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Here are some of the main talking points from in this edition of The Week in Gaming.
Monday 7th December
Ubisoft has confirmed Tom Clancy’s The Division beta is to be delayed. Due to activate this month, it will now occur “early 2016”. However a closed, albeit limited, alpha test will happen at some point soon, exclusively on Xbox One.
During Playstation’s Experience keynote last Saturday a sequel to Ni No Kuni, the JRPG PS3 exclusive created in collaboration between Studio Ghibli and Level-5, was confirmed. Bandai Namco has now revealed an extended version of the game’s reveal trailer, first seen at the keynote. This new trailer contains roughly one extra minute of footage and reveals possible, minor plot points.
Entitled Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, the plot follows King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum who sets out to reclaim his kingdom after being usurped from his castle. He is aided by Roland, a visitor from another world.
The art style is very close to that of the previous game and Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi will return to score the game’s soundtrack, despite reports suggesting Studio Ghibli may be less involved in comparison to the first game.
Tuesday 8th December
Following the fantastic gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VI is now available on. The port costs £10.99 and features; updated controls, an optimised active-time battle system, updated graphics, Steam Achievements and Trading card.
According to an apparent tease, System Shock 3 is happening. This steams from a countdown and a cryptic message which can be found here http://www.othersidetease.com/yod246c.php . Should this be correct it will be welcomed news to a small franchise that produced two fantastic games.
Fullbright has confirmed Gone Home is coming to PS4 and Xbox One, 12th January 2016. The first-person, coming of age, sleuth simulation was previously hinted to be heading for consoles via publisher Midnight City, but the port was put on hiatus due to the publisher shutting down. Don’t expect any alterations or additions to the game as Steve Gaynor, Fullbright founder, stated on the studio blog. “Our goal wasn’t to add or change things, but just to bring the game that players know and love onto consoles in the best possible form we could.”
Wednesday 9th December
Capcom has announced Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster is will release worldwide, 19th January on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The Resident Evil Origins Collection, containing Resident Evil HD and Zero HD, is still slated 22nd January in Europe.
Bethesda Game Studios has opened a new studio in Montreal, led by studio director Yves Lachance, senior VP on Wolfenstein: The New Order and Fallout Shelter. This new branch consists of 40+ developers and will focus on both console and mobile game development.
Thursday 10th December
Ubisoft has announced Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s Jack the Ripper DLC will launch on 15th December for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Set 20 years following the events of Syndicate players will once again take on the role of Evie Fryre as she attempts to stop Jack from continuing his murder spree.
Friday 11th December
EA is launching a Competitive Gaming Division (CGD), led by former chief operating officer Peter Moore. The official statement reads, “This group will enable global eSports competitions in our biggest franchises including FIFA, Madden NFL, Battlefield and more,” EA stated in its announcement. Andrew Wilson stated the CGD will be built on “three core pillars”: Competition, Community and Entertainment.
Despite the trailer looking amazingly good many have questioned Square Enix’s decision to turn Final Fantasy VII Remake into an episodic format. Many have assumed it related to money and profit. The company have since listened to feedback and released an official statement in response.
On a blog post Yoshinori Kitsae wrote that a full, official remake would not fit onto one instalment without the need to cut down on content. This has lead to comments calling for the game to be released on multiple discs at once, similar to previous Final Fantasy games. Part of the statement reads; “We’ve seen everyone’s comments and reactions to the news that Final Fantasy 7 remake will be a multi-part series and many have speculated correctly as to the reason why we have made this decision. If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of Final Fantasy 7. We knew none of you would have wanted that.”