Author: Trevor Cripe

News writer for Nitchigamer. Die hard fan of Seattle sports (bring back our Sonics!) Currently playing Splatoon 2.

E3 2017: Terry Crews joins Crackdown 3, coming November 7th

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Crackdown 3 has been rumoured to be in development hell for the past few years – well it looks like that was just a rumour after all! At Microsoft’s E3 press conference, Sumo Digital released a new trailer for Crackdown 3 featuring the one and only Terry Crews.

The new trailer not only showed us new gameplay and features that weren’t shown before, but also revealed that Crackdown 3 releases on the same day as the Xbox One X – November 7th.

crackdown-3-logo-horizontal

Even though the release date surprised us, the footage they showed looked somewhat concerning; it seemed to be missing all of the cloud computing destruction that the developers promised at the games first reveal a couple of years back…

Well, its time to put those concerns to rest, Crackdown 3 will still have all of the high scale destruction as promised in the multiplayer modes. The single player on the other hand will be a different experience all together. This all comes from design director Clint Bundrick who said: 

Our competitive multiplayer experience has the cloud computing that gives you the 100% destructibility. Destruction is still very much a part of Crackdown 3 and we will be revealing more at a later date.

A few other big notes about Crackdown 3:

  • It will run at 4K 30fps for the Xbox One X
  • The single player and multiplayer modes will have different levels of destruction
  • They are promising the return of the crazy narrator and the addicting orb collecting

What do you guys think about Crackdown 3? Are you guys surprised it’s actually coming out? Will you be picking it up on November 7th? Why or why not?

Let us know in the comments below!

E3 2017: Dragon Ball Fighter Z looks amazing

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Could this be it? Could this be the Dragon Ball game that us long-time fans have been waiting for since Budoki 3, all the way back on the PS2? I’m trying to keep my hype level down but Dragonball Fighter Z looks like everything a DBZ fan could want and more. The return to the glory days of 2D combat, cel shaded graphics that look exactly like the anime, and not to mention team fights!

I was expecting a new DBZ game to be announced but was honestly just expecting Xenoverse 3 because of how well the first two sold. So, I can’t begin to explain how glad I am that Bandai Namco isn’t playing it safe and is switching things up. Especially with them unveiling the game at Microsoft’s E3 conference, who saw that coming?

Another promising detail about Dragon Ball Fighter Z is that it’s being developed by Arc System Works, the developers behind some of the most underrated and underappreciated fighting games out there, with Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Also, the game seems to be under a year away with a launch window of “early 2018.”

What do you guys think of Dragon Ball Fighter Z? Are you guys as excited as I am? Let me know in the comments below!

Halo 6 not at Microsoft’s E3 conference

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Well, it turns out that 343i community manager Brian Jarrard was not lying. The upcoming FPS Halo 6 was nowhere to be found at today’s Microsoft E3 press conference.

This comes as a shock to a lot of people in the industry because Halo is a sure-fire bet for Microsoft to generate hype. But, with no sign of it this year, I think it’s safe to assume that we shouldn’t expect Halo 6 until 2019 at the earliest.

What’s even more surprising is that Microsoft announced that almost all of their big first party exclusives will be receiving a 4K patch for the upcoming Xbox One X. Guess what game was excluded? Halo 5: Guardians. Yes, it’s very odd indeed, especially with Microsoft having so few new AAA exclusives. Just like almost everyone else, I assumed Halo 6 was being fast-tracked, this isn’t the case…

What do you guys think of the lack of Halo at the Microsoft E3 conference? Are you guys surprised or not? Let us know in the comments below!

Kyrie Irving is the cover star for NBA 2K18

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

NBA champion, and all-star Point Guard for the Cleveland Cavilers Kyrie Irving has been announced as the cover star for the standard edition of NBA 2K18. This announcement comes right as the NBA finals are about to begin where Kyrie’s Cavs go against Steph Curry and the Warriors, in a rematch of the finals from last year. The real question is will the Warriors blow a 3-1 lead….. again?

All jokes aside, this is the second cover announcement from 2K Sports regarding the upcoming NBA 2K18. Just last month 2K announced that none other than NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal will be gracing the “Legend Edition” of 2K18. So, Kyrie will be on the standard $60 version of 2K18, while Shaq will be on the pricier versions of the game.

This is a similar but also different direction for 2K this year regarding the covers. For 2K17, they had three different cover athletes for the standard edition. Who were Steph Curry, Anothony Davis and James Harden. Additionally, they also had a “Legend Edition” with Kobe Bryant gracing that cover. For 2K18, they seem to be keeping it more simple with a single cover for each version of the game. And, these new covers can be seen below.

shaq  kyrie

Which cover do you like better and why? Also, do cover athletes make you lean in one way or another about which version of the game you’re going to purchase? Let us know in the comments below!

(Updated, NFS Payback announced): New Need for Speed to be revealed on June 2nd

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Update: First trailer here for Need for Speed Payback coming November 10th:

The upcoming racer from Ghost Games tentatively titled “Need for Speed 2017” is set to be fully revealed tomorrow. Coming straight from the Need for Speed Facebook, the reveal is set to happen at 6am PST. Not much is known about this upcoming installment, other than you will be able to play the game offline, unlike the 2015 version. Additionally, as expected, car customization is expected to be back and be better than ever. Ghost Games had this to say about car customization in the upcoming racer “It’s not going away and it will play as strong a role as ever as we move forward into the next game and beyond.”

Along with the announcement, EA also reveled a teaser image. This image shows a Nissan R34 GT-R burning out with a cities skyline in the background. This city hiding behind the smoke is assumed to be the location for the new game. The question is, what city is it? There are some rumblings online that the building on the right hand side of the reveal photo is either the Space Needle from Seattle, the CN Tower from Toronto or the Stratosphere Tower from Las Vegas. Well, by being a Seattle Native, I can pretty safely assume that the tower depicted in this picture is not the Space Needle. The needle is too long and the shaft of the building does not look anything like the three-legged structure of the Space Needle.

Need for speed

So, where does this game take place? Toronto, Seattle, Vegas or a fictional city? My best guess is it takes place in a fictional city that they created exclusively for this game, because in my humble opinion, the tower depicted in the reveal photo does not look like any of the iconic buildings mentioned above. Also, all of the previous “Need for Speed” titles from Ghost Games have taken place in fictional cities. I could be wrong, but who knows at this point. The only way to find out is to catch the full reveal tomorrow, which will more than likely have some new information, a trailer and maybe even some gameplay.

Does the news about the upcoming Need for Speed excite you guys? What do you think of the potential setting? And, will you be tuning into the full reveal? Let us know in the comments below!

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers officially launches

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Nintendo, Posts

Earlier this year at Nintendo’s reveal event for the Switch, the company surprised the gaming community by announcing a Switch exclusive remake for one of the most classic fighting games of all time… Yes, that’s right, Capcom has remade Street Fighter II…. again.

This time it’s labeled as “Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers.” Now, you might be asking yourself, how is this any different to “Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix” that launched in 2008 digitally for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360? Well, this is not just a port of HD remix, this is an entirely new remake with brand new content.

The Final Challengers has everything HD remix has plus new balance changes, updated graphics, two new characters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken…) a new first person motion controlled game mode called “Way of the Hado,” and a in-game high quality art book. But, with this added content comes a price…. literally. The Final Challengers launched today for the Nintendo Switch at a price point of $40, while in 2008, HD Remix launched for $15-$20 depending on the console.

Do you think “Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers” is worth the increase in price? Why, or why not? And if so, will you be picking it up today? Let us know in the comments section below!

Tom Holland cast as Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

In a somewhat shocking turn of events, the Uncharted movie has cast Tom Holland (from recent Spider-Man fame) to play a young Nathan Drake. According to Deadline, Sony pictures is so high on Tom Holland as an actor, that they’re going to do a page one rewrite of the script, so the main character Nathan Drake can be around the same age as the actor who will be portraying him.

This comes as a surprise because Sony was originally looking for more middle-aged actors to play Nathan when the film was first announced. At one point Mark Wahlberg was attached to star, but the project took too long to get off the ground, so he ended leaving the film. Also, its well-known that after “Guardians of the Galaxy” came out, Sony pictures went after Chris Pratt to star as Nathan Drake, but he decided to pass on the role.

Additionally, it still looks like “Stranger Things” producer Shawn Levy is still on board to direct the picture, but writer Joe Carnahan’s script is all but gone at this point. The idea for this Tom Holland led Uncharted is going to be a prequel to the games, and take place where a young Nathan Drake meets a younger Sully and they go off on their first adventure together.

In “Uncharted 3” there is a sequence in the main campaign, that plays out as a flashback where a angsty teenage Nathan meets a middle-aged Sully for the first time. I think its safe to say that this sequence in “Uncharted 3” will be the film’s main influence. If you’re curious, that game play section of “Uncharted 3” can be seen down below.

What do you guys think of Tom Holland being cast as a young Nathan Drake? Let us know in the comments down below!

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 releases massive patch

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Last month CI games released the bug riddled and unstable “Sniper Ghost Warrior 3.” Almost immediately after launch, glitches and problems with the game were flooding all over the internet. This coupled with the mediocre reviews, and the baffling decision to not release the multiplayer modes at launch seem to have hurt the sales significantly.

Shortly after launch, the CEO of CI games Marek Tyminski released a damage control statement, stating that they are already working on fixes for the state of the game, and that they will not release any more content until the base game is working properly.

Well, earlier this week CI Games kept to their promise and released the first giant patch for “Sniper Ghost Warrior 3.” The patch released on Xbox One, PS4 and Steam at around 6GB. Here are the many patch notes below:

Features

  • Added POI completion reward for Mining Town and Village

Code

  • Reduced loading times
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the save files to become corrupted
  • Fixed crash during Party Crasher mission

Animations

  • Fixed animation bugs with Sawn-off Shotgun

Graphics

  • Fixed Shadows cast by local lights
  • Fixed invisible objects on lamps
  • Fixed green channel flip in ddna textures on terrain
  • Fixed incorrect collision on several building and objects
  • Several objects LOD’s and settings tweaks
  • Several extreme navigation improvements
  • Added new proxy for glass

Gameplay

  • Fixed the issue that could cause the player to fall through level geometry during the mission (Quarry Coup, Winery, Lydia DLC)
  • Fixed that player can get stuck between level geometry (on Village map, in Dam map Safehouse)
  • Fixed redundant extreme navigation on several places on Village and Dam maps

Balancing

  • Fixed Herstal Voelpe Collimator unlock
  • Fixed KT-R extended magazine unlock
  • Fixed ES25 Silencer unlock
  • Fixed ES25 Bipod unlock
  • Increased ammunition for Sawn-off Shotgun
  • Moved Sawn-off Shotgun from sidearm to secondary weapon category

UI

  • Fixed inconsistent button icon for “docking laptop” action
  • Fixed wrong legend icon for POI’s in map menu
  • Minimap readability fixes

Mining Town

  • Fixed exploit of respawning AI at POI by changing AI spawn rule
  • Fixed issue that made player unable to tag 23S soldiers by using CCTV
  • Improved skydome in the afternoon
  • Fixed lighting in tunnels in Hotel area
  • Fixed extreme navigation near the church, antenna area and dam transfer tunnel
  • Fixed issue of destroyed lamps casting light in the safehouse
  • Player is now able to go under AC system during Cut Off mission

Village

  • Tweaked light brightness on village horizon
  • Fixed incorrect animation for hanging on stone wall in several places
  • Fixed that player can get stuck on lying tires at Burning Brides I mission area
  • Fixed improper size of the axe head collectible
  • Fixed broken shimmy lines on stairs model
  • Fixed holes in geometry of destroyed church in the Awas Family mission area
  • Fixed floating object in Lydia’s hotel room in Kozori

Dam

  • Wolves on junkyard POI no longer spawn on game start
  • Fixed wrong rotation of trash container that causes animation glitches when hiding
  • Several performance fixes
  • Fixed cloths on POI
  • Fixed AI spawn distance in several outposts
  • Minor graphical tweaks
  • Fixed floating hooks above the road next to the “Butcher” POI

Missions

  • Remains of the Day: Fixed church bells that were ringing during mission
  • Awas Family: fixed exploit that allowed player to skip “Exfiltrate” objective after loading last checkpoint
  • Quarry Coup: fixed incorrect hint display when player kills Madame Roux
  • Bridge: Fixed mission AI zone de-spawn on mission completion or abort
  • Slaughterhouse: Fixed misplaced mission marker when player speaks to prisoners during the mission
  • Slaughterhouse: Fixed rare bugged mission objective in Slaughterhouse mission
  • Black Widow: fixed that dead 23S retries detecting player repeatedly
  • Get the Red: fixed that Lydia and Raquel VOs overlap while they escape the complex
  • Clear Out: fixed inconsistent use of SFX for mission objective
  • Burning Bridges II: fixed computer highlight in scout mode
  • Loose Ends II: fixed issue which caused the interrogations not providing meeting location
  • Loose Ends II: fixed objective update when entering armory through the roof
  • Loose Ends III: fixed mission unlock notification
  • Loose Ends III: fixed mission objective issue that caused “kill the target” objective to fail when player exfiltrated mission area
  • Loose Ends IV: fixed doubled completion objective pop-up
  • Loose Ends IV: fixed issue which caused the interrogations not providing location of Koba’s Body
  • Loose Ends V: fixed wrong mission unlock notification
  • Opium Wars I: fixed inconsistent spawn point when continuously reloading checkpoint
  • Opium Wars I: fixes on interior lights

Lydia DLC

  • Fixed issue that triggered restricted zone warning message when player uses drone within mission area
  • Fixed issue with interrogation that doesn’t end with killing the victim

Localization

  • Added Korean language support
  • Improved naming convention [PL]
  • Fixed several grammar issues [PL]

Other

  • Numerous other improvements and tweaks not listed above“

Has this patch improved your overall experience with “Sniper Ghost Warrior 3?” Let us know in the comments below!

Four big gaming titles launch today (16/5/17)

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

Today is one of the biggest release days for video games so far in 2017. With two brand new AAA multi-platform releases, an ambitious new exclusive first person shooter/virtual reality game from Sony, and the return of a cult classic Xbox exclusive.

First up, and probably the most anticipated is “Injustice 2.” This 2D fighting game sequel to the well reviewed “Injustice: Gods Among Us” from NetherRealm studios, once again pits DC’s superheros and villains up against each other. Just like the original, “Injustice 2” has launched to great reviews. “Injustice 2” launched today for Xbox One, PS4 and PC with three different versions, starting with the standard edition at $59.99, the digital deluxe version at $79.99 and the ultimate edition for $99.99.

The Surge

Secondly, we have a Souls like game from developers Deck13 called “The Surge.” This is the studios second attempt of making Souls like game, with their first attempt being the painfully average “Lords of the Fallen.” However, Deck13 changed course for “The Surge,” and ditched the medieval fantasy setting of “Lords of the Fallen” and went to the future for a sci-fi fantasy setting. Turns out, the changes Deck13 has made worked for the better as “The Surge” has launched to mostly positive reviews compared to its predecessor. “The Surge” launched today for Xbox One, PS4 for $59.99, and on PC for $49.99.

Thirdly, Sony is releasing their biggest and most ambitious game for the PlayStation VR to date, and that game is “Farpoint.” This comes from developer “Impulse Gear” which is a small game development studio located in San Francisco that specializes on VR titles. “Farpoint” is giant far future sci-fi shooter that is only playable on the PS4 with PS VR, the game looks very innovative and is off to a good start review wise. “Farpoint” launched today for the PS4 with a standard edition for $49.99, and a bundle with an aim controller for $79.99.

Farpoint

Lastly, we have the re-master/re-release of the much delayed “Phantom Dust.” A reboot of this cult classic game was announced at the Xbox press conference at the 2014 E3 convention, only to be scrapped a year after its announcement. Out of the reboot ashes came the HD remaster of the classic 2004 original Xbox game, and this is what launched today. This remaster includes visual updates and additions to the games original campaign.

The best part about this remaster launching is the fact that it costs nothing. Yes, you read that right; the “Phantom Dust” remaster is completely free. So, what are you waiting for? Go fire up your Xbox One and download it!

phantom_dust

Which of these four titles are you most excited for? And, which one will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments down below!

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Madden 18 officially announced for PS4 and Xbox One

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Posts

The annual franchise “Madden”, from EA sports, has just revealed their title for the ongoing series: “Madden 18.” The name is no surprise, but the cover athlete should be. Gracing the cover this year will be the one and only New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

This is the first time in Madden history that players from the same team will be the cover for consecutive years (Madden 17s cover had the Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski.) The last time Tom Brady has appeared on any sports game cover was all the way back in the PS2 era for the now defunct series called “NFL Gameday”

gameday 2003

Along with the cover announcement, a release date of August 25th was announced, with a ten-day early trial through EA Access, a special edition called the “G.O.A.T EDITION” (which is an acronym for the “greatest of all time”,) and the debut trailer. Lastly, they also announced that customers who pre-order the “G.O.A.T EDITION” get to receive the game on August 22nd instead of the launch day of the 25th.

Tom Brady

The debut trailer shows that this iteration of Madden is following the footsteps of FIFA 17 last year, and is moving over to the frostbite engine. But, that’s not they only thing Madden seems to be borrowing from FIFA…

Last year, FIFA 17 introduced a new game mode to the franchise called “The Journey,” and in this mode, you play has a young kid into adulthood and let him live out his soccer dreams. Well, if you watch this new trailer for Madden 18, you can see towards the end of it that Madden has added their own version of the new mode. This short clip shows a young man (who I assume you control through the course of this story mode) standing outside of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This seems to be a significant part of the story, because for those who don’t know, the NFL Combine is held at Lucas Oil Stadium every year. This is where all the college players who declare for the NFL draft, get put through all sorts of drills and exercises in front of NFL coaches and scouts, to try to prove to them that they belong in the NFL.

Madden 18 launches on PS4 and Xbox One on August 25th. What do you guys think of the new trailer and cover? Let us know in the comments down below!

NBA Playgrounds officially launches on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch

by Trevor Cripe, posted in Nintendo, Posts

The newest title from Saber Interactive called “NBA Playgrounds” has officially launched on all major platforms. The highflying, fast-paced gameplay and street ball aesthetic will instantly bring back the classic vibes of NBA Street vol 2, and NBA Jam. From the looks of “NBA Playground” Saber is trying to resurrect the long lost arcade basketball games from years past. Will they be successful? Well, it’s too early to tell at this point, but the game has launched to mostly positive reviews.

Although, there should be a day one buyer beware sticker for this game. Depending on the console that you purchase “NBA Playgrounds” for, the game will be missing certain features at launch. For example, the Xbox One, and PS4 versions will be missing the ability to play with your friends over Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. Which is a disappointment, but that’s a whole lot better than what the Nintendo Switch version is launching with.

NBA playgrounds will launch for the Nintendo Switch with no online compatibilities of any sort. Additionally, all versions of “NBA Playgrounds” will be missing the online tournaments feature at launch, as well. But, if you decide to take the dip on “NBA Playgrounds” at launch then fear not, Saber has said there is a plan in place for all these missing features.

According to a spokesperson from Saber, these missing modes and features for all consoles, will be added in a future update. Apparently they’re coming “a few days after launch.”

Unfortunately, games coming out without promised features is becoming a common trend. Just last month, “Sniper Ghost Warrior 3” from CI Games, launched on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. None of these versions had the promised multiplayer mode at launch…

NBA Playgrounds launched on 9/5/17 digitally for all major consoles at the price point of $19.99. Will you be buying it?