
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 talked about some nostalgic games for us and about a lot of news. Thanks for tuning in!
NEWS!
- NieR: Automata has shipped over 2 million units, according to Square Enix, making it likely to become a new franchise
- “The Duke” Xbox controller is being revived for the Xbox One
- Team Meat, the developers of Super Meat Boy, has announced that they are currently working on a Metroidvania, which will be released in a few years from now
- Bethesda has announced that Doom, Skyrim, and Wolfenstein, as well as other future titles, are coming to the Switch
- “Nintendo has dramatically over delivered” in Switch supply, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, despite Switch shortages during its launch
- Red Dead Redemption 2 announcement is coming out on September 28th at 11AM EST on rockstargames.com
- PUBG is considering “further action” against the developers of Fortnite after their release of their “Battle Royale” mode, which is very similar to PUBG
- Nintendo is bringing two factor authorizations to its online services
- Square Enix has announced that they will be catering more towards multiplayer games
- Playstation Australia is holding a contest to give out real life Platinum Trophies
- Ex Oculus President Palmer Luckey has stated that he is not done with the VR industry and is founding a new VR company
- Indie game company The Chinese Room is “taking a break”, and has stated that if they return, they will be moving away from walking sims
- Just Cause devs have announced that they’re working on a new game engine
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole has released a trailer that makes fun of Kanye’s unreleased video game, “Only One”, which had been dedicated to his dead mother
- Valve had thought about putting female versions of all the TF2 characters, but decided against it, even though concept art for them had already been done
- A video of a young girl trying to use an original Gameboy as a piece of touchscreen technology has gone viral, and has resulted in it being made into a “do you feel old yet?” meme
What’s Coming Out Soon!
Hey guys! It’s Paris back with the games out this week!
- Pokemon Playhouse (iOS, Android)
- “It’s definitely for 3-5 year olds!” -Stephan Reilly, 2017 In this brand new app, kids can explore, meet Pokemon, and even raise eggs by themselves, in a fun, interactive experience for the young ones! Theres much to keep busy with, so if you have or know a kid who really likes Pokemon, this app is highly recommended. Out now!!
- The Witness (iOS) (September 20th)
- The $40 puzzle game from Thekla Inc. is finally available on iOS! For those who don’t know, The Witness is a mind-bending puzzle adventure game that puts you on a deserted island full of puzzles. The idea is to get to the mountain… but how? The Witness is out on iOS devices for $9.99.
- Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition (PS4, XB1, PC) (September 26th)
- Bethesda is doing the thing again! Fallout 4 is apparently a brilliant game (that I’ve never played) about a person looking for their son in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston in the year 2287. This re-release of the game will come with all of the released DLC. If you’re willing to fork over the extra cash, the Pip-Boy edition will be re-released as well! Get your hands on a physical Pip-Boy wrist-mount for your phone. The GOTY edition will be priced at $79.99, and the Pip-Boy edition will be sold for $100.
- Hob (PS4, PC) (September 26th)
- This horribly under-informed Wikipedia page tells me that this game is an action-adventure game. The official website, however, gives a little more information. There is not text or dialogue in this game, as all the story is revealed through the exploration of the world and the gameplay itself. In a beautiful world, use your glove to solve puzzles and outsmart enemies and find out the story of Hob!
- Ruiner (PS4, XB1, PC) (September 26th)
- “SET IN THE YEAR 2091. A STORY-DRIVEN GAME CREATED IN THE SPIRIT OF CULT CYBERPUNK ANIME.” This is the first thing you read on the website. That’s pretty cool. With a Borderlands-esque art style in a top-down puzzle shooter, you must fight yout way through the story and find out what Hell awaits you. For more information, check out ruinergame(dot)com and check it out!
- Cuphead (XB1, PC) (September 29th)
- A game that pits you indebted to the devil, Cuphead is a platformer that has you running and gunning through levels, and more importantly, through crazy difficult bosses you’ll love to hate. In the style of 1930’s cartoons, you play as Cuphead and his buddy Mugman, who cause problems for themselves (in good old cartoon fashion)! Alright I don’t know if I’m giving this game justice. It looks like a load of fun to play with a friend and I’ll be uploading my gameplay footage to YouTube (Shameless Plug: We Suck at on Youtube) so if you want a real good look at how cool this game looks, check it out! Plus, if you pre-order your digital copy in-store at EB Games, you get an exclusive Cuphead mug! I recommend it, go check it out!
- Fifa 18 (PC, Switch, PS3, PS4, XB360, XB1)
- Do you like soccer? Do you like pressing buttons? Then do I have the game for you! The 25th installment of the Fifa series is here, with a continuation of the story mode “The Journey, Hunter Returns”! Also, for the first time, it will be released on Nintendo Switch! Pick it up, play with your friends, have fun! I personally have played Fifa 05 and Fifa 15, but I’d love to see the rest of this story play out. (Plus I’m a United fan, don’t @ me)
- SNES Classic (Starfox 2)
- Did you get an NES Classic? No? Maybe you’ll have better luck finding an SNES classic? Maybe? Yes? Well, if you do happen to get your hands on one, you’ll be one of the only people to be able to play StarFox 2, a previously unreleased game! You’ll also be able to play 20 other games, included in the console. Good luck in findiing one, and have fun playing!
PS+
- inFamous: Second Son, PS4
- Strike Vector Ex, PS4
- Truck Racer, PS3
- Handball 2016, PS3
- We Are Doomed, PS Vita (Cross buy with PS4)
- Hatoful Boyfriend, PS Vita (Cross buy with PS4)
Games With Gold
- Forza Motorsport 5: Racing GOTY Edition (All month), XB1
- Oxenfree (Until Oct.15), XB1
- Battlefield 3 (Unitl September 30th), XB360
That’s it for this week! Let me know what you thought or if I missed anything on twitter: @TheSecksyElf I’ll see you guys next week
Topic of the Show
The topic of the show this week was what game fundamentally changed your relationship with games or with someone else through a game.
Stephan:
- Sly Cooper
- Sly Cooper and Stephan are both turning twenty this year. Sly Cooper a series of platform stealth video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The series was developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the first three games, and then it was passed on to Sanzaru Games while Sucker Punch continued work on the Infamous series. The first three games were remastered into high-definition for the PlayStation 3 by Sanzaru Games, titled The Sly Collection.
- Sly Cooper and Stephan are both turning twenty this year. Sly Cooper a series of platform stealth video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The series was developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the first three games, and then it was passed on to Sanzaru Games while Sucker Punch continued work on the Infamous series. The first three games were remastered into high-definition for the PlayStation 3 by Sanzaru Games, titled The Sly Collection.
Cassie:
- Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
- Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon is the 13th installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows platforms. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Junior and Senior detective modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the actual plot of the game.
Paris:
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a 2001 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2. The game follows the protagonist, Jak, as he tries to help his friend Daxter after he transforms into an ottsel (a fictional hybrid of an otter and a weasel). With the help of Samos the Sage, the pair learn that they must save their world from the antagonists Gol and Maia, who plan to flood it with Dark Eco. The game offers a large range of missions and minigames as well as puzzles and platform elements that the player must complete to proceed.
Jelena:
- Epic Mickey
- Epic Mickey is a platform video game designed by Warren Spector and developed by Junction Point Studios for the Wii console. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who accidentally damages a world created by Yen Sid for forgotten characters and concepts, and is forced to fix the world while combating antagonists with a magic paintbrush. Epic Mickey notably features the first appearance of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit since 1943 as a major character, who was one of Walt Disney’s first successful cartoon characters before the character was licensed under the ownership of Universal Studios. The character was regained by The Walt Disney Company in 2006 under the guidance of Bob Iger. The game also marks the first time that Oswald and Mickey ever appeared together. The game is much darker and more complex than previous Mickey Mouse games.
Hunter:
- Percussion Master
- Percussion Master was produced by IGS in 2004. IGS released 12 different machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1996.
What We’ve Been Playing:
Hunter:
- 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.
Jelena:
- Destiny 2
- Return to the vast worlds of Bungie’s mythic science fiction, action roleplaying game in Destiny 2. Play as a Guardian, a guardian being given a power called Light to use to protect the citizens of Earth from various alien races. Play as one of three different alien species whom can be one of three attack classes; Titan, Hunter, or Warlock, as you protect the Last City from an alien race called the Cabal who have stolen the source of your character’s Light. Journey to regain your Light and find a way to defeat their leader Ghaul and his Red Legion army as you take back the Last City. Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
- Infamous Second Son
- From Sucker Punch Productions comes the third installment to the inFAMOUS series, inFAMOUS Second Son. In this installment, players are Delsin Rowe, a twenty-four-year-old delinquent graffiti artist from the Akomish reservation. After a military truck carrying conduits, humans with the ability over materials, crashes into their reserve, Delsin and his brother Reggie head to Seattle to find Brooke Augustine, leader of the Department of Unified Protection in hopes of saving their tribe. With the power of ability absorption, players can use other conduit powers such as smoke or concrete to help them fight. Like the other games in the series, players can choose to go down the righteous path of becoming a hero or becoming infamous. Available on PlayStation 4.
Cassie
- Dragon Age Inquisition
- From Electronic Arts comes dragons, magic, and demons in their 2014 game Dragon Age: Inquisition. Players are the Inquisitor, a chosen one whom travels across the continent of Thedas to stop its civil unrest and close the mysterious tear in the sky known as the breach before Corypheus, an ancient demon, conquers the land. Grab your companions as you travel across the vast continent, available on PC, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Paris
- Destiny 2
- Return to the vast worlds of Bungie’s mythic science fiction, action roleplaying game in Destiny 2. Play as a Guardian, a guardian being given a power called Light to use to protect the citizens of Earth from various alien races. Play as one of three different alien species whom can be one of three attack classes; Titan, Hunter, or Warlock, as you protect the Last City from an alien race called the Cabal who have stolen the source of your character’s Light. Journey to regain your Light and find a way to defeat their leader Ghaul and his Red Legion army as you take back the Last City. Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
- Persona 4
- Go to your local JuneS and enter the TV World in Atlus’ Persona 4. In this roleplaying, social simulator game, players name their male protagonist as he moves to Inaba to live with his uncle and cousin for the year. During his stay, strange murders occur and rumors of a mysterious midnight channel emerge at school. It’s up to the player to use their persona and, with the help of the various friends they make along the way, solve the murder mystery of the town, and bring back their reality. Available on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Vita.
Stephan
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- From Naughty Dog comes their latest installment within the Uncharted universe, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Play as Chloe Frazer, a fortune hunter on the search for the Tusk of Ganesh in the mountains of India with ex-mercenary Nadine Ross. Solve puzzles, shoot or stealth your way through combat challenges and travel across the vast landscape within this action, adventure game. Available on PlayStation 4.
- Metroid: Samus Returns
- At long last, the newest installment of Nintendo’s Metroid series has arrived! In Metroid: Samus Returns, players are lone bounty hunter Samus Aran on a mission to exterminate parasite creatures known as Metroids before they can cause more harm to the galaxy. Includes in this newest installment are melee counterattacks, being able to fire freely at any angle and a set of new abilities. Fight your way through Metroid: Samus Returns, available on the Nintendo 3DS.
Music
Cuphead – Don’t Deal With the Devil (Ft. Bonecage)
NieR Automata OST – Machine Village (Pascal VIllage)
Persona 5 OST – Beneath the Mask
Sly Cooper 2 – Nightclub Theme
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. If you have any feedback on the blog posts email Cassie, duli6880(at) mylaurier (dot) ca. Thanks again and catch you next week!