideshow mode, fast pass mode, and “black code” mode. The final of these is a mode that limits the player’s health for an added challenge. The Oathkeeper Blade is coming to the game, as well as a new battle form for Sora, and Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie, Kairi, and Riku will be new playable characters.
2K announce Cloud Chamber Studio to officially begin work on a new Bioshock
“Making the next BioShock is a tremendous responsibility that does not fall lightly on any of us at Cloud Chamber,” said studio head Kelley Gilmore. “However, the chance to start a new studio under one of the most successful publishing labels in the interactive entertainment industry—all while working on an iconic franchise with incredibly talented and kind people—was a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Working under the umbrella of 2K Games, the new developer will make the next installment to the BioShock series “over the next several years.” We don’t know much more than that, but members of the original trilogy’s team like Hoagy de la Plante, Scott Sinclair, and Jonathan Pelling have been brought onto the project. It’s a weird one. I don’t recall the masses crying out for a new BioShock game, and Burial at Sea seemed to tie things up rather definitively. In any event, Josh has a handful of ideas for where the next adventure will take place, which you can read about here.
MLB: The Show goes multiplatform, could release for next-gen consoles
MLB: The Show has stuck by the PlayStation through thick and thin, with a new release in the sports series every year since 1997. Now, it’ll become a multiplatform release and there seems to be a Switch version in the works. The announcement also mentioned that a “multi-year extension to continue development and distribution” will let MLB titles to come to “additional console platforms beyond PlayStation as early as 2021.” Of course, we’re getting the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 2020, and so this suggests that we might get a next-gen MLB: The Show game. Watch this space.
Resident Evil 3 Remake releases April 3 with Resident Evil: Resistance as its multiplayer
It’s alive! The Resident Evil 3 Remake is happening, and it turns out that Project Resistance will be its online multiplayer mode. There was a cheeky easter egg referencing the events of Resident Evil 3 in the Resident Evil 2 Remake, because the two stories occur within close proximity of each other. Capcom dampened the rumours time and time again, until the trailer was revealed at State of Play. (And when the cover art leaked on the PlayStation Network, but we won’t mention that.) In the remake, Nemesis looks horrifying with chic “Caution” stickers stamped onto his suit, and Jill and Carlos are back toting new designs. We’ll have to wait until April 3, 2020 to get our mitts on the game.
Pokémon Go adds Cubchoo, Cryogonal, and beanie Pikachu in upcoming winter event
Pokémon Go players will be snowed in with the volume of Chrismassy content coming to the game. From December 24, 2019 to January 1, 2020, there will be winter beanie Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu, and reindeer Stantler to catch in the world. Ice Pokémon such as Sneasel, Snorunt, and Shiny Snover will appear with greater frequency, and Delibird is back as a seasonal exclusive. Generation 5 Cubchoo and Cryogonal will be released into the wild, but players will only find Crystallising Pokémon at Glacial Lures. And, there will be days with double catch and transfer candy, stardust, and experience points for players to get ahead of the game. Honestly, there’s a lot, and it’s a sweet way to send off the year.
Valve deletes Steam profiles containing Nazi symbolism "with a few exceptions"
The German broadcasting regulator Media Agency Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein reached out to Valve Corporation to raise concerns about the prevalence of Nazi symbols on the platform. In Germany, it is illegal to display the swastika and other images of the Nazi regime outside of the realms of “art or science, research or teaching.” Last year, the regulations of the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a criminal code were relaxed to allow these symbols to be shown in video games as the medium is a work of art. However, this does not include video game distribution platforms, and Media Agency Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein explained that these profiles using Nazi imagery pose a risk to young people. “With a few exceptions, Steam removed all content, including the group ‘Reconquista Germania,’ which in its group description demanded the extermination of world Jewry,” it divulged in a press release. Valve is also said to be reviewing its moderators to prevent the proliferation of hate groups on Steam in the future.
Presenting The Game Awards 2019 winners in full
Disco Elysium won all of the awards it was nominated for, including Best Narrative, Best Indie Game, Best RPG, and Fresh Indie Game. Death Stranding snagged Best Direction, Best Score/Music, and Best Performance for Mads Mikkelsen. The Game of the Year award went to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, beating out Control, Death Stranding, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Resident Evil 2, and The Outer Worlds. Along with all of these awards, we got a new look at the Xbox Series X and a handful of new games like Weird West, Godsfall, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. We’ve gone and done our own Games of the Year podcast and features, so keep an eye out for those hitting the site very soon!
