Okami “HD” is, probably, coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One

Okami might well be coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One later this year… How do we know this? The Korean Ratings Board, of course.

It’s ever-useful for leaking information on the latest games we’re not meant to know about. Ahem.

The beloved Okami first launched on PS2 in 2006, before making its way to the Wii in 2008, and finally to the PS3 in 2012. So it’s looking around the right time for another go.

We’ve already had the game in HD once with the aforementioned PS3 experience, so what this version offers differently is up for discussion. Maybe we’re actually looking at a 4K rendition? Or is this simply a re-release for the latest consoles and PC gamers who missed out?

I have a feeling we’ll find out soon enough.

Video Games in the Mainstream

I always maintain that knowledge is power, but maybe gaming is less of a niche than it originally was. The industry is now far more mainstream than at any other point in history. Long gone are the days of bedroom teenage programmers, violence seeking Mortal Kombat enthusiasts and the 14-hour a day World of Warcraft players. Now the market is so much more diverse.

Don’t get me wrong, these fractions of the gaming demographic still exist, but now there are so many more people (and more importantly, different classes of people) playing video games. Today, it is not uncommon for the very young and the very old to get involved. Now, it doesn’t seem so strange for your Mother to sit down for a session on Brain Training or 1-2-Switch.

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For decades these markets existed relatively untapped, but currently, gaming has become accessible for anyone and everyone.

This has got me thinking about where the medium stands in society. Lest we forget the controversial Alan Titchmarsh show debate that enraged many for varying reasons. One side buying into Julie Peasgood’s evocative anti-gaming rally, the other feeling angered by a certain lack of awareness and understanding of video games.

Halo

Yet now we have a BAFTA awards ceremony for video games, a pastime, that has brought joy to millions. The industry makes more money than music and films combined. The Halo franchise brings in more revenue than Harry Potter. It is a hugely profitable, and now widely accepted digital nirvana.

So I don’t think parents are particularly dumbfounded so to speak, but it can be easy for those who don’t play to have certain misconceptions about the industry, especially when misinformation is circulated.

I like to look at video games in the same way I view films. I genuinely believe there is something for everyone. Yes, you can criticise violent or adult themed games, in the same way, you could criticise violent movies. And I am 100% behind not letting 18 rated titles fall into the hands of children, in the same way as I am with an age restricted DVD. But it’s a partnership here.

GTA 5

When it happens and it will (kids are notoriously good at disobeying the rules), it is simply no good to point the finger. We all need to take a share of the responsibility and be as aware of gaming as we are with music, TV and film.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition is real – out December 12th

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition was first rumoured, and now it’s real. As things tend to go.

The newly announced edition will include all of the content from the original game along with three pieces of DLC.

The previously released DLC packs – “Banned Footage Vol. 1” and “Banned Footage Vol. 2” will be included as well as the upcoming third DLC release “End of Zoe”.

The End of Zoe is a ‘shocking instalment’ where players discover Zoe’s fate. Although it sounds just a little bit clear what happens to her… Owners of the original game will also be able to purchase the content as a separate download for £11.99 /€14.99 / $14.99.

Good news: the “Not a Hero” DLC will be available to download for free for any version of Resident Evil 7, so nobody gets left out. Oh, and Chris Redfield returns.

All of this content can be ‘enjoyed’ on PS VR. Sleep well.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition hits the PS4, Xbox One and PC on December 12th.

Seven: The Days Long Gone new gameplay shown off

Ok so imagine you are Teriel, a Master of Thieves, with quite a lot of useful skills, including invisibility, flash and chromosphere. Who could forget that last one?

And to be fair, you’re also quite good at setting traps, sneaking around and using various weapons.

These weapons include spears, swords, daggers and axes. They differ in individual range, hit speeds and special attack options.

Which brings us nicely to the new gameplay video of Seven: The Days Long Gone, which shows us all of this fancy stuff in action.

If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also be able to get a taste of the music in the game, created by Marcin Przybyłowicz, the composer of Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Interested now? I know I am…

You can watch the new gameplay here:

Seven: The Days Long Gone is coming to PC, we hope, this year. Stay tuned to D-pad Joy for more information shortly.

Nindies Summer Showcase 2017 – Nintendo Switch indie games galore, plus No More Heroes 3

In case you missed Nintendo’s Nindies Summer Showcase 2017 today (that’s a mouthful), you can catch the full stream here.

Lots of new indie games were shown off for the Switch (20 games in fact!), including:

  • Super Meat Boy Forever – 2018 (coming first to the platform)
  • Shovel Knight: King of Cards – Early 2018
  • Mom Hid My Game! – Late 2017
  • Golf Story – September 2017, (exclusive)
  • Floor Kids – Holiday 2017
  • Wulver Blade – September 2017 (coming first to the platform)
  • Poly Bridge – Holiday 2017 (exclusive)
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition – Early 2018 (exclusive)
  • Earth Atlantis – Fall 2017 (coming first to the platform)
  • Next Up Hero – Early 2018
  • SteamWorld Dig 2 – September 21st
  • Mulaka – Early 2018
  • Yono and the Celestial Elephants – October 12th (exclusive)
  • Dragon Marked for Death – Winter 2017 (exclusive)
  • Battle Chef Brigade – Holiday 2017 (coming first to the platform)
  • Morphies Law – Winter 2017 (exclusive)
  • Sausage Sports Club – Fall 2017
  • Light Fingers – Early 2018 (coming first to the platform)
  • Nine Parchments – Holiday 2017
  • No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again – 2018 (exclusive)

Not a bad line-up. It’s clear that Nintendo is taking quality indie games seriously with the Switch. You can see them all below.

SteamWorld Dig 2 can’t come soon enough. As for a third No More Heroes game? Count us in.

Game Tune of the Month: Chrono Trigger

Our ‘Tune of the Month’ for August is from Chrono Trigger. It’s considered to be not only one of the finest RPGs ever made, but also one of the best games ever conceived in time itself, or something like that.

It’s next to Secret of Mana on the top list anyway. By the way, can we please have a 3D remake for Chrono Trigger next? Thanks.

So how do you pick a song from a game with that kind of reputation? With difficulty, that’s for sure. In the end, we settled for the epic Magus Battle Theme music.

What’s it from? Chrono Trigger

Year: 1995

Platform: SNES

Composed by: Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu

Gaming context: As players fought the sinister, evil genius Magus, this song played. It’s filled with menace and power. And don’t forget the ominous laughing, (or is that crying?) in the background.

What was your favourite song from the game?

Deep Sky Derelicts coming to PC in October

Deep Sky Derelicts, both a turn-based strategy and RPG, with tactical card combat and rogue-like elements, will be released in “Early Access” on Steam this October. Drools.

The release date for the full game is scheduled for early 2018. Good news though, a playable hands-on demo of Deep Sky Derelicts will be available at the upcoming Gamescom expo.

Dmytro Zhovtobryukh, CEO and Co-founder of Snowhound Games had this to say:

“We have come up with a very distinctive and quite precise idea of how the game should look like and how it should play, taking the basic inspiration from such games as Darkest Dungeon and FTL: Faster Than Light.

Yet we are very much looking forward to pushing the game further with the aid of the community during the Early Access period and implementing the players’ best suggestions for the perfect Deep Sky Derelicts experience.”

The game is set in a grim dystopian future of course, where mankind has scattered across the galaxy and human society has split into two distinct classes.

The poor outcasts are forced to live off scraps from derelict alien stations and ships in outer space, but the dream of becoming a privileged citizen and living on the surface of a habitable planet, enjoying the non-synthetic air, water and food, is very real…

Is it just me, or does this look and sound really good?

PlayStation Experience 2017 finally dated

PlayStation Experience 2017, also known as PSX to the cool kids, will be held on Friday the 8th December to Sunday 10th.

Sony’s key event will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. No change here then.

The two days at the event will cost you $75, or alternatively, you can get an early bird ticket for $65. Just make sure to get in there quickly.

Last year Sony and Naughty Dog revealed a small game called The Last of Us Part II… So yeah, the event can be taken seriously. We expect we’ll hear more about that title this year too, certainly as it wasn’t at E3. Stay tuned.

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Cities: Skylines PS4 edition out now – build the city of your dreams

Cities: Skylines, the city-building game from developers Colossal Order, has launched today for the PS4.

So what’s different about this edition then? Well, it includes the popular “After Dark” expansion, which adds a series of new features focused on improving the nightlife and tourism in players’ in-game cities.

The aim of Cities: Skylines is to build the city of your dreams. This includes planning road networks, bus lines and parks. You can also bring education, health care and safety to your citizens. The jolly trailer below shows the game running on the PS4:

You can pick it up as a digital download on the PS Store or via physical retail for $39.99. Does it pique your interest?

Top 5 Best Food-Based Game Levels… Ever!

Over here at D-pad Joy, we love two things. Firstly and foremost, we love gaming. Secondly, we adore food. And what’s better than enjoying these two things separately? Enjoying them together.

And when food and gaming mix, it is a glorious thing. So in light of this, here are our absolute 5 best food-based game levels… ever!

5) Toasty Buns – Parappa The Rapper 2 (PS2)

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The original Parappa The Rapper game had some of the most inventive and creative music ever seen in a video game. It was catchy, well-produced and fit the game perfectly. So there was a lot of pressure for the sequel to live up to its predecessor.

Needless to say, all fears were alleviated as soon as this level started up. The graphics were massively improved, the sound quality was fantastic and the game was much, much more polished than anyone had expected.

Also, did anybody else finish this level with a mad craving for burgers? McDonald’s, here we come.

4) 1.1 – Zool (Amiga)

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To be honest, I could pick any level from the Zool franchise. It seemed wherever you turned, whatever level you were on, Zool was choc-a-block full of candy canes, jelly bean and of course, the infamous Chupa Chup lollipops!

Playing this game with a big bag of M&M’s beside you has never felt so satisfying and oddly enough, I always find myself returning to the Zool franchise every Easter…

3) Sweet Sweet Galaxy – Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

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What’s not to love about this level? As soon as you fly in you’re met with a luxurious view of creamy chocolaty ledges, sweet sponge cubes and a delicious cake at the end of the level. I’ve got a feeling this level was deliberately designed to make the user salivate.

The level itself, although one of the smaller levels within the game, is deceptively tricky. It’s very easy to make a wrong move here, but then who cares? One more play through means one more time gazing longingly at the creamy goodness…. *drools*

2) Chocolate Factory – Castle of Illusion (Master System)

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The third level from the Master System version of Castle of Illusion is surprisingly quite varied in its level design. You start off with a moving screen, trying desperately not to be caught out. There are narrow parts, wide open parts, swimming parts and good old fashioned platforming. You travel left, you travel right all whilst surrounded by chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

I have a lot of time for this level. It is as fun to look at as it is to play. The only thing that keeps it off the top spot is the rather easy final boss battle, unfortunately.

1) Jelly Jitters – Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament (Mega Drive)

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Micro Machines 2 is the undisputed don of frantic, race spoiling fun! With the ability for 8 players to play simultaneously, all jousting for position, deliberately knocking one another off and racing for glory, how could you not have fun whilst playing this masterpiece?

Now there were a lot of great tracks in MM2 but some of the trickier ones took place on a breakfast table. Jelly Jitters always seemed to be a track that was oddly difficult. You had to race big digger trucks which took ages to reach top speed. The challenge lay in avoiding hitting anything as if you did, you would lose a lot of time. Stupidly good fun though.

What would you pick, reader?

Game Quote of the Month: Alan Wake

It’s that time folks. Yes, that’s right, our Game Quote of the Month. And it goes something like this for August:

“Stephen King once wrote that nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations. They’re antithetical to the poetry of fear. In a horror story, the victim keeps asking “Why” but there can be no explanation and there shouldn’t be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest and it’s what we will remember in the end. My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer.”

What’s it from? Alan Wake

Year: 2010

Platform: Xbox 360, PC

Gaming context: It’s the first thing you hear upon starting the campaign in Alan Wake.

The game is by far one of my favourite games, not only because it takes place in my home state of Washington but because of its fantastic story that keeps drawing you in until its sudden twist ending…

Although a direct sequel never came to be, Alan Wake: American Horror Story kept fans (mostly) happy. Still, can we have that sequel guys? Please.

You can hear the quote below:

Ys Seven is coming to PC on August 30th

It’s been confirmed that action RPG, Ys Seven, will launch on PC through the Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store on August 30th. Ys fans unite!

Takeaways:

  • Ys Seven was the first fully 3D entry in the long-running Ys series. The game was originally released on the PSP in 2010.
  • The new PC version of the title will feature enhanced HD visuals at 60fps and handy controller support.
  • There’s also a launch week discount of 10% – the regular price is $24.99/€24.99 or £19.99 in the UK.

Ys Seven is developed by Nihon Falcom who started the series way back in 1987. This particular entry features a combat system that involves a three-member battle party, with the ability to swap between characters at will.

It’s your duty to reunite the estranged five tribes who serve and protect the Five Great Dragons – deified beings who may well be the world’s last hope.

Just listen to the music in this trailer… it’s definitely Ys: