Amplitude Studios and SEGA has announced a new hero for Endless Dungeon, called Shroom, and she sounds like an interesting character.

The squad based, tactical rogue-like game had a delay after originally being planned to come out this May, but after getting to play a preview build of Endless Dungeon, it does seem it’ll be worth waiting for.

We’ve got a trailer showing Shroom off, below:

Shroom’s opinion — shared by few others — is that every solid team needs a “plant whisperer”. Since her services as undertaker are no longer required thanks to the Reloader, she has taken to talking up her incenses, herbal remedies, and potions as having powers akin to miracle panaceas.

Living somewhere in that gray zone between “apothecary” and “snake oil salesman”, Shroom does her best to keep the squad alive with whatever roots, herbs, flowers, leaves, and nuts she can dig up. The rest of the gang, however, wonders how good a healer she can be if she requires so much protection. After all, if her skills came from embalming dead friends, what good is she with live ones?

Here’s the list of abilities for Shroom:

• Passive: Wincense – Increases “Soul” stock per killed monster in the room.
• Special: Soul Patch – Heals fellow Heroes by spending “Souls”.
• Ultimate: Special Mix – Increases Health regeneration, defense, and prevents death.

After playing the game, I said that “Endless Dungeon is showing promising early signs. For those that love the Diablo-style loot game, or roguelike genre, this is that, but it’s also a twin-stick shooter tower defence game as well. With full controller support, and persistent options for improving your character from the get-go, there’s no reason you should ever feel like you’re bashing your head against the difficulty, either”.

Endless Dungeon is coming to PC and consoles on October 19th.

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A brand new side-scrolling Sonic the Hedgehog game was announced at Summer Games Fest 2023 called Sonic Superstars. Although seldom details have been released, we do know it is coming fall 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

A new Spin on a Classic: The 2D Sonic high-speed sidescrolling action platforming you know and love, reimagined with fully 3D graphics, new powers and abilities, an all-new setting, and new ways to play! You’ve never played classic Sonic like this before!

Players will be able to play together in co-op or alone, and it looks to have been inspired greatly from the old school platformers fans fell in love with.

Get ready for Sonic Superstars, arriving Fall 2023! pic.twitter.com/u3xsiuYtA2

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) June 8, 2023

Sonic Superstars doesn’t appear to be a sequel to Sonic Mania from 2017, and the visuals are vastly different, using some gorgeous 3D environments. Players will be able to play as sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles as they take on Dr. Robotnik and returning enemy Fang. The action will take place on the mystical Northstar Islands, featuring a brand new story and the ability to play with three other friends.

Adventure through the mystical Northstar Islands in this all-new take on classic 2D Sonic high-speed action platforming. Play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose and harness all-new Emerald powers to move and attack in dynamic new ways. Navigate gorgeous, never-before-seen environments solo or with up to 3 other players and stop Dr. Eggman, Fang, and a mysterious new adversary from converting the islands’ giant animals into Badniks before it’s too late!

There’re a few more details on the Sonic Superstars official website, but for now, you’ll just have to watch the gorgeous trailer over and over again. What a shame, hey?

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SEGA and Creative Assembly has announced that Total War: Pharaoh is coming in October 2023, offering a chance to “immerse players in the turbulent events of the Egyptian New Kingdom period where they’ll determine the fate of three great cultures as they fight for survival amid the cataclysmic Bronze-Age Collapse”.

“There are few periods more iconic than Ancient Egypt; fraught with political intrigue, cataclysmic events and grand war campaigns, it’s the perfect setting for a Total War title” said Game Director, Todor Nikolov. “As Pharaoh, you must save Egypt from the cusp of destruction and guide your people through the calamitous Bronze-Age collapse. It is up to you to either survive or fade into history.”

Check out the announce trailer below, along with the official word from the press release:

The Pharaoh is dead, and the people of Egypt, Canaan, and the Hittite empire cry out for a new leader. Many desire the power of the throne, but the path to becoming Pharaoh is a perilous one. As the leader of these great nations, you must overcome societal collapse, face natural disasters and fight to protect your people against invaders from far off lands.

With a choice of eight Faction Leaders from three rich cultural hubs, step into their unique playstyles and take charge of deadly and diverse unit rosters. Whether you’re charming the courts as a peerless diplomat, charging into battle as an unwavering commander or causing chaos as a fearless warlord, become a leader that history will remember.

It seems there will be plenty of ways to customise your play time, as Creative Assembly says that “no two campaigns will ever feel the same”. You can pick random starting positions for all factions, change the resource settings, and even play around with natural disaster settings if you fancy it. If you do choose to pre-order now, by the way, you’ll get early adopter bonuses “including the ability to take part in an Early-Access Weekend, the Avatar of the Gods Cosmetic Pack, and the Heart of the Shardana Cosmetic pack”.

The launch factions will include the following:

• Egyptian: Ramesses, Seti, Tausret, Amenmesse
• Canaanite: Bay and Irsu
• Hittite: Kurunta and Suppiluliuma.

There will also be a physical edition of the game, and both the Steam and Epic Games Store version will include cross-play so that those using the two player co-op or head to head modes can play wherever they see fit. A Mac and Linux version will be coming after the PC launch at some point.

Total War: Pharaoh is coming to PC in October 2023.

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SEGA has announced the World Tour dates for the Sonic Symphony, a musical tribute to the blue blur that some of us grew up with. The Sonic Symphony World Tour follows on from the 30th Anniversary Symphony, and the Brazil Game Show 2022 performances, with this new tour running from this year into 2024.

The show will kick off in the UK at London’s Barbican Hall on September 16th. Here’s the dates announced so far, with tickets going on sale on Thursday, May 25th at 10am (BST/UK) for pre-sale, and public sale from Friday, May 26th at 10am.

• September 16, 2023 – London, UK at Barbican Hall
• September 30, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA at Dolby Theatre

Sonic Symphony is an immersive, in-person concert experience celebrating over three decades of timeless music from SEGA’s iconic Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. From classic 8-bit and 16-bit tunes to rock and EDM songs, each live show will take fans on a musical journey through the Sonic universe, allowing fans to relive their favourite moments through song while synchronised spectacular gameplay footage plays at the same time.

Each piece will be played live by a symphony orchestra and rock band and serve as a tribute to the music of Sonic that has defined generations of fans from the franchise’s origins until today.

The show is co-produced by SEGA, SOHO Live, and soundtrec. If you want to grab tickets you’ll need to head to the official site, and get involved there.

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SEGA has announced the first batch of songs for Samba de Amigo: Party Central, and there’s some absolute bangers in the list, as you’d probably expect.

On top of the previously announced tracks from Sonic the Hedgehog (“Escape from the City” – Sonic Adventure 2, and “Fist Bump” – Sonic Forces), this first list brings the track total up to 22 songs. Sega has said that “additional music will be announced in the coming months” for what it’s calling a “high-octane track list”. With these songs, we now know over half the tracklist.

So without further ado, here’s the list of all the known songs so far, because it’s the first batch Sega has announced for Samba de Amigo: Party Central.

1. “Break Free ft. Zedd” by Ariana Grande
2. “I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepsen
3. “Payback (feat. Icona Pop)” by Cheat Codes
4. “Let You Go (feat. Kareen Lomax)” by Diplo & TSHA
5. “I Will Survive (Eric Kupper Mix Extended)“ by Gloria Gaynor
6. “I Love It” by Icona Pop
7. “Centerfold’ by J Geils Band
8. “Bang Bang“ by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj
9. “Sucker” by Jonas Brothers
10. ”TiK ToK“ by Kesha
11. “Panama” by Matteo
12. “Plastic Hearts” by Miley Cyrus
13. “Celebrate” by Pitbull
14. “The Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)“ by Ricky Martin
15. “XS” by Rina Sawayama
16. “Bom Bom” by Sam and the Womp
17. “Azukita“ by Steve Aoki, Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz & Elvis Crespo
18. “Macarena (Cover)”
19. “Fugue (classic)”
20. “La Bamba (Cover)”
21. “Escape from the City” – Sonic Adventure 2
22. “Fist Bump” – Sonic Forces

Lastly, here’s the list of features we know of so far:

• Get up and shake it center stage in this vibrant and colorful rhythm action game with smooth Joy-Con controls that make the game fun for everyone.
• Groove to 40 hit songs from the world’s most popular genres, with more arriving as post-launch DLC!
• Test your technique in a variety of minigames and challenges.
• Strut that style by customizing your character with unique costumes and accessories.
• Hit the dance floor and play online in World Party mode.
• Show the world what you’ve got by competing on the online leaderboards.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is coming to Nintendo Switch in Summer 2023.

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When I think of games I’d want to play in VR, I think of arcade experiences with futuristic visuals. C-Smash VRS ticks pretty much all these boxes, and is bringing sci-fi tennis to PSVR2 in June. A reimagining of the Dreamcast game Cosmic Smash wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card, but I’ll happily take it.

“Imagine playing the ultimate larger-than-life sport that makes you feel both stimulated and relaxed, that you can play alone or with a friend, all while enjoying stunning visuals and the pulsating beats of dynamic, entrancing music.

A full-body transportive experience at the end of space and time – what VR was always meant to be.

New game studio and publisher RapidEyeMovers and VR pioneers Wolf & Wood are excited to announce the upcoming launch of C-Smash VRS, a complete reimagining of SEGA’s iconic Dreamcast and arcade classic for PlayStation®VR2 and online gameplay.

Combining a low-gravity form of Squash with timed block-breaking challenges, C-Smash VRS brings together the very best of racket sports and timeless action puzzle gameplay. Dashing and ducking from one side to the other and performing intense shots and trick smashes, players can use all walls as they journey through dozens of levels of fun and fitness.

Players can either play alone or forge a cosmic connection with a friend, exploring a variety of online versus and co-op modes.

Ultra-smooth gameplay, mind-bending trick shots and slow-mo’s soon feel like second nature. Thanks to intuitive controls, finger detection, 3D audio and haptics, players will learn the basics and feel fully immersed within mere minutes.”

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After hitting PC in February this year, Relic Entertainment and SEGA has announced the console version of Company of Heroes 3 is coming on May 30th.

That means the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X will get their real-time strategy war-game fix just before Summer hits. It’s the first time that developer Relic Entertainment has brought the series to consoles, which the team says will offer “fans around the world the deepest strategic experience yet. Console players can expect a custom UI, full controller support, and special features that allow them to play at their own pace”.

There will be an adapted user interface as obviously controllers will be used on consoles, and the console version will be available for pre-order on April 25th from your usual retailers.

New features like Full Tactical Pause offer gamepad players a level of tactical control over the pacing on the battlefield. By freezing the action, players who choose to employ Full Tactical Pause will be able to coordinate all their actions at once, thinking through every move in detail without the pressure of doing it all in real-time.

Company of Heroes’ renowned boots-on-the-ground storytelling will bring players to a brand-new theatre of war, unlocking authentic new tactics, four distinct factions, and a wealth of untold stories from World War II. In single-player modes, the turn-based Italian Dynamic Campaign offers a sandbox-style gameplay experience with new levels of strategic choice, whereas the sweeping deserts of North Africa allow for a classic, narrative-led single-player experience. For players that enjoy their competitive action, CoH3 has a huge online multiplayer and co-op vs AI offer, with more factions, mechanics and units than ever before.

In our PC review of Company of Heroes 3, Mick gave the game 8.5/10 and said said “This is a game about making those split second heroic decisions, dealing with a sudden influx of enemy reinforcements, when one moment the odds are in your favour and the next they’re against you. Holding down a defensive position or snatching victory from the jaws of certain defeat – these moments always feel emergent and, importantly, earned.

It’s hardly an original setting or concept, but Company of Heroes 3 makes up for it with sheer charm and playability. If you can look past the casual wartime racism, iffy framerate and somewhat expected stereotyping, there’s a solid war game here with a ton of replayability to keep you busy for a few while”.

Company of Heroes 3 is out now for PC, and is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series S|X on May 30th.

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SEGA and developer Amplitude Studios has announced that Endless Dungeon has been delayed from May 18th to October 19th, while the Nintendo Switch version release date will be announced at a later date. The new October 19th date for Endless Dungeon will be for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X. Pre-order customers will still get to play it early, on October 17th.

This delay, says the studio is to “better incorporate community feedback essential to such an innovative game and continue in the footsteps of its previous titles in the award-winning Endless Universe”, while the announcement also confirmed that: “Drawing on player feedback, Amplitude will work on improvements including balancing, meta-progression, onboarding, and general polishing to create the ultimate roguelite experience for players”.

“We’re grateful and honoured that players are looking forward to playing Endless Dungeon”, explained Romain de Waubert, General Manager and CCO of Amplitude Studios, adding “the feedback we’ve received across our OpenDev sessions so far has proved to us that we truly have something special on our hands and we want to ensure we have time for the game to reach its full potential.

Waubert continued, saying “Players have always been at the heart of our studio’s philosophy and releasing Endless Dungeon in October will allow us the extra time to keep working with the community and polishing the game for an amazing day one experience. We can’t wait for fans of the Universe and newcomers alike to experience Endless Dungeon’s unique gameplay combination of rogue-lite, tactical action and tower defence”.

As a thank you to the community, the studio is planning to include extra free content for people who have already pre-purchased the game on PC.

When I played it last month I did come across a fair few bugs, so it’s good that the team is addressing things and giving itself more time to make a better game, overall. In my preview I said: “For those that love the Diablo-style loot game, or roguelike genre, this is that, but it’s also a twin-stick shooter tower defence game as well. With full controller support, and persistent options for improving your character from the get-go, there’s no reason you should ever feel like you’re bashing your head against the difficulty, either”.

Endless Dungeon is now coming in October, with a Switch version date announced later.

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As a culmination of a lot of different things, Endless Dungeon has the potential to be the new favourite game for a certain subset of the game playing audience. As part of the long-running “Endless” series, this is a very different take on things, and Amplitude Studios has put away the 4x strategy gaming pedigree for now, in favour of making a twin-stick tower defence dungeon crawler. It’s a lot of buzz-words, for sure, but it works and the game itself could be serious fun with friends.

Rather than ditching the past entirely, though, Endless Dungeon is a reaction to what fans enjoyed. The studio explained during a presentation that the co-op of previous games was an afterthought, but went down well that it became the basis for an idea for a new game. So that’s why this new title is a three-player experience that, while in missions, is a very, very shared experience, and will require a lot of communication to get through successfully.

While it looks the business, with a gorgeous aesthetic, it also has tight shooting, responsive movement, meaning it has all the trappings of the best the genre has to offer. Here, your loot and health packs are shared, meaning you really do need to communicate with your team so nobody is being selfish with the goodies.

But Endless Dungeon actually goes one further here with its unique ideas. As a wave based dungeon crawler, doors are locked everywhere. Every time you open a door, resources are added to your pool, and this can be enhanced further by finding generators and picking one of the three resources to increase with every door opened. The reason you need these is because that’s how you build your tower defences.

Essentially, each mission is an escort type, making sure a crystal makes it safely to the end of the level, and getting increasingly more and more difficult as you progress. All the while you’re increasing your persistent goodies, upgrading your canteen (read: hub), enhancing your heroes, and generally getting better. Littered along every room are spots to place turrets, starting with a simple gun, you can find research stations to unlock new turret-types for each run. Want a flamethrower turret to fend off bugs weak to fire? Do some research, fend off a wave, unlock the turret.

While the crystal “tower”, as such, is safe for most of the mission, it’s when moving that everything becomes carnage. Even with three human players, the difficulty gets on top of you quickly, and how you’ve laid your defences matters. In fact, how you’ve secured your route matters, too. If you’ve opened every door everywhere, that means the baddies, whether they’re bugs, robots, or anything else, can get to your crystal quicker, and make your life hell.

The tactics matter, then, but so does team composition. Each of the playable characters are of a type: support, DPS, tank, etc. Furthermore, each has a special move, and an ultimate ability that is relevant to the class. The DPS I tried could enhance everyone who stayed near them, or shoot an electric bolt out to do big damage. The support can heal with souls collected from kills, and the tank can smash down a shield to damage and push enemies back. Some weapons found can only be equipped by certain types, and loot will fire out in a way that someone can’t selfishly grab it all, or so it seems.

In truth, even after a few hours it was barely all beginning to click. This is a complex game that demands concentration and hard work. If you have a rogue player running off and doing his or her own thing, you’re going to be in trouble pretty quickly. As such, I’d suggest that early impressions put this in that Rainbow Six Siege style bracket of games you’d only want to play solo (which you can do, with an AI partner) or with people you know and trust.

It has to be said, too, that while it’s due in May, there were a few bugs that’ll need to be ironed out before then. The developer I played with was pretty confident that most of the issues I experience were down to the newly pushed build for the preview session, and I think it’s fair to take that at face value.

That said, Endless Dungeon is showing promising early signs. For those that love the Diablo-style loot game, or roguelike genre, this is that, but it’s also a twin-stick shooter tower defence game as well. With full controller support, and persistent options for improving your character from the get-go, there’s no reason you should ever feel like you’re bashing your head against the difficulty, either.

Endless Dungeon is coming to PC in May, and is also confirmed for consoles.

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Creative Assembly and Sega has revealed a new character for upcoming shooter Hyenas, inspired by the blue blur himself: Sonic the Hedgehog. The new character is called “Hero-Ki”, and is a cosplaying specialist, and I reckon if we hadn’t told you he was inspired by Sonic, the image at the top there might have given it away.

Just in case you’re wondering, his name is pronounced Hi-ro-key, and here’s the official reveal trailer from Future Games Show Spring Showcase, and the information from the press release:

Hero-Ki was a minor celebrity back on Earth thanks to his cosplay and charity work but after being evacuated to The Taint, he’s had to turn those same skills towards more nefarious pursuits. Armed with a specially modified camera to capture a target’s likeness and cosplay as them, Hero-Ki can use his penchant for disguise to evade threats and exploit the environment in HYENAS, as only the sharpest-eyed rival will be able to detect the clues that reveal him as an imposter.

Hero-Ki takes his place among the other Hyenas which include specialists like the uzi-wielding ballerina Prima and foam-gun packing astronaut Commander Wright, with more character reveals still to come.

The latest alpha for Hyena kicks off today at 5pm UK time, and Hero-Ki will be playable along with both of the Plundership maps. The alpha is going to be live for 11 days, closing things off on Monday April 3rd at 9am UK (BST) time. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but the “multi-team extraction shooter where you play as misfit anti-heroes competing against other squads and security forces to steal pop culture memorabilia” will be coming to PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X, and is wish-listable now, on Steam.

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The remaster of the 2010 Nintendo Wii title Sonic Colours is coming to Steam today (February 7th) in the form of Sonic Colours: Ultimate. The Ultimate edition of Sonic Colours was released in September 2021 for consoles, as Sega starting dipping its toes back into Sonic games, before landing on last year’s Sonic Frontiers.

As part of the launch celebrations, Sega is discounting other Sonic games on Steam from today until 6pm (UK time) on February 13th. There will be titles available at discount rates of anywhere between 30% and 75% off, while Sonic Colours: Ultimate is launching at 30% off, meaning the standard edition will cost £34.99, and the digital deluxe edition will cost £39.99. That deluxe edition includes the game, a cosmetic pack, and a music pack, both of which are also available separately for £3.29 and £3.99 respectively.

Also in the sale is Sonic Origins (£16.49) and Sonic Generations (£3.74), while Sonic Frontiers is also 30% off and can be grabbed for £34.99, down from £49.99, while Team Sonic Racing is under a tenner too, at £8.74.

Sonic Colours: Ultimate brings a fresh hue to the 2010 high-speed adventure with stunning upscaled visuals, additional features, a new game mode and enhanced gameplay.

Developer by Blind Squirrel Entertainment, Sean reviewed the game back then, and said: “There are a few extra bits – costumes based on the 2020 Sonic movie, some new music and voice tracks, and a time trial where you get to challenge Metal Sonic over six special stages. Sadly, it has very little to make it an essential purchase, unless of course you are a huge fan of the original and want a sugary nostalgia rush. But do that bearing in mind you can pick up a Wii and a copy of the game for pretty much what you would shell out here”.

Sonic Colours is out now for PC and Consoles.

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In the build up to the launch on February 21st, Sega and RGG Studio has released a new Like a Dragon: Ishin trailer, and it’s looking good.

The trailer is simply accompanied by the text “A treacherous road awaits Sakamoto Ryoma. Framed for the murder of his mentor and unable to distinguish friend from foe, this solemn samurai’s fight for justice challenges the course of Japan’s history”, though it does also remind fans that you can pre-order digitally to get 3 bonus weapons, and four days early access to the game, so you can play it from February 17th.

Check out the trailer, below:

1860s Kyo is plagued by widespread inequality, and one samurai will change the course of history in his search for justice. Take up the sword of Sakamoto Ryoma and venture to Kyoto to find your father’s killer, clear yourself of a framed murder, and restore your honor. In doing so, you will bring an end to the samurai era and forever change the future of Japan. Draw your blade, load your revolver, and join the revolution in this heated historical adventure that only the creators of Yakuza: Like a Dragon could produce.

Originally released in 2014 in Japan-only, this remake is supposedly most similar to the likes of Yakuza 5, and has you play as Sakamoto Ryōma, with four sword styles. So while it’s called “Like a Dragon” and not “Yakuza”, it’s actually more similar to the action leanings of the earlier games, and isn’t a new turn-based RPG in the form of the newest title, Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

There’s also a deluxe edition available digitally for Like a Dragon: Ishin, which adds the following:

• Shinsengumi Captain’s Set
• Ryoma Growth Support Kit
• Sword Upgrade Materials Kit
• Gun Upgrade Materials Kit
• Third Division Armament Expansion Kit
• The Dragon of Dojima Skin

On top of that, there’s also the three weapons mentioned above, which are:

• Kijinmaru Kunishige, a dark sword with a white hilt
• Tsuyano Usukurenai, a sword soaked in blood
• Black Ship Cannon, a cannon taken from Western ships

Like a Dragon: Ishin! will be released on February 21st, 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (via Steam and Windows Store).

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Sports Interactive and SEGA have announced today that the latest instalment of their highly successful series, Football Manager 2023, will be releasing on PlayStation 5 on February 1. Called Football Manager 2023 Console, it’ll launch with a 20% discount for all PlayStation Plus subscribers until February 14 at 15:00 GMT.

“We’re delighted with today’s update that we’re finally going to be able to get FM23 Console into the hands of PS5 gamers,” said Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive’s Studio Director. “Since the initial delay, the team at Sports Interactive and our colleagues at SEGA have worked tirelessly with Sony to overcome the issues and we’re pleased to now have a release candidate ready to launch next week.

“While it’s unusual for us to release a game during a major football transfer window, our priority from the moment our initial launch was postponed was to get the game into the hands of PS5 gamers as quickly as possible. Once all the global transfer windows are closed, we will provide a data update for the PS5 edition in line with the updates for all of our other platforms.”

Back in November, we reviewed Football Manager 2023 on PC and said, “Football Manager 2023 is a fantastic management sim, providing plenty of detail in how you run your club. There might not be any obvious improvements outside of the inclusion of licensed UEFA tournaments, but the more you play, the better the game becomes. The improvements into how matches unravel on the pitch was a welcoming one, especially as the bulk of your enjoyment comes from seeing how your gameplan unfolds on the football field. While not hugely dissimilar from FM22, it’s an obvious addition for fans who have come to love the hard work put in by Sports Interactive over the years.”

Football Manager 2023 Console will release on PlayStation 5 on February 1.

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Sega and Creative Assembly have released a video showing off the New York map for Hyenas, and detailed more opportunities to try the game out.

The new map is going to be available to alpha PC players from January 20th (this Friday) at 5pm UK time (12pm EST), and you can see it in action, below:

The 1.11 alpha ends on Monday 23rd January 2023 at 9am UK time, so if you do want to get in, you’ll need to sign up to be able to play over the weekend.

The big centrepiece of the map is none other than the iconic Statue of Liberty. Found in its new HYENAS home of Liberty Hall, a cavernous area that also serves as the main thoroughfare for the Plundership, it’s a stunning backdrop that offers tactical cover and strategic opportunities for crews fighting around the famous landmark.

Around the edges of the map are four large cargo modules, where CLOUT’s gig workers process the salvaged Merch to make it ready for retail. These allow players to use their ZERO-G skills to best suit their personal combat tactics. All cargo modules have their own unique landmark offering different cover and combat opportunities.

“The Hyenas Alpha community are a bunch of eclectic misfits, just like the Hyenas themselves,” said Kirk Squires, Hyenas Senior Community Manager. ​“Hailing from all kinds of gaming and social backgrounds you won’t find the FPS stereotypes here. We have an environment that’s welcoming, friendly, and filled with people eager to show newbies the ins and outs of zero-g heisting. It’s awesome to see the community grow as HYENAS smashes into the FPS landscape, and we’re excited to give away more goodies, run more events, and make more memes with you all.”

This isn’t the first alpha weekend, and as you can see from the image above, Creative Assembly is planning for more to come. There will be another alpha weekend for PC players on February 17th-20th, with a third on March 10-13, and a fourth alpha weekend running from March 31st to April 3rd.

We’re not quite sure why there’s a picture of Sonic for the third weekend, but given that the first has New York relevancy, perhaps there’s a crossover of some kind within the game.

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For those who thought it was a miracle that Bayonetta 3 finally came out: surprise, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is coming in March 2023.

A new take on the Bayonetta series starring Cereza, a young apprentice witch before she would come to be called Bayonetta. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon launches for Nintendo Switch on 17th March 2023.

It’s worth noting that while Bayonetta 3 was produced by Yuji Nakao, Cereza and the Lost Demon is instead has Koji Tanaka as producer, though Hideki Kamiya is still the supervising director.

In Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, players take on the role of Cereza, a young apprentice witch, and start a fateful journey into a forbidden forest to gain the power to save her mother. In addition to sporting a striking and distinct storybook-inspired art style of its own, this new title also features gameplay never before seen in the Bayonetta series. Controlling both Cereza and her infernal demon partner, Cheshire, players will focus on exploration, combat and puzzle solving to help Cereza go deeper into the forest.

Players who want a sneak peek of the game won’t have to wait long at all. In fact, a brief playable teaser for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon can be accessed within Bayonetta 3. Players who purchased the Old Picture Book at Rodin’s shop, The Gates of Hell, using in-game currency and unlocked it with three keys will be able to access it.

After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, Bayonetta 3 did come out in late October, where I gave it a 9/10 and said: “As action games go, let’s pull no punches: Bayonetta 3 is an exceptional time, and up there with the very best there is. Compelling from start to finish, there’s very little reason I can think of to say anything other than it was well worth the wait. Yes, it could look better, and sure, it could be a bit less sexy, but really there’s just nothing else out there like it, and it deserves to sell gangbusters, and be celebrated because ultimately, Bayonetta 3 itself feels like a celebration of the medium. Bloody hell, what a ride, but maybe don’t make us wait another eight years for the next one, please”.

Seems like I got my wish, because Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is out on Nintendo Switch, on March 17th, 2023.

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At The Game Awards, Relic and SEGA have just announced that Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series S|X after the PC launch, with that console edition coming after the February 23rd, 2023 PC release date. This marks the first time the franchise has ever been on a console, and the specific date will be announced early next year.

Relic Entertainment is excited to give fans a first glimpse at console gameplay, showcasing a major mission from the Italian Dynamic Campaign and demonstrating a powerful new feature, Full Tactical Pause. Players will be delighted to learn that Company of Heroes 3 is being rebuilt from the ground up for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X and will include a newly designed controller scheme allowing for maximum precision on the battlefield. The User Interface is also getting a full revamp, factoring in intuitive button layouts and readability, making for the ultimate strategy experience on consoles.

Company of Heroes 3 is bringing the series’ intimate boots-on-the-ground storytelling to the Mediterranean, a theater of immense environmental variety, where players can unlock authentic new tactics, experience four distinct factions, and a wealth of untold stories from World War II. Explore the new turn-based Dynamic Campaign Map in Italy for a sandbox-style gameplay experience and an unprecedented level of strategic choice, or head over to the sweeping deserts of North Africa for a more classically designed, narrative-led single-player experience.

Check out the trailer, mentioned above, here:

Please enter the url to a YouTube video.

Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PC on February 23, 2023, and consoles later.

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Creative Assembly is opening the doors to let more people try Hyenas, its brand new “extractor shooter” with another alpha. It’s going to be starting on Friday 2nd December at 5pm UK time and running until Sunday 4th December at 9am UK time.

This is alpha 1.10 for Hyenas, and is letting more PC players experience it ahead of release. This version will include improvements that the developer says will sharpen the experience, including end-of-match flow tweaks, a better user interface (and HUD!) and even controller updates. You can sign up for the alpha here.

Live Product Director Alex Hunnisett said:

We’re super excited to be sharing news of HYENAS’ biggest Alpha Weekend yet as we close out the end of 2022 with a bang.
​​
​Over the last few months, it’s been awesome to see thousands of players join The Pack and witness the chaos unfold. On behalf of the development team, I’d like to thank everyone for checking HYENAs out and letting us know what you think! At the core of this game is you, our players, and The Pack. It’s great to be able to create and evolve this experience for you to enjoy.
​​
​As 2022 closes out, we’re hyped to be expanding The Pack with our biggest Alpha Weekend yet. We’ve heard your feedback and will be bringing new features and improvements that will enhance your games, along with a few extra community surprises thrown in! If you want to find out more and you’re already in The Pack – now’s the time to jump back in and check them out. Be sure to welcome our new HYENAS to the pack with your support and (maybe a well-placed cat-bomb).

Hyenas is out in 2023.

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Like a Dragon: Ishin has received a showcase of the combat via a new trailer, which reveals the “new and diverse” weaponry available in the game. The trailer shows Sakamoto Ryoma defeating enemies with “his samurai sword and trusty gun using various combat styles including Gunman Style, Wild Dancer Style, Brawler Style and more”.

For those not realising, this is the “lost RGG Studio chapter” coming to the West. It’s set in 1860s Kyo, and features “a solemn samurai’s fight for justice stands to change the course of Japan’s history forever. Draw your blade and join the revolution in this heated historical adventure”. RGG Studio, of course, is the developer behind the Yakuza series.

Old meets new: Like a Dragon: Ishin! expands upon its 2014 Japan-exclusive predecessor with localization support, all-new content, exquisitely remastered graphics and enhanced capabilities for modern platforms in Unreal Engine 4.

If you pre-order the game digitally, you can get early access to the title on February 17 (release date is normally Feb 21), as well as three extra weapons:

• Kijinmaru Kunishige, a dark sword with a white hilt
• Bloody Sheen, a sword soaked in bloo
• Black Ship Cannon, a cannon taken from Western ships

The digital deluxe edition is also available for pre-order, and contains:

• Shinsengumi Captain’s Set
• Ryoma Growth Support Kit
• Sword Upgrade Materials Kit
• Gun Upgrade Materials Kit
• Third Division Armament Expansion Kit
• The Dragon of Dojima Skin

Like a Dragon: Ishin will launch on February 21, 2023 on Xbox, PlayStation, Steam and Windows.

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Sega and Two Point Studios has announced that Two Point Campus is getting a Space Academy expansion this December. It will launch on December 6th for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, while the Nintendo Switch version will follow slightly later on December 12th, and it’ll cost $9.99/€9.99/£8.99.

There’s a new trailer for the announcement, which you can watch below:

Here’s the full details on the expansion, direct from the press release:

Space Academy comes with a galaxy of new features, including three stellar campus locations, six student archetypes to welcome aboard, six far-out courses and classrooms, and much, much more.

Players will start their extra-terrestrial adventures in Universe City, as they rebuild Two Point County’s defunct space program to bring it back to its former glory and will need your help on the frontlines of galactic defence, inter-dimensional diplomacy, and preparing the County for foreign life. Space Academy also features Two Point’s first out-of-County campus, as you take up base on a suspiciously cheesy asteroid, and pillage it of its natural (and delicious) resources.

New classrooms like the Command Room will give your students the confidence to set phasers to stun, while the Battle Space will turn up the heat and let students duke it out with energy batons. You’ll need to attract (out of this) world class talent to fill your campus not only with burgeoning astronauts and space knights, but also alien students with a thirst for the forbidden knowledge of the galaxy…such as how Cheesy Gubbins are made.

We reviewed Two Point Campus back in August, awarding it a 9/10 and saying: “Two Point Campus definitely feels like it has built upon Two Point Hospital and can comfortably stand on its own two feet. The mechanics feel more integrated, and the setting of a university rather than hospital gives it a genuinely different feel. That said, it still feels reassuringly familiar, down to the wholesome art style and contagious humour we’ve come to love. It isn’t a complete reinvention, but it builds on enjoyable foundations to rival Two Point Hospital in all the right ways. Dare I say it, Two Point Campus is actually the better game, and long may that upward trajectory continue”.

Two Point Campus is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch.

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Originally available on Nintendo Switch and via the Windows Store on PC, Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S is coming to Steam on November 19th.

It’ll set you back $13.99 (around £12), and if you’ve never heard of it, the official description is as follows:

Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S is a game where players complete puzzles by filling in the squares using the numbers at the top and left of the grid as hints. This game came out in March 2021 as Crypton’s first puzzle game for the Nintendo Switch and has now been ported to Steam so that more people can enjoy it.

There are over 350 puzzles, with the following features:

• New 5×5, 15×15, and 20×20 puzzles have been added along with renewed puzzles from the “Hatsune Miku Logic Paint – MIKULOGI -” smartphone app!
• Clear puzzle missions to earn Stars! You can unlock songs by collecting a certain number of Stars.
• Enjoy puzzles together with your favorite Piapro Characters in Miku and friends’ room! They’ll cheer you on as you work on the puzzles!

It’s a game that doesn’t require a hefty PC, either, with the minimum specs:

• OS: Windows 10 64bit
• Processor: 2 Ghz Processor
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX Version 11 compatible video card
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 750 MB available space

Recommended specs are:

• OS: Windows 10 64bit
• Processor: 2 Ghz Processor
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX Version 11 compatible video card
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 750 MB available space

You can pre-order the game here.

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With Sonic Frontiers out in November, Sega has released the second part of a digital comic series, Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Convergence. This two-part series is designed to give players an idea of the events leading up to the “open-zone” adventure that is Sonic Frontiers, which sees Sonic and pals travel to Starfall Islands to try and locate the chaos emeralds.

The first part was released on October 18th, and can be tweeted:

. It seems Eggman is also after the chaos emeralds, and in the comic he’s trying to distract Sonic, Tails, and Amy from getting there. Tails tells Sonic and Amy that “legend has it, a long-lost civilisation once lived there. For some reason the Chaos Emeralds started gathering there”, but not before Amy confirms she’s been invited as well.

Of course, right now we only know you play as Sonic in Sonic Frontiers, but it’ll be pretty interesting to see how Tails and Amy feature, especially given that some of the gameplay reveals leading up to the November 8th release has shown skill tress, and the like.

Anyway, Eggman (or Robotnik to us old folks) is after the “long-lost technology of the Ancients”, it seems, and he’s surveying the islands to find it. You can see the digital comic cover, below:

This is the first big change for Sonic games in a long time. We’ve had the usual Kart racers, Olympic Games experiences, and a few 2D games, but since 2017’s Sonic Forces, the blue-blur hasn’t ventured into 3D again. Hopes are high that this could be a true return to form, and most hands-on experiences have been positive, so far.

Sonic Frontiers is coming to PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on November 8th.

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SEGA has today published a new trailer for Sonic Frontiers, diving into the game’s combat system.

Sonic fans can learn about the new Skill Tree being introduced with Sonic Frontiers, which is full of exciting new abilities for players to unlock as they progress through the game. In doing so, players will have the opportunity to master their individual approaches to battle and conquer Sonic’s biggest and strongest enemies on the Starfall Islands.

To learn more about Sonic Frontiers’ new combat system, you can check out the trailer here.

The trailer gives us more insight into how Sonic Frontiers will actually play. Collectible Skill Pieces will be invaluable to help you progress the Skill Tree to unsure you’re as powerful as needed to progress across the Islands. But it’s clear we’ll also need to be keeping our eyes peeled for red Seeds of Power and blue Seeds of Defence to give us even more of an edge.

We were also treated to some specific abilities that will be unlocked during the game. Phantom Rush will prove useful as a payoff for those bagging combat combos, whereas the Sonic Boom uses Sonic’s feet to unleash shockwaves toward your foes. Wild Rush and Cyloop offer more versatility in attack, and recovery, giving your more options at your disposal.

The new Sonic Frontiers’ combat trailer also showcases Guardians – large boss-like enemies that will clearly require more thought and consideration as well as Sonic’s array of moves to take down.

And finally, it seems even Sonic is getting a parry move now too, giving you the edge against enemies if you time it just right. There certainly seems to be a depth to Sonic Frontiers’ combat, and we here at God is a Geek, can’t wait to see more of it ahead of launch.

Sonic Frontiers will launch on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on November 8, 2022.

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Although tweeted:

The DLC will be free, and is coming just a week after the November 8th release date for Sonic Frontiers. According to the Monster Hunter Twitter account, however, the “collaboration pack” will mean you can “get some stylish in-game Monster Hunter equipment and play a fun mini-game”

No additional details have currently been released, aside from an image showing Sonic wearing gear you’d find in Monster Hunter, with a cooking fire, as seen below, and the image the Monster Hunter team made, which you can see above.

This could simply be a case of Capcom returning the favour, as back in 2021 Capcom announced a crossover whereby Sonic would be joining Monster Hunter.

UPDATE: The pack will include clothing to make you look like Rathalos, as well as a Felyne Rathalos costume. “In addition to the costumes, the DLC includes a meat grilling minigame inspired by Monster Hunter to help power Sonic up”. 

That collaboration meant that you could dress your Palico as Sonic, or wear blue-blur style clothing, as seen in the trailer, below:

It’s a strange time in the world of Sonic, as Sonic Prime is also coming to Netflix this Winter, and the movies are being released and are actually good… and as a long-time Sonic fan, I feel strange about people liking Sonic again.

Despite people being able to go hands-on with a Frontiers demo, it’s still a bit in the air as to what the game actually is. A mix of old-3D Sonic, but in an open world (or “open zone” as the developer is calling it), but there appears to be boss fights, and fans have even speculated if there’s a bit of a “Souls” air to some of the combat. We’ll see soon enough, as the game is taking on God of War Ragnarok for the November “biggest game” spot.

Sonic Frontiers is out on November 8th for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, and PS5.

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SEGA and Amplitude have given word of the first major expansion release date, and a free weekend for Humankind is coming as well.

First up, then, the free to play weekend is this weekend on Steam. Next, the Together We Rule expansion is coming on November 9th, here’s the trailer:

Here’s what you can expect in the expansion:

Congress of Humankind – Get involved in an inter-empire forum with the Congress of Humankind. The congress will allow players to vote and decide on global doctrines and arbitrate international conflicts together.

Embassy – Use this new Quarter to sign agreements that are beneficial for both empires, like joint training or research agreements. Or use your Leverage currency to force an empire to take specific actions to your benefit, like lowering war support or enforcing demands.

Agents – Use this new unit family to gather Leverage. They will also allow you to infiltrate, sabotage and disinform other empires.

Diplomatic Affinity + 6 New Cultures – The new Diplomatic Affinity allows its cultures to have a more active role in the world’s diplomacy. Their Active Ability allows them to demilitarize a territory for 10 turns, while their Passive Ability allows all their units, beyond just agents, to collect Leverage. The 6 new cultures are the Sumerians, the Han Chinese, the Bulgarians, the Swiss, the Scots, and the Singaporeans.

6 new wonders, new narrative events, new music – Monument Valley, Pamukkale, Chocolate Hills, Eldgjá, Palace of Versailles, and the Congress of Humankind Headquarters.

In our review of Humankind, Mick Fraser said: “Despite a handful of technical issues that should be patched out quickly, Humankind is an effortlessly enjoyable, truly innovative civilisation sim. There are some cracks in the shiny veneer, for sure, but on the whole it’s a great experience with almost endless replayability. Oh, and the theme music is absolutely stunning, too”, and awarded it a big 8/10 score.

Sega says that there will be discounts for the game making it 50% off as part of the Sega Megamix Sale, which starts on Steam right now (6pm UK time).

Whether you decide to opt for the expansion or not, a big free update is headed your way the same day. The “Metternich” update will add new Stealth mechanics, revamp independent peoples, allow for third-party battle re-enforcements, and add new UI options and improvements.

Together We Rule will cost $19.99/€19.99/£15.99 at release, with a 10% discount applicable now through November 9th. It’s coming to Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store.

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SEGA and Relic Entertainment have today announced that Company of Heroes 3 is getting delayed, and will now release on February 23, 2023. The reason for the delay is to work on additional improvements, balancing, and fine-tuning to ensure CoH3 will be the best game it can be. Of course, this news will be hard to hear for fans of the franchise, but it’s important that any issues are ironed out before launch.

“As we approach the November 17th launch date for Company of Heroes 3, our team has decided the game is not quite up to our players’ or our own high standards. There are still bugs to squash, pixels to polish, gameplay to adjust and feedback to address. As a result, we’ve decided to move the launch date to February 23rd, 2023. While we know many of you are itching to get your hands on the game, we believe this to be the best decision for CoH3, our players, and our studio. This provides our hard-working team and partners with the necessary time to deliver CoH3 in a better overall state.”

When Company of Heroes 3 was revealed back in July 2021, Relic invited players to sign up to CoH-Development, which acts as a platform where the gaming community can provide feedback on all areas of the game. A lot of valuable feedback, as announced by Relic, has been implemented, with some of these features and improvements listed below:

• Relic has made distinct improvements to its brand-new Dynamic Campaign Map, such as updating its new supply system, implementing a more aggressive AI, and seeing faster travel across the map through seaport and airport enhancements.
• The studio has added a stronger focus on visual grit and details during battles, by improving shader technology and finetuning. Additionally, Relic has made significant changes to the overall lighting of CoH3. 
• Relic has enhanced moment-to-moment gameplay by making changes to the camera positioning and providing clearer mini map information. Improvements are also being made to the HUD layout and the overall theming of the UI. 
• Seeing players experiment with the Multiplayer Pre-Alpha in November 2021 really helped the developers make significant improvements on Battlegroups, their upgrade trees, units, and call-in abilities. 
• Relic has reviewed and improved parts of the voice-over lines to ensure they are authentic to specific characters and their native accents featured in the game. 

“Working with the CoH-Dev community over the last years has been an invaluable experience and we’re immensely grateful for all of their contributions to CoH3 so far”, said Justin Dowdeswell, General Manager at Relic Entertainment. “We want to deliver the biggest and most immersive game in our franchise’s history, which means we need a bit more time for bug fixing, balancing, and polishing to ensure our players have a fantastic experience at launch.”  

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During today’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Summit 2022, the follow-up to Yakuza: Like A Dragon was officially announced as Like A Dragon 8, set for a 2024 release, and will be coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Although there weren’t a ton of details revealed during the show, Kazuma Kiryu will be returning as a playable character alongside Ichiban Kasuga as dual protagonists.

The familiar RPG mechanics of the previous Like A Dragon are set to return, and Kiryu will have his own party of characters as well as Ichiban. As you’ll be able to see in the trailer below, Kiryu is looking a lot different than we’re used to sporting a brand new grey hairstyle, as Ichiban walks beside him, looking as awesome as ever.

Not only did we get an announcement for Like A Dragon 8 at the RGG Summit 2022, another brand new game set in the Yakuza series was announced. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will follow Kiryu following the events of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, and lead up to whatever crazy and wonderful story that awaits in Lile A Dragon 8. What’s more, it’ll be coming in 2023 to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Finally, after its announcement during last night’s State of Play, we got a new trailer for Like A Dragon: Ishin! that showcases more of what players can expect. If you’re a bit confused as to why characters from the Yakuza franchise feature, they’re taking up the roles of characters from the end of the Bakumatsu Period in the late 1800s, set in a fictional version of Kyoto. It will release in February 2023 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

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SEGA and developer Amplitude have announced the first major expansion for Humankind, called “Together We Rule”, and it’s coming later this year.

Amplitude says that “we’ve always wanted there to be more ways to win than simple military domination. And while the game’s unified victory condition, Fame, was a first step towards that, we’re now ready to take things much further with the introduction of our first major expansion, Together We Rule. New features like the Congress of Humankind, Embassies, and Agents will help players see the world in a new light and resolve conflicts differently”.

Here’s what you can expect in the expansion:

Congress of Humankind – Get involved in an inter-empire forum with the Congress of Humankind. The congress will allow players to vote and decide on global doctrines and arbitrate international conflicts together.

Embassy – Use this new Quarter to sign agreements that are beneficial for both empires, like joint training or research agreements. Or use your Leverage currency to force an empire to take specific actions to your benefit, like lowering war support or enforcing demands.

Agents – Use this new unit family to gather Leverage. They will also allow you to infiltrate, sabotage and disinform other empires.

Diplomatic Affinity + 6 New Cultures – The new Diplomatic Affinity allows its cultures to have a more active role in the world’s diplomacy. Their Active Ability allows them to demilitarize a territory for 10 turns, while their Passive Ability allows all their units, beyond just agents, to collect Leverage. The 6 new cultures are the Sumerians, the Han Chinese, the Bulgarians, the Swiss, the Scots, and the Singaporeans.

6 new wonders, new narrative events, new music – Monument Valley, Pamukkale, Chocolate Hills, Eldgjá, Palace of Versailles, and the Congress of Humankind Headquarters.

As for what’s next, Amplitude also release the image below, detailing info on a new large update coming alongside the expansion that will be free.

Humankind “Together we Fall” expansion will be released later this year.

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SEGA has announced the newest song from rock band ONE OK ROCK, Vandalize, will be the ending theme for Sonic Frontiers.

Due for release on November 8th, Frontiers is a new take on the time honoured classic blue blur gameplay, with boss battles, an open-world, and all sorts of other features.

Vandalize is a collaborative effort between SEGA and ONE OK ROCK, which reflects both the vast gameplay environment and the high-speed action you can expect from Sonic Frontiers. In support of today’s announcement, we have also released a new video where you can enjoy a sample of the song alongside Sonic Frontiers game footage.

“We partnered with SEGA because we relate to Sonic and how he’s taken on the world after getting his start in Japan,” said ONE OK ROCK’s lead vocalist, Taka. “We are based in the US and have performed in Europe, Asia and South America, so we are extremely happy to be able to work with the world-renowned Sonic.”

“This collaborative song, Vandalize, is very upbeat and has some Japanese-inspired melodies while also sounding like a ONE OK ROCK song. It also matches the cool image of Sonic and his speed when he’s running, so please enjoy Vandalize along with Sonic as he speeds across Sonic Frontiers.”

This new game is, according to Sega, “a new open-zone, action-adventure game, where Sonic sets off on a new adventure in the mysterious Starfall Islands in search of the missing Chaos Emeralds”.

The description of the game says that “The new high-speed, open-zone platforming gameplay gives players the freedom to explore the Starfall Islands any way they choose at speeds only Sonic can deliver with no pre-determined path. Sonic Frontiers is a massive leap for the franchise, taking Sonic into the future of 3D action games with an all-new playable world map, while paying homage to previous, beloved titles”.

We can’t wait to try this one out, fingers crossed it delivers!

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Sonic fans rejoice, as the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 is accepting preorders in Europe now. Packed full of sixty classics ranging from Mega Drive to Sega CD games, this mini console should have more than enough content for retro fans to indulge on.

“SEGA Corporation has confirmed that pre-orders for the SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2 are now available in Europe. The SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2 is set to release on October 27th, 2022. More details are available on the official website.

The Mega Drive Mini 2 features 60 titles from SEGA’s illustrious back catalogue, including, for the first time, titles from the MEGA CD era, new ports and previously unreleased games.”

For a while it felt like these mini consoles were going to take over the world, but even now everybody has calmed down about them a little I can certainly see the appeal. The Mega Drive has a fantastic library to pull from, and the selection here really isn’t missing many of the heavy hitters when combined with the last mini console. It’s sad that it’s missing Micheal Jackson‘s Moonwalker of course, but it’s hard to complain too much when you can just play through the exceptional Ristar again one more time.

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Fall Guys and Sonic are having a special event which incorporates a new level and outfits, but you gotta go fast as it’s a short event.

Starting on Thursday August 11th, but only running until Monday August 15th, Fall Guys will have a brand new Sonic the Hedgehog themed level, and new outfits.

The new ‘Bean Hill Zone’ level tasks the speedy little beans with collecting as many rings as possible to win rewards including:

• “Bean Hill Zone” Nameplate – 200 Points
• 200 Kudos – 400 Points
• Bonus Rings Pattern Outfit – 600 Points
• 400 Kudos – 800 Points
• Sonic Sneakers – 1000 Points

What would a new Fall Guys event be without some new costumes? Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Super Sonic, and even the delightfully diabolical Dr. Robotnik, can all be found in the store for the duration of the event, with the new Sonic Foot Tap emote bringing them to life in spectacular fashion.

Fall Guys recently went free for all at the same time as joining the party with Nintendo Switch and Xbox One/Series S|X versions of the title. Elsewhere, there was a Godzilla outfit set in July to go along with the plethora of other outfits on offer.

Our very own Lyle has taken to our Twitch channel recently and been streaming some of the game, where he even got a crown that was immortalised in “YouTube Short” form.

Epic Games purchased developer Mediatonic, which has made it awkward to play the game on Steam Deck, but otherwise, it’s gone from strength to strength since being under the Epic Games mantle.

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In Two Point Campus, there are a few currencies to get your head around, but the one that perhaps can seem the most elusive is Kudosh. You use Kudosh to permanently unlock brand-new fixtures and fittings for your educational establishment. Many of these not only make your campus more visually pleasing but have a positive impact on key happiness metrics for your students. What’s more, you’ll often find students requesting you place new items on your campus, meaning having a steady supply of Kudosh is important. But don’t worry, we’ve compiled 5 ways you can earn Kudosh fast in Two Point Campus.

Click HERE for 11 tips to help get you started in Two Point Campus

Two Point Campus | 5 Ways to earn Kudosh fast

Take on Challenges

Every so often you’ll be presented with mini-challenges to complete. These appear as Suggestion Box challenges on the right of the screen and often reward you with regular money and Kudosh for completing successfully. There are quite a few different ones you could get, from raising the attractiveness of your campus to simply having students complete Assignments. They don’t have an expiry time, but completing them quickly nets you the Kudosh in the quickest time. Focus on completing these and you’ll be rewarded with a few Kudosh to add to your total.

Accepts visits

In addition to Challenges, another request that will appear in your inbox are visits from various people. They will be inspecting your campus, and depending on how well they receive it, the more cash and Kudosh you will receive afterwards. The important point to note though is that each different visitor focuses on different criteria. Some may be interested in the number of food outlets you have, whilst others may focus more on how attractive the campus is.

Always accept these visits, as there is no downside, but also make sure you prioritise improving the area they are inspecting for. Pause the game timer, and invest where you need to, to improve your campus. Then, when they come to visit they will be impressed and you’ll net yourself more Kudosh.

Host Open Days

Open Days are another way to earn Kudosh, often in slightly higher amounts than the previous methods. Again, pay attention to your inbox and you’ll see a request for an Open Day for one of the courses you are currently running. The only currency reward is Kudosh here, so accept it, and make sure to maximise the return.

The way to do this is to appeal to prospective students looking to study the course. Therefore they’ll need to be impressed with the facilities overall, but also in the teaching standard of the course they’re looking to take up. So make sure you’ve upgraded things, and put the best staff forward when the Open Day comes around. Then look forward to banking the Kudosh

Smack those worms

A silly but strangely satisfying way to earn Kudosh is to keep a lookout for Bookworms. These will pop up from the ground, in the grounds around the campus (not in a building) and stay above ground for a second before heading under again. In that short time you need to click on the worm to pull it up. Depending on the worm, sometimes you earn ordinary cash, and sometimes several Kudosh. It’s well worth keeping an eye out as the worms are quite frequent, and its a simple way to keep gently topping up the Kudosh balance.

Check out the Rewards section

Easily the most lucrative way to earn Kudosh in Two Point Campus is through the Rewards section. After completing various milestones in the game, you’ll get a message telling you to go to the Career Hub. Here you can turn in your achievements for big Kudosh rewards. Anywhere from 50 to 100 Kudosh can be earned depending on the achievement. Make sure to cash them in as soon as you unlock them to add the Kudosh to your total. In the Career Hub you can also identify goals you are close to achieving and focus on them to unlock more Kudosh rewards.

With these 5 tips, you’ll be earning load of Kudosh in Two Point Campus in no time at all.

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Two Point Campus is an addictive, but often challenging title, seeing you have to juggle a lot of different priorities at the same time. It can become overwhelming, and before long you can find yourself in all sorts of bother. But have no fear, here at God is a Geek, we’ve got you covered, with the best Two Point Campus tips to see you tackle even the more difficult levels.

Read on to discover the best Two Point Campus tips

Two Point Campus Tips

Plan at the end of the year

Each year in Two Point Campus revolves around the school year, and it runs from August to July. At the end of July, all your students either pass, fail or graduate and return to their homes before another year starts. This gives you some breathing space to make changes to your campus, and expand where you need to without any other concerns to worry about. The next year won’t begin until you say so, so take all the time you need. Build that new room, or spend time tarting up some existing ones, so that you’re in the best shape for the next year.

Be mindful of campus requirements

Each year you will take on new students, which for the first few years means the amount on campus will grow a lot each year, as courses last several years before anyone graduates. In order to be able to be prepared for this increased student population, Two Point Campus makes it clear where you need to improve your campus. You may need extra staff trained in certain courses or additional teaching rooms to cope. Also, note if you choose to upgrade your courses – so they can take on more students per year – or add a new course option, this could further add to what you need to be able to function the following year, and all of those rooms and staff cost money, so make sure to consider this.

Don’t be afraid of taking a loan

Having said that, you shouldn’t worry at all about taking a loan. Often seen as a last resort in previous titles, and a sign of bad financial planning, taking a loan before the new year begins is often very sensible. Use it to upgrade your campus, and maximise your available student intake, and you’ll find you’ll comfortably be able to pay it back thanks to the increased tuition fees you’ll make in the long run. To be clear, your money does still need to be managed carefully to avoid waste, but loans are a good way of financing your yearly expansion and should be used as such.

Make sure you have enough Dormitories

The one thing that maybe isn’t obvious with your student expansion is how many dormitories you’ll need. The answer is, more than you think. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you have enough dorms to accommodate one bed for every five students enrolled on your campus. This means students won’t become dissatisfied at having to share dorms too much.

Raise your room levels to help students

Room levels make students happier, and therefore more productive when they go about their learning. Size can affect a room, as can the key fixtures and fittings that you add to it. There are however a couple of tricks to it. Firstly, given space is a premium, it’s actually more financially viable to go for slightly smaller rooms but pack them with things. Ideally, fixtures that don’t actually take up any space like posters or rugs. This way you’re making the room appealing without getting in the way of the objects that need to be in there. You’ll also want to make sure there is variety in what you add. After a couple of the same items are added to a room, the increase in room level drops significantly. So mix up your walls with different posters, so that you can get the most room improvement for your dollars.

Listen to student requests

As you play through each school year, your inbox will be inundated with students asking for various additions to the campus. It might be a romantic bench outside, a new computer desk for the library, or a party in the Student Union. This is the students literally telling you how to make them happier, and therefore earn more money from them. So wherever possible always try and complete these requests. The only time to not do so would be if money is particularly tight, or you run out of Kudosh.

For 5 tips on how to earn more Kudosh in Two Point Campus click HERE

Pay attention to staff skills

Each of the different staff types, Teachers, Assistants, and Janitors all have different roles to play on campus. Each of them can come with additional skills to consider, some adding nice boons, whereas others are critical for certain situations. Obviously, Teachers are critical for your students and need to be skilled in the courses you are teaching to be of use, so make sure you recruit enough of the right subject to be of use and cover for those resting in the staff room.

For Janitors and Assistants, you also want to pay attention. Having Janitors that can upgrade machines is essential if you want to upgrade (more on that later), and you’ll also need a couple of Janitors with the Security skill at the point when you need to deal with intruders. For Assistants, make sure you have a couple with the First Aid and Pastoral Care skills, once they become available. These help students through tough times and get them back on their feet to study.

Review the student’s needs

This one may sound obvious, but with all the hustle and bustle it can often be easy to not notice the things that students really need. Keeping them happy will make them better students, so that is a priority. Whilst you can inspect unhappy students individually, an easier way is to look more holistically. Go to Campus Management > Campus Overview > Student Overview.

Here you will find a breakdown of the overall ratings for each need. So you can see if you need to focus on improving the food situation for example, or making the campus more attractive.If you want an even more granular perspective, you can then click on Status Distribution to see whether the overall rating is driven by a few outliers, or is a general feeling shared by all. Either way, focus on the lowest rated areas quickly, to improve overall student happiness.

Keep an eye on grades

But let’s not forget this is an educational establishment you’re running here. Grades are what matter, and students with higher grades mean more dosh for you. You’ll be able to see the overall average grades in the bottom right-hand corner next to the happiness rating. You’ll want as many people on higher grades as possible.

To view student grades go to Personnel Management > Students. This will give you a list of all students, you can then sort by Grades to see those performing the worst. You can absolutely try and resolve any happiness issues they may have directly, but the other direct action you should take is to send all low-performing students to Private Tuition. Just make sure you have enough Private Tuition rooms (and they are being staffed) to cope with the influx of new students. Do this regularly to keep grades higher.

Don’t skimp on Research

Whilst research isn’t technically necessary to win (unless it’s a specific challenge), it’s well worth investing in to improve your campus. Improved machinery will mean the standard of your teaching is better, meaning every student has a better chance of higher grades. Prioritise those machines the majority of students use, so focussing on the Lecture Theatre is a great first choice. Also, make sure you have available Janitors to complete the upgrade.

Invest in Training

Similar to research, training is another great way of improving the standard of teaching. If you focus on improving a Teacher’s level in a particular field, they will teach students better. Training also allows you to have cover between staff, so you can train another Assistant in Pastoral Care, so you don’t rely on a single Assistant all the time.

One thing to consider is that a staff member is out of action when they are training, so only embark on it if you can afford to be a staff member down on top of the natural rest and rotation that normally exists as staff members tire.

Hopefully, these Two Point Campus Tips will help you become an educational pro in no time.

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If you just can’t wait to jump into the next game starring the blue blur then don’t fret, if you’re in London this September you can play Sonic Frontiers early. It’s fair to say that Sonic Frontiers has received a mixed reception based on the trailers Sega have shown so far, but I can’t remember the last time that a Sonic game got this much attention. Whether this is the Breath of the Wild that gaming’s favourite hedgehog needs or not, it’s going to be very interesting to see how fan react on release (or after they get to play Sonic Frontiers at EGX.

“Today, SEGA and ReedPop are happy to announce that EGX attendees will be able to experience the upcoming addition to the iconic Sonic franchise Sonic Frontiers during EGX, from the 22nd – 25th of September at the ExCeL in London.

Sonic Frontiers is Sonic’s first ever open-zone-inspired gaming experience. Rush through expansive landscapes, accelerate to new heights and experience the thrill of using Sonic’s speed like never before.

The public attending EGX will be able to play Sonic Frontiers for the first time in the UK, ahead of its official release later this year on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.”

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SEGA has today announced that Champions of Chaos, the newest DLC for Total War: Warhammer III, will release on August 23. It will include four new Warriors of Chaos Legendary Lords instead of the usual two, each aligned with one of the four Chaos Gods. Also included are new gameplay mechanics, fifty new battlefield units, and more.

One of the four new Gods has been revealed as Azazel, the Prince of Damnation. This dark God has been the bane of humanity since time immemorial, with constant acts of devotion and debauchery assuring his high standing in the eyes of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of excess and hedonism.

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Sega has today released a brand new trailer for Two Point Campus titled ‘Welcome to the Academic Year,’ showing off more of what’s to come. The game is set to release August 9 for PC and consoles, with players being able to pre-order now. It is also set to be released straight to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

People often wonder what really goes on at school when classes aren’t in session. Shenanigans? Witchcraft? Giant robots? In Two Point Campus, the academic year is your chance to prepare the perfect university for your students, then watch it all come together – or maybe fall apart.

Two Point Campus aims to make connections even stronger this time, with friendships lasting for an entire academic year as opposed to only lasting for as long as a patient needed treatment in Two Point Hospital. During summer break, players will be able to customise their campus, choose which courses they want to take when the year starts, and make sure everything is up to the high calibre of Two Point County’s impeccable standards.

It’s also important that students are kept happy and motivated. In order to make this happen, players will be able to throw dances in the student union, or install Love Trumpets (excuse me??) to inspire heartfelt romantic confessions. To help those that are struggling with their studies, pastoral support can be hired in an attempt to lend an ear, and build some more study cubicles. At the end of each academic year, players will be graded on their student performance, so making sure all the right changes are implemented will help to get that all-star award.

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Relic Entertainment and SEGA have today announced that their popular RTS returns with Company of Heroes 3 releasing for PC on November 17 this year. The latest instalment is set to feature the “biggest and deepest single player experience in the franchise’s history.” There will be four playable factions at launch as well as two unique single-player experiences.

Fans who have been paying close attention to information about Company of Heroes 3 will know that the previously announced Italian Dynamic Campaign will offer a branching, open-ending experience. However, the North African Operation has also been revealed, and it’ll feature a more classically designed, narrative-led single-player experience. The new operation will allow tank driving for co-ordinated rapid-strike assaults.

Thanks to Relic Entertainment’s community feedback program, COH-Development, players can head over to the official website to play one mission from the newly revealed North African Operation. It’s free to play on Steam for one week beginning today, running until July 19. The Mission Alpha will give players the opportunity to control the infamous Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) and the L6/40 Light Tank. For those who have installed any of the previous two Pre-Alpha builds will see Mission Alpha appear automatically in their Steam library.

Players can also pre-order Company of Heroes to receive various bonus items at launch. The Digital Premium Edition comes with the Devil’s Brigade DLC, containing cosmetics based on the first elite commando units of WWII. The Physical Premium Edition comes with the DLC, as well as a Service Medal, Pocket Compass, Collector’s Book, and more. Both versions will also give players access to Company of Heroes 3’s first expansion which will be coming to Steam in 2023.

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SEGA has released Sonic Origins, the multi-game collection of original 2D Sonic titles, first released on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. The collection includes Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD all digitally remastered for current-gen platforms. It is now available digitally starting at £32.99 GBP across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Check out the new trailer below for Sonic Origins:

Sonic Origins | A mix of old and new

In the game, players will experience the legendary, non-stop Sonic action found in the original games with a fresh twist. Featuring remastered visuals, added features, bonus characters, new content, and more. Players can switch between Anniversary Mode – eliminating time limits with unlimited lives – or play in Classic Mode to experience the original games’ screens and rules. With enhanced graphics, new characters, game modes, game zones and more, the game brings the best of the original Sonic titles to modern-day platforms and offers various content packs to customise the ultimate gameplay experience.

Pricing and Packages

Sonic Origins – Digital Pre-Order Bonus (for orders placed before June 23, 2022)

• 100 Bonus Coins
• Mirror Mode Instantly Unlocked
• Letterbox Mega Drive Pattern

Sonic Origins- Digital Standard – £32.99

• Main Game

Sonic Origins – Digital Deluxe – £36.99

• Main Game
• Extreme Missions
• Mirror Mode Instantly Unlocked
• Characters in Main Menu
• Island Camera on Main Menu
• Character Animation during Music Islands
• Exclusive Tracks from Mega Drive & Genesis Titles

Sonic Origins – Premium Fun Pack – £2.99

• Extreme Missions
• Letterbox Mega Drive Pattern
• Characters in Main Menu
• Island Camera on Main Menu
• Character Animation during Music Islands

Sonic Origins – Classic Sound Pack – £2.99

• Exclusive Tracks from Mega Drive & Genesis Titles

Key Features

Classic Mode

Go old school with Classic Mode and experience the multi-game collection of legacy Sonic games in their retro form with classic challenges. This mode features the original game rules with finite lives and game overs.

Anniversary Mode

The Anniversary Mode provides a full-screen display and offers players an infinite number of lives to keep the fun going without any game-overs.

Missions, Coins and Museum

Put your skills to the test and earn Coins by completing various missions throughout the games. Players can spend Coins in the Museum to unlock new content, retry Special Stages and more.

Better Than Ever

Reloaded and remastered — the game is playable on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC with all-new visuals, animation and enhancements for current-generation platforms. Experience the legendary excitement and new, modern twists as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.

Sonic Origins is out now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC

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We haven’t seen Creative Assembly flex its FPS muscles since 2014’s Alien: Isolation, but HYENAS has just been announced, and boy it looks good.

Described as a ballsy entry into the most competitive genre in gaming, HYENAS is going into closed alpha soon on PC, and you can sign up here.

“We believe the key to modern shooter success is understanding what players want to see and where they want to take their experience. We know we’ve got something interesting on our hands, but we also know the odds are stacked against us,” said Executive Producer, David Nicholson. “To take on the biggest games in the industry, we need to hear what players think, right up front and early. If you’re in, we want to take you along for the ride. That’s why after today’s announcement, we’re also launching into the first of our public Alpha tests.”

Let’s have a look at the trailer, shall we?

Here’s the official word on the game and it’s lore:

In HYENAS, the world is broken… literally. The billionaires have finally made it to Mars, leaving Earth and those tax bills far behind. The zero-gravity tech that powered their journey has shattered our planet, abandoning us in a drifting slum called the ‘Taint’.. The only thing the rich care for is rare Merch, pop culture swag from the lives we left behind, which they loot from the rubble to furnish their Martian mansions.   

Time for us to steal it back. Lumbering spaceship shopping malls, known as Plunderships, are plump with nostalgic booty stolen from Earth’s remains and packed with the sort of hired thugs, alarm systems and armed drones only the hyper- rich can afford. Assemble your crew of Hyenas from a ragtag cast of uniquely skilled and armed criminal misfits to get in, get the Merch and get the hell out.    

It’s space piracy smash and grab, with your team of three fighting against four other crews to nab the spiciest haul and grab the getaway. You’ll need both guns and guile; each Plundership is a sandbox playground of interlocking systems creating endless opportunities for slick teams to exploit the environment, security networks, hired goons and competing crews to gain an edge.   

And when it all kicks off, blisteringly quick movement and lethal combat combine in hazardous, and often switchable, zero-G zones, providing dramatic opportunities for you to master your environment to trap and eliminate other crews.

HYENAS is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC in 2023.

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Yesterday (June 7th), SEGA broadcast a presentation all about Sonic, which included details on Origins, Frontiers, and some crossovers you may not be aware of.

First up is Sonic Origins, which is due for release on June 23rd on all major platforms and features the first three games along with Sonic CD, fully remastered and “redefined” New animations and a mirror mode are among the new features.

Sonic Frontiers has been the subject of this month’s IGN First, and it’s gone down like marmite so far. There’s no release date for this new, open-world Sonic game, but it sure does look interesting.

The blue blur is also coming to Fall Guys this August, along with Knuckles, and Tails. Of course, Fall Guys is going free to play this month as well.

Sonic Speed Simulator is now available in Roblox, but you knew that, hopefully, having read our story on it.

Lastly, Forces and Dash are are going to allow you to unlock special movie-themed characters from the second film that’s currently in cinemas.

Outside of games, the movie is heading to Blu-Ray and Digital soon, while Sonic Prime is a new animated series coming to Netflix.

SEGA will be collaborating with a number of partners to release a robust offering of new branded products in the coming months. Partnerships will bring forth all-new food and beverage items including a Knuckles-inspired energy drink from G FUEL, along with Tails and Knuckles PEZ dispensers.

There are also collectibles, gaming accessories, controller holders, and much more coming. It’s a busy time for the blue blur!

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Originally set to come out on May 17th, Two Point Campus has been pushed back to August 9th, but to tide fans over, Two Point Studios and SEGA has released a new trailer showing off the Wizardry Course that’ll be in the game.

This follows on from the Archaeology Course revealed in February, so perhaps we’ll get another course shown off in a few months?

The video for the Wizardry Course is described thus: “Introducing the latest and greatest video game school of witchcraft and wizardry. No, not that one. The other one! In Two Point Campus, you can don your pointy hat, lug your cauldron to class, join a totally legal magical battle club and more in the Wizardry course at Spiffinmoore!”

The video shows off a first glimpse of the Wizardry class, where students can brew mysterious potions in the apothecary, command a crystal ball to reveal their future, or maybe get a pumpkin for a head. Make sure that your students study properly and hone their skills in the Spellroom to compete in magical duels, and watch the sparks fly. The better your students do, the stronger their magic becomes. They’ll need it, too, what with the occasional ancient curse and nefarious enemy looming about.

We really liked the debut title from the studio, Two Point Hospital, and it even worked really well on consoles. Hitting nearly two years after the PC version, in 2020 Chris Hyde said “Two Point Hospital feels right at home on consoles. If you haven’t sampled it’s quirky, addictive delights yet, there’s never been a better time”. In the original 2018 review on PC, Gary Bailey said it was “a triumphant return to the fun and frantic style of Nineties management sims, with the adorable visuals to match.”.

Two Point Campus is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X on August 9th this year. Two Point Studios say the Switch pre-purchase on the eShop will be coming soon as well.

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If you’re one of the few out there who hasn’t played the original Sonic games, then Sonic Origins is going to be very exciting for you.

Containing Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD (all digitally remastered for current platforms), it’s coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch on June 23rd.

Here’s the official word on the game, from Sega: “Sonic Origins delivers the legendary, non-stop Sonic action found in the original games, while providing a fresh twist with remastered visuals, added features, new content and modes and more”.

As always, you can pre-order Sonic Origins, and here’s what you get if you choose to do so, along with the prices for each edition.

Sonic Origins – Digital Pre-Order Bonus

• 100 Medallion Bonus
• Mirror Mode Unlocked
• Letter Box (Mega Drive Pattern)

Sonic Origins- Digital Standard – £32.99

• Main Game

Sonic Origins – Digital Deluxe – £36.99

• Main Game
• Difficult Missions Added
• Letter Box
• Characters in Main Menu
• Island Camera on Main Menu
• Character Animation in Music Playback
• Exclusive Tracks from Mega Drive Titles

Premium & Classic Sound Packs – £2.99

• Exclusive Tracks from Mega Drive Titles

Classic mode will be exactly as it sounds, featuring the collection of retro titles in their “classic form”. Anniversary mode offers a full screen display and infinite lives.

Missions, Medallions and Museum: Put your skills to the test and earn medallions by competing for various missions throughout the games. Players can spend medallions to unlock new content from the vault, try the Special Stage and more.

Sonic has been very busy lately, with his own films, and he’s getting a new game in Roblox, as well. And sure, this isn’t Sonic Mania 2, but it’s those original, truly great games, and people love that retro action on Switch, right?

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It’s a good day to be a Yakuza fan, as new Lost Judgement DLC has been announced. The Kaito Files will bring four new story chapters to Lost Judgement, and is part of the season pass and Ultimate Edition if you’ve already takes the plunge with an entirely new playable character in the form of popular tough guy Masaharu Kaito.

“SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio today announced that The Kaito Files, a four-chapter story expansion for Lost Judgment, launches on PlayStation and Xbox platforms on March 28. The Kaito Files story expansion will be available at no additional cost for owners of Lost Judgment Ultimate Edition or the Lost Judgment Season Pass, and available separately for $29.99.

Play as the muscle of the Yagami Detective Agency, Masaharu Kaito, and take on a new case that ties up loose ends of his past in The Kaito Files. Kaito brings his own Primal Focus detective techniques and two beastly fighting styles to challenge new foes and crack the case with a distinct Kaito swagger.

Following the events of Lost Judgment, Kaito picks up a lucrative case while Yagami is out of town that unexpectedly has him searching for his old flame, Mikiko. Along the way, Kaito encounters Jun, a teenager claiming to be their son, and team up to uncover the truth behind Mikiko’s disappearance. Now Kaito stands at the crossroads of past and present while up against a syndicate tied to Kamurocho’s criminal underbelly. But why did Kaito and Mikiko split up, and what does this dark faction have to do with her?”

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You may recall we really liked Two Point Hospital, the medical management sim that hit consoles and PC a few years ago. The follow-up, Two Point Campus, is due out later this year. SEGA have today released details on the Archaeology Course, one of the game’s unique elements.

In Two Point Campus, you’ll be able to enrol your students in the exciting Archaeology class, where they’ll be adventuring under you and uncovering ancient secrets. While learning, of course. They will take on a range of challenges to uncover valuable artefacts.

With tools like shovels, metal-detectors, and fossil brushes, they’ll need to travel around various dig sites in their pursuit of antiquities – and you’ll be responsible for their safety, training, and wellbeing.

Two Point Hospital is a wonderfully charming management sim. In our review we said: “Two Point Hospital may have a couple of flaws, but it really is a spectacular amount of fun to play. You’ll smile at your first sight of particularly daft illnesses, and you’ll feel a sense of reward as the end of year rewards come around and you get that award for best employer. You’ll panic at the news of an impending health inspection, but realise that you’ve got everything under control because the game has taught you so well.”

Two Point Campus looks set to continue the trend. It’s coming to Xbox and PC Gamepass on day one, so there’s plenty of reason to get excited. With a range of different courses and classes in which to enrol your students, it should provide a truly unique experience. You’ll also be responsible for the students themselves, and the day-to-day running of the campus.

Check out the trailer below for a taste of what to expect when the game launches:

Two Point Campus is set to release on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and the Xbox family of consoles on May 17, 2022.

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13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a strange game. Bad title, for sure, but it’s a superb experience. Mashing a few genres together, it tells a massively unique story in a visual novel style, but throws tower defence strategy gameplay at you when you’re not exploring the story.

In fact, it’d be a surprise that Atlus was bringing it to Switch at all if it weren’t for the decision that appears to have been made to bring every Atlus published game that wasn’t Persona to the device before eventually, maybe, hopefully giving Switch fans some P4 or P5 goodness (and no, Strikers doesn’t count). Anyway, my own petty grievances aside, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is coming to Nintendo Switch on April 12. Starting today physical and digital pre-orders are available, with a pack of bonus Art Cards as part of the physical edition pre-order.

Here’s a new trailer to celebrate the fact you can now pre-order on Switch.

Pre-order Packages 

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim launches for Nintendo Switch this Spring. Digital and physical pre-orders are available now:

• Physical Standard Edition Pre-order – $59.99
• Purchase 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim from retailers now to secure bonus art cards while supplies last! Pre-orders will be available at the following stores:
  • Amazon
  • GameStop
  • Best Buy
• Digital Standard Edition Pre-order – $59.99
• Digital Standard pre-orders are now available for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim from the Nintendo eShop.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is out on April 12th for Nintendo Switch.

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You have seen the best Dreamcast games – now let’s look at some of the other delights you can play on Sega’s final console. Some of these you will have heard of; some you may be less familiar with. It highlights what a tremendous console the Dreamcast was for casual sports titles, fighters and unique shooters. If there are any titles you think I have unfairly omitted from this list, get in touch in the comments or on our Discord, it would be great to hear from you.

10. Bangai-O (Treasure, 1999)

Proving once again that they made games like nobody else, artistes Treasure ported their ultra limited Nintendo 64 shooter to the Dreamcast to great acclaim in 1999, including, incredibly, an EU release. A multi-directional shooter with wonderful super deformed retro graphics and a penchant for enormous, missile related explosions, this one narrowly missed my top ten by a cat’s whisker.

9. Border Down (G.rev, 2003)

Feeling like a posthumous release, Border Down is comfortably the best horizontal shooter on the system. Put together by an ex-Taito team who had previously had a hand in classics RayStorm and G Darius, Border Down itself was heavily influenced by Metal Black. Ironically, G.rev raised the capital to make this banger by freelancing on Ikaruga and Gradius V. This paragraph tells you all you need to know about the pedigree of those that created this 2003 belter. The concept – you begin at an easy difficulty level, or “border”, and descend into increasingly harder borders each time you are killed, gives this one a unique feel. It has a simple beauty to the way it looks, and plays as smooth as a lightly greased chinchilla pelt. Tremendous. G.rev also made the superb Under Defeat, a vertical shmup that also landed on the ‘Cast.

8. Sports Jam (Sega, 2000)

Sadly this one didn’t get a release in the EU, which is a shame as it is a great multiplayer arcade minigame selection that sits nicely alongside the likes of Decathlete and ESPN Track and Field, short, sharp slices of sports action that are great fun to play and try to best your scores. These snippets could be nearest the pin in golf, draining three pointers from the edge of the D, or even executing a bicycle kick in “soccer”. You can run the gamut of events or just test yourself four at a time, and its terrific fun.

7. Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Capcom, 2000)

As it was crafted on Naomi hardware, its no surprise that this is the premier home version of Capcom’s bonkers crossover hit. You know the score. 56 characters, insane tag team action, that special comic book appeal. Its great – apart from the ridiculous soundtrack which makes kicking Spider-man’s head in feel like you are trapped in a jazz-funk fever dream.

6. Sword of the Berserk: Guts Rage (Yuke’s, 1999)

Surely the best-named title for the system, this one has a bit of a cult following and is a slept-on hack and slash actioner based on the popular Berserk manga. It has an enormous sword, loads of arcing rivulets of blood, a bestiary of nightmarish enemies, and an antagonist whose name sounds like “Ballsack”. There is much to love. Like Shenmue, this one does go to the QTE well a little too often, but this doesn’t make much of a dent in your sword swinging violence time.

5. Cannon Spike (Psikyo/Capcom 2000)

Another cult fave that was criminally ignored upon release, this one commands top dollar in the second-hand market and has the sad distinction of being the last European release for the platform. Cannon Spike is an arena-based boss rush which plays out like a souped up Smash TV. Capcom fans won’t need telling that the title is one of Cammy’s special attacks in the Street Fighter universe, and that is because she, along with other Capsule stalwarts like Arthur, BB Hood and Mega Man are amongst the quirky playable roster. This is a fun arcade shooter, with some creepy looking enemies to take down, including some cockroaches that made me want to spew.

4. The King Of Fighters Dream Match 1999 (SNK, 1999)

There a loads of SNK fighting games available for the platform, including Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Last Blade 2, but my personal recommendation is this confusingly named port of KOF classic 98: The Slugfest. Not only does it play beautifully, the backgrounds have been re-done in 3D, making it the best version of a great team based fighter on the system.

3. Dynamite Cop (Sega, 1999)

See also: Zombie Revenge. Essentially Die Hard Arcade sequel without the shoehorned-in license, this is a typically bonkers Sega-style beat ‘em up with some crazed weapons (Streets of Rage 4 was NOT the first time you could beat someone with a giant fish), breezy run time and great arcade feel. Zombie Revenge is very similar, but has zombies in it.

2. Giant Gram 2000: All Japan Pro Wrestling 3 (Sega, 2000)

Sega really shit the bed with their WWF Royal Rumble game, which felt like it was barely even there. Elsewhere, Acclaim’s WWF and ECW licenses are fondly remembered by Attitude Era fans. But they, lets face it, were crap. Meanwhile in Japan, puroresu fans got a great Fire Pro game, and this – which is easily the best wrestling game on the system, and for me one of the best of all time. Simple arcade sensibility, a rock, paper, scissors system to mimic the to and fro of a bout, and a wonderful array of legendary Japanese and gaijin stars, this is a banger which stands up well today. I would go so far as to say it is better than the heralded No Mercy (@ me!), and has some great and instantly recognisable character models. Never has it been more fun to live out your fantasy of Big Van Vader and Dangerous K kicking each other’s brains in.

1. NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC (Midway, 1999)

This his was an arcade sports return to form for Midway and one of the best times you can have with friends on the system thanks to its corking multiplayer and riotous stylised b-ball action. I still cannot get my head around why they didn’t just use the original NBA Jam name, as that is exactly what you get here. Cheap and easy to find, there is no reason not to own this.

The post The 10 best Dreamcast games you probably haven’t played appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Much has been written about the Dreamcast, in terms of what could have been, its decline, and why it failed. The reality was a perfect storm of trouble for Sega. A lack of support from big hitters like EA; a poorly executed advertising budget; and of course consumers who perhaps understandably felt that the console was snake-bit. There was a mistrust of this new hardware, which followed Sega CD, 32X, and Saturn with their libraries. Particularly in the case of the latter, couldn’t stack up against the PlayStation. Sega knew that the PS2 would destroy them if they backed themselves in that bout. Therefore, they decided to bow out of the console game forever, in order to live on.

The sad thing about all this is that many gamers didn’t get to experience what a wonderful machine the Dreamcast was. Many UK folk’s interactions with the Dreamcast brand would have been watching Thierry Henry parade the logo on his shirt in his debut season at Highbury. Those who did own or play one, and particularly those who, like me, grew up in and around amusement arcades dominated by Sega, found the Dreamcast an unforgettable machine. I find myself returning to its catalogue of exceptional titles again and again. I am going to lay out what I think are the top 10 best Dreamcast games released for the system.

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The top 10 best Dreamcast games: 10. Soulcalibur (Namco, 1999)

For most people, this was the one that even from attract sequence alone, made them want to own a Dreamcast. The PlayStation may have had a fabulous port of Soul Edge, but its Namco System 12 sequel upped the ante in just about every department. It looked mind blowing in its ultra-polished DC form. Any list of essential games for the system has to have this perched on top of the pile. It took an already wonderful game and improved it aesthetically and in terms of content and playability. All these years on it is still smooth as silk and a landmark fighter.

9. Power Stone 2 (Capcom, 2000)

In an ideal world I would have included both Power Stone games in this list, but the sophomore Naomi arcade port is the Godfather Part II of 3D multiplayer fighters. With a rich and diverse roster of sumptuously designed and resolutely Capcom-AF characters, Power Stone 2 is an absolutely astonishing piece of work. It’s utterly bonkers stages, some of which have multiple phases, have to be seen to be believed and still surprise and delight as much as they ever did. Best of all the gameplay is a never-boring riot. It has a zillion different weapons and environmental modifiers to discover. It is a crime that Capcom have not revisited this franchise.

8. Skies of Arcadia (Sega, 2000)

There aren’t many JRPGs on the DC, and it feels bad not to mention the ground-breaking Phantasy Star Online. However, you simply cannot look past Skies of Arcadia when it comes to the genre. It is the very best the platform has to offer. Skies was Sega’s ode to classic role-playing tropes with a wonderful stylised crew of unforgettable characters, terrific English localisation, and a genuine spirit of sky faring adventure. Still standing the test of time to this day, this two-disc wonder is an essential get for the discerning ‘Cast buff.

The top 10 best Dreamcast games: 7. Ikaruga (Treasure, 2001)

Treasure’s spiritual sequel to STV/Saturn classic Radiant Silvergun is a videogame that transcends the medium. It’s a true work of art that still blows me away every time I revisit it. The legendary developer doubled down on the themes of light and shadow seen in Silhouette Mirage and transferred the mechanic to a mesmerising vertical shoot ‘em up which allows you to reverse the polarity of your craft to negotiate your way through a unique two-tone bullet hell.

Projectiles and enemies are either dark or light, and you are able to flip your craft and align with either side. In white mode you are stronger against the black enemies and can absorb any projectiles of your own colour to build a crushingly powerful charge attack, and vice versa. It makes for an incomparable experience as you learn how to beat each stage by deciding whether to take risks or play it safe. Once it all clicks it becomes an almost zen experience, helped by the stunning visuals and soundtrack.

6. Crazy Taxi (Sega, 2000)

The best pure arcade game of its era, you know the drill with this one – high octane, day-glo cab simulator with a slamming punk soundtrack. Nobody has ever topped or come close to emulating this kind of game in the ensuing years. It is just classic Sega simplicity, taut design and just one more go appeal. The Dreamcast is easily the best way to play this one. Not only is it arcade perfect, it has the option to sharpen the visuals via either a VGA box or one of the modern workarounds. This helps an already great looking game look the absolute nuts. A law should be passed that anyone owning the final Sega console needs to be packing a copy of this, lest they be sent down a salt mine.

5. Virtua Tennis 2 (Sega, 2001)

Hitmaker were at it again and again during this period. Virtua Tennis was an arcade *ahem* smash, and one of the best sellers for the Dreamcast, early doors. Its sequel amps everything up, with more playable characters; a new slice shot; better visuals; and on the Dreamcast, a staggering single player World Tour mode that is chock full of super-addicting mini games. It allowed you to level up the stats of your created characters and take them along for a calendar year of tennis tour events. It plays like an absolute dream with a great learning curve and that superb balance between arcade fun and real-sports sim. Essential.

The top 10 best Dreamcast games: 4. Shenmue (Sega, 1999)

If one game summed up the glorious failure of the Dreamcast, then it is Yu Suzuki’s epic labour of love. Costing an arm and a leg to make, the finished product remains a stunning achievement that has influenced modern gaming in many ways. It has also spawned loads of excellent sailor-based memes. Pioneering the open worlds that we now take for granted across many platforms, Shenmue is a slow-burning revenge movie played out in an approximation of real time. There is so much to discover in its charming world, including entire versions of previous Suzuki arcade classics; some ace knock-down; drag-out brawling using a version of the Virtua Fighter engine; a cool as hell Timex watch; and a cocktail-guzzling Santa. Credited with initiating the trend in QTE scenes in gaming, it is perhaps the ultimate flawed masterpiece. I see.

3. Jet Set Radio (Sega, 2000)

Smilebit formed out of the ashes of Team Andromeda, and their follow up to Panzer Dragoon Saga couldn’t have possibly been any more different! Best described as a cross pollination of Tony Hawks (which, I may add, still plays like a dream on the DC) and Crazy Taxi, this cel-shaded masterpiece sees you grinding your way around a Shibuya-influenced urban landscape, tagging rival gang territory, and indeed rival gang members themselves. It featured design work from seminal Style Wars graffiti artist Eric Haze, lending it an artistic credibility few games can claim to match.

Like most cel-shaded fare from this era, it still looks amazing, and the gameplay holds up just as well. There are a few differences across the regions to note. Some American-themed stages were added to the US release, along with a few nu-metal tracks from the likes of Rob Zombie somewhat incongruously shoehorned in. In Europe, we received the welcome addition of a couple of bangers from legendary Beastie Boys affiliate Mixmaster Mike and chill old school rap crew Jurassic 5.

2. NFL 2K1 (Sega, 2000)

Visual Concepts had form for developing sports titles for the 16 and 32 bit generations. These included instalments of the all-conquering Madden and NHL juggernauts. For many years, EA were the only show in town when it came to pigskin, but that changed in 1999 when Sega obtained a licensing deal with the NFL. It let them have a crack at making a gridiron title for their powerful new console. During the Dreamcast era, the 2K series absolutely handed John Madden his ass. The first game was a sensation, but the ultimate pure sports sim on the ‘Cast is the 2K1 iteration, which improved on every aspect of its predecessor and gave us an NFL game so tasty that some fans swear by it to this day, with well populated servers still up and running.

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The top 10 best Dreamcast games: 1. Metropolis Street Racer (Bizarre Creations/Sega 2000)

The spiritual successor to the excellent Project Gotham racer franchise, Bizarre can lay claim to the best arcade driving sim on the Dreamcast. With an economical but terrific selection of cars, a points scoring system that awards “kudos” for style, and some wonderful real-life street racing venues, this still looks and plays like a dream all these years later. There are so many cool touches, such as the way the console will pick up the time of day you are playing and will reflect that in-game, the proto-open world feel, and the radio stations you can select, curated by Richard Jacques.

The post The 10 best Dreamcast games of all time appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Laced Records has joined forces with Creative Assembly and SEGA to release the original soundtrack to A Total War Saga: Troy on deluxe triple vinyl and double CD.  Troy marks the first game in the BAFTA award-winning Total War series to focus on the ancient Bronze Age.  It is the furthest back in history that the series has travelled in its tales of epic conquest. Inspired by The Iliad, Troy focuses on the historical flashpoint of the Trojan War, bringing the conflict to life as never before.

Troy’s score comprises cinematic soundscapes, ambient washes, pulsing grooves and basslines. It’s a vibrant, stylised fusion of elements from the Mediterranean, Balkan, North African, and Eastern cultures. Choral performances by the Vanya Moneva Bulgarian female choir conjure an exotic sound, grounding the soundtrack in the ancient Aegean.

For the triple vinyl, 41 tracks will be pressed onto three audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g orange LPs. These will be housed in a triple gatefold sleeve with an additional insert. The double CD comprises 53 tracks and comes with a triple gatefold sleeve and booklet.  Additionally, all purchases through the Laced Records store will include a free digital download code for the soundtrack on Steam.

All music has been specially mastered for vinyl and CD by Joe Caithness. Sleeve artwork was created by illustrator Lulu Zhang, artist Tsvetelin Krastev and designer Matt Wright.

Troy Audio Director and Composer Richard Beddow said:

“Troy gave us a unique opportunity with its highly stylised depiction of the Trojan War and the ancient Aegean to create something musically bold, new and exciting ‒ a fresh, contemporary and forward-looking approach with the music direction. Once again, we are delighted to be joining forces with Laced Records to help us bring our music to the widest audience.”

The A Total War Saga: Troy (Original Soundtrack) triple vinyl and double CD sets can be pre-ordered now.  Orders will ship in April 2022.

The post A Total War Saga: Troy soundtrack comes to vinyl and CD appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

The post Sonic and Tails join Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

You wouldn’t know it from the somewhat lackluster way the series has meandered in recent years. But the original Monkey Ball is hands-down one of the greatest games SEGA ever produced. Perhaps my most yearned-for era in terms of exercising restraint in the retro purchases department. It was another spectacular high point on the NAOMI hardware.

Seriously though, go and have a look at the full list of Naomi games. Stop salivating, and then consider selling a kidney to purchase them. It was a great system, with some unique games. Samba De Amigo had the maracas, but Monkey Ball’s beautiful stand up cab was fitted with a splendid analogue joystick fashioned like a banana. And it had gameplay so perfectly pitched and balanced that it was even used once in a clinical trial to improve the dexterity and concentration of actual surgeons.

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Monkey Ball marble madness

Taking a cue from classic maze-negotiating rollerball fare like Marble Madness, but switching it up so that you tilt the world around your spherical avatar, impossibly handsome Amusement Vision big cheese Toshihiro Nagoshi dreamed up the inertia-based roll ‘em up as he wanted to prove to the world that you could still have success with a simple, low budget arcade game. He was on to something, as the game was a monster hit. It was instantly upgraded and ported to Nintendo’s GameCube, where it became one of the finest launch titles for any console, ever.

As with nearly any successful mascot-y property, Monkey Ball has been done to death over the years. The quality control hasn’t been great. Motion controls, balance boards, 3D platforming tie ins, etc. The addition of an unnecessary jump move and boss fights are just some of the diminishing return-inducing additions we have seen. I would even go as far as to say there hasn’t been a genuinely great entry in the franchise since 2005. And even then that in itself was the Deluxe remaster. Although it isn’t technically a new game, the upcoming Banana Mania looks like it is about to thrust Ai Ai and co right back into the spotlight. Hopefully it’ll give fans old and new an opportunity to visit some of the dizzying early peaks of the series. But why should you be excited in 2021?

Simple Monkey Ball

The appeal of Super Monkey Ball is in its simplicity. The arcade game and subsequent Gamecube port and sequel understood this, and represent the purest distillation of Nagoshi-san’s vision. You roll your ball, you collect your bananas, you reach the goal. It is possible to enjoy it in so many ways. Speed runners love it, but it is also one for the meticulous score obsessed. It is also a great time for younger gamers. Seldom has it been more obvious what you have to do in a game. There isn’t really any need for a tutorial.

Mania includes all of the main stages from the first two titles, and the Deluxe compilation. This means that you get a gorgeous looking approximation of 300 mind-bending courses to roll through. The graphics have been given a great HD makeover. Tere are tons of customisation options, extra characters, and even proposed future DLC.

Monkey minigames

Minigames have been another feature of the many Monkey Ball sequels over the past two decades. The Wii era games predictably followed the trend of the period. Here it went absolutely bonkers with a staggering fifty side hustles. Mania brings just the dozen that were originally included in the Deluxe package, with competitive and co-operative local multiplayer.

This is great news as there is a lot of fun to be had here. Monkey Fight is a simple yet riotous battle to send your opponents over the edge of the stage with power-uppable boxing gloves. Meanwhile, Monkey Target is a Pilotwings-esque glider affair that is absolutely terrific fun. Monkey Golf, Race and Bowling are, as you can imagine, completely logical minigames for a speedy monkey or other anthropomorphic creature encased inside a sphere. And, accepting the genius suggestion of Alan Partridge, you have a spot of Monkey Tennis.

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Monkey mania

All of this is going to come with the booming vocal bombast of Brian Matt-Unh, the announcer from the O.G games. This is just to place a nice cherry on top of an already enticing Monkey sundae.

As I have mentioned, the first brace of Monkey Ball titles for home consoles were some A-grade party fun times for all. They had razor-sharp physics and gameplay that stands the test of time quite unquestionably. If the fundamental mechanics are intact and the controls live up to the splendid yellow stick of the Gamecube, then there is every chance that Banana Mania could be one of the surprise comeback success stories of 2021. I for one cannot wait to find out.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is out on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch on October 5, 2021.

The post The world needs Monkey Ball more than ever, right now appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Sega has released a brand new trailer for Humankind that showcases the scale of the game, ahead of the launch on August 17, 2021.  There are 60 different historical cultures you can combine to create a civilization as unique as you are. That alone could yield over 1,000,000 different final combinations.

You can watch the new video here:

In Humankind you can expect 129 different units to be seen traversing 10 beautifully detailed biomes. Those biomes will play host to 45 different species of animals roaming the wilderness that you’ll end up populating. Achievements and notable moments in history you reach by doing this will be highlighted by one of 700 unique illustrations.

As you grow your civilization and beeline through the 93 techs on offer, you’ll be treated to a 13 ½ hour soundscape, featuring over 1,300 sound files. This ambient noise will be punctuated by Arnaud Roy’s majestic 280 song, 520 minute soundtrack.  The soundtrack is performed by 63 individual musicians and 20 choir singers.

Your custom avatar will evolve with your civilization.  They will be able to choose from over 122 tailored costumes and voice their approval or disapproval from over 10,000 voiced lines in-game. The choices you make in the 150 narrative events will further diversify you and your civilization from your competition, particularly in 10-person multiplayer.

Humankind is available for pre-order on PC and Stadia. The game will now also be available for Microsoft Xbox Game Pass from August 17, 2021.

The post Measuring the scale of Humankind appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.