Age of Empires 4

Talk about unexpected. In the midst of Microsoft’s disappointing Gamescom presentation, it did have one big new exclusive in the form of Age of Empires 4. Developed by Relic Entertainment (Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War, Company of Heroes), there’s next to no details available. However, it will have historical battles and based on Relic’s incredible portfolio, we’d say it’s a pretty good choice for the next big Age of Empires. Age of Empires 4 is currently in development for PC.

Square Enix has had a few surprises over the past few days but this is probably one of its biggest. Secret of Mana, the classic SNES action RPG, will be receiving a full 3D remake which releases on February 15th 2018 for PS4, PlayStation Vita and PC via Steam. Check out the first Japanese reveal trailer below.

As a sequel to Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana created an impact in the early 90s for using real-time combat as opposed to turn-based mechanics that made series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest so popular. Co-op multiplayer that allowed for other players to drop in and drop out was also innovative for its time.

Secret of Mana received a re-release on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2008 with a port for iOS and Android following later. It would also be ported to the Nintendo Switch as part of the Secret of Mana Collection which included Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 on June 1st 2017.

Nintendo has been out in full force at Gamescom 2017, revealing more information on Metroid: Samus Returns for the 3DS and Super Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch. In fact, a new showcase video from Nintendo UK sees producer Yoshiaki Koizumi playing through the Luncheon Kingdom, one of the colourful new worlds that players will explore. Check it out below (skip to  9:10 for the actual gameplay).

The Luncheon Kingdom is strange indeed as gigantic food items adorn the landscape, living forks wander around as NPCs and Mario dons a chef costume for exploration. It looks pretty nice though and reminds us of the open exploration that made Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64 so much fun.

Super Mario Odyssey is out on October 27th for the Nintendo Switch. Along with Luncheon Kingdom, players will explore New Donk City, a desert area, the usual haunted mansions and much more while “capturing” and becoming different beings with Mario’s magical hat.

Capcom’s Monster Hunter World will have free downloadable content according to producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. Speaking to Polygon at Gamescom, he noted that, We will continue to release free quests as we always have.”

However, he also revealed that players looking to play with friends would have to sign up for console-specific online services. Tsujimoto also said that while quests would be free, Capcom is looking to change the format a bit since consoles will be always online. Unlike on, say, handhelds there’s a bit more freedom for types of content on console.

“On portable, you are not always online, so you have to have a system in place where people will download the quests or data when they are at home then play when they are out. Now with the console, we can rely on you being online whenever you’re on.” So that means certain time-limited quests could be available for those who are online, thus providing a new kind of activity.

That being said, you can still look forward to the standard Monster Hunter gameplay and plenty of it at that. Kaname Fujioka, who’s executive producer on the game, said that, “We have made sure we are putting the volume of gameplay people expect from a Monster Hunter. I think we have our priorities right. We don’t want to let any users down who are used to Monster Hunter being a great, meaty experience.”

Monster Hunter World is a new title in the franchise and perhaps its biggest yet, set to release in 2018 for the Xbox One and PS4 first before heading to PC later. Along with improved, high resolution visuals, fans can look forward to larger worlds, more detailed monsters and combat that’s more fluid.

Even with Microsoft’s Gamescom conference featuring nothing new on Crackdown 3, Super Lucky’s Tale and State of Decay 2, the company still made bank with pre-orders for the Xbox One X: Project Scorpio Edition. According to Xbox marketing manager Aaron Greenberg, the special edition has sold out in just a few hours. He also noted that Microsoft expected this stock to last the week.

Speaking to Rocket Beans TV at Gamescom, Greenberg said that Amazon stock was gone in just 25 minutes, which probably refers to Amazon Germany. That’s because he then says, “We knew [the core fans] would be digitally pre-ordering [Xbox One X] and we wanted to make a special edition just for them. In particular, in Germany the fans ordered at an accelerated rate, maybe the fastest in the world, so it was great to see the support from our fans here.”

Sales numbers weren’t shared but the Xbox One X: Project Scorpio Edition was in the top-sellers for Amazon US when it become available. The limited edition Project Scorpio version differs in that it features a mesh design on top with special green lettering, a vertical stand and green lettering on the controller. It costs the same as the base version at $499.

The Xbox One X is out on November 7th worldwide but with the Project Scorpio Edition selling out so fast, will Microsoft consider making more? That remains to be seen but stay tuned for more information.

Continuing with its Reveal Ceremony at Gamescom 2017, Blizzard’s development team for World of Warcraft unveiled patch 7.3 which is called Shadows of Argus. After battling the Legion and seeing several heroes fall, the heroes of WoW will now be taking the fight to the Legion itself on their home planet Argus.

As a major content update for World of Warcraft: Legion, players will venture to Argus and look to unseat the villainous Legion once and for all. They won’t be doing so alone as the Army of the Light will fight alongside players against the Legion. New demons will be encountered, more powerful than anything seen before, and there will be brand new areas to explore.

The newest raid for Shadows of Argus will go live later this year and players will keep busy with new story content and world quests in the meantime. Other features include a revamped Artifact system for more customization; Invasion Points where players will travel through portals to battle the Legion in different places throughout the galaxy; new in-game cinematics to better tell the story (the first of which can be viewed below); and much more.

World of Warcraft: Legion’s Shadows of Argus will release on August 29th worldwide.

During the Blizzard Reveal Ceremony, the developers of Hearthstone took the stage at Gamescom to reveal a new cinematic short for the collectible card battler. We got to see a new character named Ava as she stumbles upon the Hearthstone tavern from the cold and engages in some card games.

It’s all very Disney-esque which isn’t a bad thing. Check out the short for yourself below. Blizzard further confirmed that a series of shorts and comics would be released in the future which would explore Ava’s story in the tavern even further.

Hearthstone players in attendance at Gamescom will be able to try out the new Fireside Gathering features and play the latest Brawl – a group raid facing off against the Lich King himself. Players will need to work together and adopt different strategies as the raid progresses to succeed. The Hearthstone Global Games Finals will also play out at Gamescom on August 25th and 26th.

Life is Strange: Before The Storm received a new trailer at Gamescom 2017, hyping up the relationship between Chloe Price and Rachel Amber in this prequel-esque story. It’s also meant to promote the game’s first episode (of three) which launches on August 31st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

This first episode – and the overall story – will be interesting because it will offer a look from Chloe’s perspective after her father passed away and Max Caulfield left Arcadia Bay. At some point, she meets Rachel and if the first game hammered home the point that Rachel isn’t a nice girl, then that’s showcased even more here. Rachel’s desire to leave the town seems to conflict with Chloe wanting her to stay though.

Though Life is Strange: Before The Storm isn’t the sequel we were looking forward to, Dontnod Entertainment has re-affirmed that it’s working on Life is Strange 2. We’ll see if that continues Max’s story going forward or takes an entirely different direction.

Square Enix surprised us yesterday when it announced that Final Fantasy 15 would be releasing for PC. To showcase how good the game could look in 4K, the publisher released some new 4K screenshots for fans.

Final Fantasy 15: Windows Edition will support native 4K and HDR10 (though compatible displays are required for both). However, it’s also possible to push the resolution up to 8K if you so desire. The PC version will also include all the free updates released till now along with the paid DLC packs.

That should also include the upcoming multiplayer DLC “Comrades” that allows players to create their own characters and play quests cooperatively with friends. Comrades recently saw some beta tests and is being further refined for release this year. Square Enix said that it could allow players to choose Noctis and his crew instead of custom avatars for multiplayer down the line.

Final Fantasy 15: Windows Edition arrives for PC through Steam in early 2018. Stay tuned in the coming months for more release information.

In the midst of so much news from Gamescom 2017, Nintendo has announced that Splatoon 2 will be receiving three major updates. The first two are coming very soon – Manta Maria will be a part of the lineup for Turf War and Ranked Battle stages during the weekend.

A new map called Lost Outpost will also join the Salmon Run stages later today following a software update. A new special weapon is also coming on September 1st with the Bubble Blower as it will be part of a set with the Forge Splattershot Pro. You can expect more such updates from Nintendo since all post-launch content for Splatoon 2 will be free.

Splatoon 2 has been receiving several updates since its launch in July and though the game has been criticized for the way it handles playlists, the general gameplay and visual style has been praised. You can check out our review of the Nintendo Switch exclusive here to learn more.