Category: Video Games

Story content for the Halo series is on ice at 343 Studios

report from yesterday has revealed new details on the state of the Halo franchise and the turmoil at developer 343 Industries. This news comes after 95 employees lost their jobs, following mass layoffs across Microsoft. The layoffs affected long-time 343 devs, as well as contractors who only had a few days’ notice. Halo Infinite has been trying to find its footing after a rocky first year, but this report doesn’t inspire much hope from fans, at least for the series’ short-term future. The report delves into the studio’s switch to a different engine, an upcoming battle royale game, and most importantly, the lack of any single-player content in development.

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Channel Your Inner ‘Thing’ With Super Adventure Hand, Launching This Year

It’s a thumbs up from us.

Developer DevM Games has announced that the wacky 3D platformer Super Adventure Hand will be making its way to the Switch later this year, sometime in Q3 2023.

In Super Adventure Hand, you play as a, um… hand, and you need to find the rest of your body and reattach yourself, because that just makes sense, right? What follows is perhaps one of the most insane platformers you’ll have likely seen in quite some time; one in which you’ll need to avoid deadly obstacles like chains and sawblades all while customising your hand with fabulous nailpaint. What more could you want?

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Xbox 360 Marketplace Purge Sees Dark Souls, The Witcher 2, and More Removed Next Week

Microsoft has announced that 46 games will be removed from the Xbox 360 Marketplace on February 7, including Dark Souls, The Witcher 2, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and more.

As reported by Game Informer, Xbox shared the list of disappearing games on its official support website, though it varies slightly between regions.

Disc versions of these games will remain playable, and previously downloaded copies can also still be played. Gematsu also confirmed that the versions of these games available to download on Xbox One or Xbox Series consoles will also remain on those respective stores.

The Xbox 360 games being removed varies from region to region, but the list affecting customers in the United States is as follows:

  • Aegis Wing
  • Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
  • Assassin’s Creed III
  • Assassin’s Creed IV
  • Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD
  • Blood of the Werewolf
  • Blue Dragon
  • Breakdown
  • Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts
  • Castle Crashers
  • Cloning Clyde
  • Counter-Strike: GO
  • Dark Souls
  • Darksiders II
  • Daytona USA
  • Defense Grid
  • Eets: Chowdown
  • Far Cry 2
  • Final Fight: DblImpact
  • Iron Brigade
  • Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad
  • Jet Set Radio
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Left 4 Dead 2
  • Limbo
  • Lost Odyssey
  • Mass Effect 2
  • Monopoly Deal
  • Mutant Blobs Attack
  • N+
  • Outpost Kaloki X
  • Peggle 2
  • Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
  • Prince of Persia
  • R.U.S.E.
  • Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
  • Skate 2
  • South Park: The Stick of Truth
  • Spelunky
  • Splinter Cell Conviction
  • Star Wars Battlefront
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
  • The Orange Box
  • The Raven Episode 1
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Microsoft has made dozens of Xbox 360 games available on its later consoles, though confirmed that no more titles will be made backwards compatible going forward. Those still holding onto an Xbox 360, however, should use the next few days to make sure they’ve purchased any games from this list, as it will be the last chance to do so digitally.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

A new expansion sees Jett become the soaring sci-fi open world it was meant to be

Jett: The Far Shore was, like the jagged colossi that roamed its lavender skies, an odd beast. When it emerged on the Epic Game Store in the autumn of 2021, you could see the conflict roiling in its belly – between the linear science fiction short story on the surface, and the freeroaming “Metroid snowboarding game” fighting to get out from underneath it.

“Once the story finished, I hoped an endgame would open up and allow me to play freely in its world,” I wrote in our Jett review. “That I’d have more opportunities to watch great Ghoke, the red sun, rise in real time, and to ponder the Far Shore’s fascinating mysteries at length. Instead, I could only replay previous chapters. If only Jett had embraced a rhythm as organic as its inspired ecosystem.”

When the Jett team read that review, they didn’t disagree. “You put your finger on it more accurately than anybody else, which was, ‘It really feels like this is building up to some sort of systemic-focused, open world endgame,’” says Superbrothers founder Craig Adams. “And internally we were like, ‘Yeah, it is.’” What they knew, and I didn’t, was that The Far Shore was just the first part of a two-campaign story. That journey has now been completed with the launch of Given Time, a bonus 12-hour adventure that coincides with Jett’s long-awaited Steam release.

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Greek Mythology-Inspired Vertical Shooter ‘Phelios’ Is This Week’s Arcade Archives Game

By the beard of Zeus!

Greek mythology might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of a vertical-scrolling shooter, but that didn’t stop Namco from releasing Phelios in 1988, and it hasn’t stopped Hamster from adding said title to its arcade collection this week (from 2nd February).

There’s probably many out there who haven’t stumbled across Phelios before (it spent a fair amount of time as a Japanese exclusive), so we’ll give you the rundown. In this vertically-scrolling shooter, you play as Apollo (god of, like, everything), riding on his Pegasus to rescue the goddess Artemis. As the genre suggests, nay requires, there are a whole bunch of mythological beasties for you to take out along the way and a boss battle caping-off each level.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Playing Monster Train dev’s new co-op roguelike with pals is going to be harder than I thought

Inkbound once before, and not only is it markedly different to their previous game Monster Train, but it also featured the snappiest turn-based combat I’d seen. With that in mind, I dove into the game’s recent technical test with fellow RPS Treehouse-dwellers Ollie and James to sample the game at a more leisurely pace, and to draw upon their greater strategic expertise. Did the combat hold up? Were they pleased to be dragged into a co-op session with me? Yes… and no. We had fun, but it didn’t come quite as naturally without the guiding hand of the developers showing us the ropes.

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Warzone 2 unveils next map Ashika Island, coming with Season 2

Call Of Duty: Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 drop into their second season on February 15th, and we now have our first look at Warzone 2’s newest map and modes. In a series of Twitter posts, Activision announced a new, free-to-play “small map” called Ashika Island. Warzone’s new map will feature a brand new mode DMZ, alongside the returning mode Resurgence – a slimmer BR that cuts the lobby size down from 150 to 50 players, and enables respawns. Ashika Island and the new modes will launch alongside Season 02 on February 15th.

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Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023

Update: ESA responds.

Update : The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has now provided a statement in response to IGN’s story – saying it remains committed to E3. Here it is in full:

As you have likely seen, IGN published an article last night about E3. While we are not able to comment on the specific claims in the article, we wanted to share our commitment to moving forward with E3.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Super Nintendo World’s Mario Kart Ride Has A “Waistline” Limit (US)

Putting safety first.

If you love Mario Kart as much as we do here at Nintendo Life, one of the first things you’re probably going want to do when you make a trip to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is try out the themed ride.

Well, a word of warning – you’re going to need to pass the theme park’s waistline requirements. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge may turn away anyone who has a waistline of 40 inches or more.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Critics’ Choice promotion comes to PlayStation Store 

Critically acclaimed games take the stage for PlayStation Store’s newest promotion. From Wednesday February 1 for a limited time* you can enjoy deep discounts on the likes of NBA 2K23, Need for Speed Unbound and Dying Light 2 Stay Human. 

*Critics’ Choice promotion runs on PlayStation Store from 00.00am local time on Wednesday February 1 to 11.59pm local time on Wednesday February 15. Check PlayStation Store for regional discounts.