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Press Start to BGN 16/03/2017 Show Recap

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Hey! Listen!

Welcome back to Press Start to BGN, Laurier’s gaming show by a bunch of Game Design & Development students here at Laurier’s Brantford campus. The program is very new and so is our show, so for those who don’t know Game Design & Development is headed by Dr Scott Nicholson through the Brantford Games Network or BGN, hence the name “Press Start to BGN” which sounds like “begin.” This week we break down the latest game news and releases and Stephan freaks out over how many games he can’t afford or play. Thanks for tuning in!

NEWS!

  • Australian development team Samurai Punk will be releasing a VR game later this year called The American Dream, in which players’ engage in normal everyday activities with their hands being replaced with guns.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses has the tour dates and location announced for 2017; they will be coming to Toronto’s Sony Centre on September 15
  • PlayStation Now, Sony’s game streaming service, will soon be bringing in PS4 games
  • Nintendo reported that they sold 1.5 million Switch units in its first week
  • Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan recently took to Reddit and revealed new details, including a buff for Winston (due to him being the least played hero in Overwatch), a possible reworking for Lucio, a new legendary skin for Widowmaker, the possibility of being able to gift your friends with Loot Boxes, and recent consideration of bringing Overwatch to the Switch (despite how “challenging” it would be)
  • BlizzCon 2017 will be taking place on November 3 and 4 at the Anaheim Convention Centre, with passes being sold April 5 and 8 for $200
  • Six new games will be coming to PlayStation’s Play Collective, with discounts for PS Plus users: Everything, Rain World, PaRappa the Rapper Remastered, Cosmic Star Heroine, Full Throttle Remastered and What Remains of Edith Finch.

  • Colin Moriarty, co-founder of Kinda Funny, has quit after he posted a sexist tweet on International Women’s Day

What’s Coming Out Soon!

Well, would you look at the time! What time is it, you ask? Well, it’s time for the Games Out This Week!

  • Danganronpa 1&2 Reload (March 14, PS4)
    • Do you like anime? Have you seen Danganronpa? Do you recognise that black and white bear thing? If so, NIS America releases Danganronpa 1 & 2 Reload as a PS4 exclusive, just for you! In all seriousness, though, they’ve remastered both of these amazing PSVita games just for PS4, with all new features and extras you can’t find anywhere else! (except probably on amazon for, like, a billion times the price) This pack includes 2 games: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. You can get the Limited Edition version for just $20 more, which includes an artbook, a 2-disc soundtrack, sunglasses, as well as a couple of other things. Pick up this weird, crazy visual novel for $30! Also, if you like this, keep your eye out for Danganronpa Another Episode: Criminal Girls, out later this year.
  • Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Delayed, May 20th, 2017)
    • Stephan’s childhood: Rebooted. Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a VR game made for Oculus, Vive, and PSVR, in which you play as Starfleet on the Starship USS Aegis, helping the Klingons. But who cares about plot when YOU CAN BE THE CAPTAIN OF A STAR TREK STARSHIP! You can play this in single or multiplayer with up to 4 other players, and just generally be an awesome person as you fly through space on a spaceship. It’s cool. It’s not out yet though. Bummer. Pick it up on May 20th!

  • Styx: Shards of Darkness (PS4, XB1, PC, March 14th, 2017)
    • The sequel to Styx: Master of Shadows is out! Play as Styx, a stealthy orc, uncovering the mysteries behind the choices people have made. The game looks awesome, the story looks cool, and Styx makes me generally scared of orcs. However, the game looks like it’s going to do well, as Metacritic gave it a 73% for good gameplay. The game’s lore looks to be a little lacking, however, the gameplay is what brings you back into playing it every time. Pick it up for all consoles for $50!

Stephan and Cassie seem to really enjoy this game, and its FREE for PS+ members this month, so it’s worth mentioning once more. Severed (PSVita, Wii U, N3DS, iOS) Severed is a PSVita classic by Drinkbox Studios that was released last year. It is an action RPG game with a favourable storyline that I personally don’t know much about, however, the gameplay is about severing enemy’s body parts off, so that’s fun. With touch controls, a really cool severing mechanic, an Original Soundtrack by YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN (a Juno-nominated band), and the ability to upgrade your character in any way you want, traversing through a nightmare has never seemed so fun. Pick it up for free today!

Topic of the Show:

This week on Press Start to BGN, the topic of the show was… too many games. Part 2. Also, known as Stephan goes on a rant and Cassie wants to romance all the characters in Mass Effect Andromeda. So, it was a standard show. There are too many games and we only have so much time to play so many games, which leaves little time for sleep, extracurricular, and assignments. The basic summary ended up being, stay healthy and if you need someone to talk to go to the wellness centre and set up an appointment. Take care of yourself, you deserve it.

What We’ve Been Playing:

Paris:

  • Mortal Kombat 10
    • From NetherRealm Studios comes another instalment to their long-standing series, the fighter game Mortal Kombat 10. Play through the various game modes such as story, tower or Krypt in various combat battles. Play against your friends as one of the various in-game characters or your own created individual. Available on iOS, PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Android.
  • Need for Speed
    • From Electronic Arts is their action racing game Need for Speed. Choose and customise your vehicle, race against other players, and do your best to win. Available on several platforms including iOS, PC, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStations 2, 3 and 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360.
  • Overwatch
    • From Blizzard Entertainment comes their 2016 first person shooter, multiplayer game Overwatch. Overwatch contains multiple characters to choose from to battle as with their strengths being linked to four main play categories: offence, defence, tank, and support. Choose your character and fight either one on one or on a team of six against other teams throughout the game’s various game modes and maps. With updates and events coming out throughout the year, Overwatch is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
  • Street Fighter 5
    • From Capcom comes their 2016 fighting game Street Fighter 5. Fight in the single player story mode or fight against your friends in a multiplayer match as you fight with one of the 20 available characters in this newest Street Fighter instalment. This game introduces the new v-gauge that builds up as the player receives attacks and gives players three new skills to their characters. Available on PC and PlayStation 4.

Jelena:

  • Dota 2
    • From Valve Corporation comes the 2013 single/multiplayer online battle arena Dota 2. In this free to play multiplayer battle arena game, players are divided up into two teams with five players on each team. Each player chooses their hero to play as, each hero exhibiting their own abilities and play styles. During matches, players collect experience points and items to defend their Ancient structure and win the game by destroying the other team’s Ancient. Available on PCs.

Cassie:

  • Animal Crossing: New Leaf
    • From Nintendo comes the adorable life simulation game Animal Crossing: New Leaf! In this game, you are the mayor of a town filled with andromorphic animals. Talk to your town residents, explore your little town, and enjoy various activities such as bug hunting and fishing. Modify your wardrobe and get yourself a lovely house in this charming game available on the Nintendo 3DS.
  • Severed
    • From DrinkBox Studios comes Severed, the single player action game. In Severed, players are Sasha, a one-armed warrior who wields a living sword. Journey with her through a nightmare world to save her family. Sever enemy body parts in this dungeon combat RPG adventure, available on PlayStation Vita, Wii U, iOS and Nintendo 3DS.

  • Super Smash Bros.
    • From Nintendo comes their fighting action platformer Super Smash Bros. In this game, choose your character from various Nintendo game instalments, from Mario to Pikachu to Lucas, and fight against your friends in various battle platforms. Fight using your character’s various abilities in various game modes against various people! Available on the Nintendo GameCube, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 64, and Virtual Console.
  • Unravel
    • From Coldwood Interactive comes the puzzle platformer, single player game Unravel. Play as Yarny, a little red yarn figure who travels through open landscapes to collect the memories of an elderly woman. Use your body of yarn to get past obstacles, use the landscape around you to your advantage and discover memories lost by time.  String yourself over to a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One device to play.

Stephan:

  • Jelly Juggle
    • From Ian MacLarty comes the iOS game Jelly Juggle. In this game, you lay as a little goldfish swimming in a circle, as you try and collect pieces of Jello with faces on them. Avoid crabs and score points in this game described as “an exciting new thumb-sport!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRk7yQBm4co

  • Horizon Zero Dawn
    • From Guerrilla Games comes their 2017 action roleplaying game Horizon Zero Dawn. In this game, players play as Aloy, an archer hunter who lives in a world overrun by robots. The game comes with an open world to explore, tribes to visit and side quests to complete alongside its main storyline. Discover the dangers and secrets lurking in this game’s world, now available on PlayStation
  • Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    • In the newest instalment of the Zelda franchise comes Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In this action adventure game, players play as Link after awaking from a hundred-year slumber. This game is a large departure from the regular linear storyline the series is usually known for. This new instalment prides itself in its open world exploration and allows players to defeat dungeons in any order they wish. Explore to your heart’s content, available on the new Nintendo Switch system and on Wii U.

WRAP

That’s everything! We’re super excited to be doing this show and we hope you’re enjoying it too 🙂 We’re on every Wednesday at 7 pm on this site and if you have any questions or feedback feel free to tweet Stephan (@StephanReilly) or email reil4130 (at) mylaurier (dot) ca. Thanks again and catch you next week!