Footage of the swanky new remaster was shown off in a new trailer during Final Fantasy 7’s 25th anniversary stream. You’ll be able to get your hands on the Crisis Core remaster when it launches this Winter.

Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core was initially released on the PSP in 2007, expanding the classic JRPG’s universe through the eyes of Cloud’s Soldier comrade Zack Fair. Square Enix hasn’t released it on anything besides the PSP, so it’s not the most accessible game to get your hands on. 

While Zack is a significant background character in the original Final Fantasy 7, he plays a more prominent role in the remake thanks to some narrative rejigging in the game’s late stages. As such, it looks like he may even play a more prominent role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part Two isn’t due to come out until next winter, so playing a Crisis Core remaster is a neat way to pass the time and learn more about a character who could be playing a big role.

Check out our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth guide to keep up to date with the upcoming game.

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Capcom announced the long-anticipated sequel during a celebration stream (opens in new tab) for the RPG’s 10th anniversary event. Returning director Hideaki Itsuno unveiled the news – and a T-shirt sporting the game’s logo – himself. 

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” Itsuno said. “Dragon’s Dogma 2 is currently in development. Everyone in the development team is hard at work creating a game that we hope you will enjoy. Please look forward to it!” 

All we know about Dragon’s Dogma 2 is that it’s in the works on Capcom’s RE Engine – the same one used for Resident Evil Village – and likely rated Mature, according to the title card shown at the end of the stream. Judging from the reverence Itsuno and his team have for the original, it’s safe to assume it’ll follow a similar structure, and that’s sure to be enough to excite fans who’ve been waiting 10 years to see more of the eclectic RPG. 

Dragon’s Dogma fans have had an inkling that sequel news has been coming for a while now. Hopes were most recently sparked by an anniversary website promising a “momentous celebration”, though there have been teases and rumors for much longer than that. One prominent Capcom leaker claimed that a sequel was in the works last year, and that it would run on the same engine as Resident Evil Village. 

Dragon’s Dogma 2 also appeared on a now-infamous list of unannounced games that came from an Nvidia GeForce Now leak. While the company called the list “speculative” and filled with placeholders, plenty of games on the list have since come to fruition, and that list seems to get longer every other month.

Announced just minutes after Dragon’s Dogma 2, a Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core remaster is coming this winter.

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While the Winters’ Expansion unlocks ‘Third-Person Mode’ as an option for the core campaign, the Shadows of Rose story DLC takes place entirely in third person – it’s quite the change. Call me a cynic, but I reckon this is a deliberate and admittedly shrewd move from Capcom with an eye on its much-anticipated and recently confirmed Resident Evil 4 Remake. And call me a sell-out, but I’m totally here for it.

Shoulder charge

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I didn’t think we needed a The Last of Us remake until I saw it in motion

Given the acclaim the Resident Evil series has received since pivoting to a first-person perspective in 2017’s Resident Evil 7, the decision to revert to an over-the-shoulder POV here feels like an odd but assured move. Resident Evil Village is a continuation of Ethan Winters’ story from RE7, and likewise carried the first-person torch forward from the Baker estate to the next game’s titular European hamlet setting when it arrived last year. While mostly linear in makeup – in the same vein as its predecessors – Resident Evil Village offers players more in the way of exploration, with more optional areas and secret-laden hidden locations than anything that’s come before. Being shown all of this through the eyes of the protagonist at ground level makes a modestly-sized map feel so much bigger, a feature galvanised by the game world’s astute level design and back-and-forth objective structure. 

Moreover, scrambling monsters and half-robot zombies are generally more terrifying when forcing themselves into your personal space – a sense of frantic claustrophobia that goes hand-in-hand with a first-person point of view – and the towering Lady Dimitrescu is doubly scary when viewed from Ethan Winters’ perspective firsthand, the hero often forced to tilt his head back just to take in all nine feet and six inches of the castle countess. In the case of Resident Evil Village’s new Third Person Mode, then, I can’t see how switching camera views can improve any of the original blueprint. We won’t know until we get hands-on with it, but I suspect the map will feel smaller, the enemies less scary, and, heaven forbid, Lady Dimitrescu less imposing.

So why do it? The Rose Winters-starring Shadows of Rose expansion looks great, and, following the conclusion of the base game, is likely to be the final twist in frontman Ethan’s tale – one that I can’t wait to discover myself. I already have so many questions, not least: who is that doppelganger, and why has the otherwise helpful shopkeeper, The Duke, seemingly turned hostile? Still, given the Resident Evil Village base game incorporates a first-person perspective as standard, there was really no need to make RE8’s first slice of DLC anything different. 

As also revealed during Capcom’s E3 2022 showcase, though, the Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake are both getting current-gen hardware upgrades, with 4K resolution, ray tracing, higher frame rates, and 3D audio all en route to the games first launched in 2019 and 2020 respectively. For PS5 players, the upgrade – free for existing owners of the originals – also adds haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support via the console’s DualSense controller. The RE2 and RE3 remakes are, of course, third-person horror games now on the cusp of being brought in-line with modern standards – in many ways similar to Sony and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 1. 

Shortly after announcing Resident Evil Village’s Third Person Mode and its incoming Shadows of Rose DLC, the Resident Evil 4 remake’s director Yasuhiro Anpo and producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi spent five minutes outlining what we can expect from the reimagining when it lands on March 24 next year. Hirabayashi introduced new gameplay footage with the line: “The over-the-shoulder camera returns, of course!”, while Anpo later affirmed: “We want long-time fans and people who are new to Resident Evil to enjoy this storied franchise”.

Village people

Through all of this, a short-term pivot to third-person suddenly makes perfect sense. As of last month, Resident Evil Village has sold over six million copies. That audience is locked in, and, I can only assume, raring to go for more story content, no matter how it’s framed and served. Despite being unsure of the value in a Third Person Mode myself, I’ll definitely give it a spin – if for nothing else but to see how Lady Dimitrescu stands up, and to experience Heisenberg’s industrial maze from a different point of view. If, in that process, I’m given small insight into how a modern day Resident Evil 4 might look and feel – it, of course, also set in a nameless, monster-ridden Eastern European village – then Capcom’s gamble has paid off. And whether you’re a longstanding fan or a newcomer, being able to blaze through Resident 2, Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil Village and its coinciding DLC all in third-person view on modern hardware bodes well for Capcom’s next big push towards its Resident Evil 4 remake.  

At this point, I would still expect the ninth main series Resident Evil – whatever it’s called and whenever it may arrive – to adopt a first-person camera view, as per numbers eight and nine, and there’s every chance that Capcom will eventually rework Village’s Shadows of Rose DLC through the eyes of its protagonist. When I first learned the expansion was “completely third-person”, I thought it had no business being so – but that, for me, in fact, is exactly what is driving the decision. And, while I find it an odd move, if it acts as a primer for next year’s Resident Evil 4, I am one hundred per cent on board.  

Resident Evil Village is among the best horror games out there – how many of the rest have you played? 

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Absolutely nada on the release date front. Zilch, zip, zero. Not a sniff. Not even a vague “2023” label slapped on there for good measure. On stage, Xbox’s head of creator experience Sarah Bond did say that the games shown during the event would be playable in some form over the next 12 months – something the official Xbox Twitter account reiterated afterwards – but I’d have loved something a little more concrete. Listen, games are ready when they’re ready, I get that. But I’m looking forward to Silksong so much that I’d have taken a release date over any footage whatsoever – and if social media is anything to go by, I’m far from alone. 

And then I clapped eyes on The Last Case of Benedict Fox, due in Spring 2023, and all was right with the world again.

Demon sold

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Everything announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase

My desire for a new 2D Metroidvania platformer is clearly insatiable. I long for a combative side-scroller set within a dark and twisted fantasy world, with Lovecraftian monsters and magic, traversal mechanics and more supernatural abilities than you can shake a Coiled Nail at. But, hang on, what’s this? A new 2D Metroidvania with “challenging Soulslike combat”, set within a dark fantasy world, and starring an intrepid self-proclaimed detective wrestling with a demon who’s seemingly figuratively and literally trapped inside his body? The Last Case of Benedict Fox sounds, and looks, incredible. 

Some of that was outlined during its Xbox and Bethesda Games showcase reveal – check out the trailer above – which showed the titular protagonist zipping around fantastical worlds, harnessing double jumps and power stomps, calling upon the beast within to snatch and whip enemies from one end of the screen to the next, before shooting them dead with a well-placed blast from his revolver. After eventually happening upon his father, who’s either dead or incapacitated, Benedict’s inner demon helps him explore his old man’s memories – landscapes which appear even more haunting than the distorted ones the hero has found themselves roaming in the present day. 

Speaking to The Last Case of Benedict Fox’s narrative trappings, here’s what developer Plot Twist said in a coinciding press release: “In 1925 Boston, self-proclaimed detective Benedict Fox must uncover the fate of a family while traversing a dark, eerie world of emotions made manifest while battling the demon trapped inside his own body. Face an occult order and filthy demons in tactical and rewarding combat, explore the realm of the arcane, and unravel the disturbing secrets of a tragic family. The Last Case of Benedict Fox will immerse players in a rich story with engaging Metroidvania style combat and exploration, all in a breathtaking high fidelity art style.”

All of which sounds right up my street. Having rolled from GTA Online’s The Contract update at the turn of the year into a stint in Fortnite, then Elden Ring, and latterly Sniper Elite 5, I’m feeling a wee bit burnt out on sprawling, all-encompassing open world sandboxes that offer so much to do and see at the moment. The thought of getting to grips with a tight and punchy platformer, one that tells an intriguing tale, lets me switch off while exploring, but equally demands my full attention with my fists raised in its epic showdowns sounds absolutely perfect. Granted, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a ways away from its tentative Spring 2023 release, but it’s entered my radar with a bang – both as one to watch, and as an alternative to Hollow Knight: Silksong whenever it may poke its head above the parapet proper. 

Which is also one of my favourite things about E3. Games like Starfield, Redfall, The Callisto Protocol, Diablo 4, and The Last of Us: Part 1 will always steal the spotlight – and rightly so. The stature, the pizzazz, the fanfare – these games have all of this in spades, and they’re the reason we have annual events in the first place. But that doesn’t mean the surprises aren’t worth shouting about, those games that unwittingly stop us in our tracks for all the right reasons. For me, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is one of those, and, with the super-cool-looking adventure strategy game Highwater also on its books, publisher Rogue Games should be proud of its E3 2022 season showing. 

E3 in its current fragmented guise, of course, continues to roll on (you’ve checked out our E3 2022 schedule, right?), and while it was first thought Nintendo were skipping proceedings entirely, it turns out the next Nintendo Direct could be happening later this month. With Hollow Knight: Silksong en route to Nintendo Switch whenever it lands, might we see a release date there? I can only hope so.

Fancy this? Keep your eyes on the best new indie games out now.

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And then, bang. The Last of Us: Part 1, officially revealed in all its glory during the Summer Game Fest at E3 2022. It was unexpected – its appearance was not on the E3 2022 schedule, let me tell you – and it looked so positively gorgeous that I found myself eating my words faster than a Clicker gnawing on a hapless human’s neck. What the hell do I know, anyway?

Boo!

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Building tension: can this golden age of horror remakes sustain itself?

The hows and whys of The Last of Us: Part 1 are undoubtedly multifaceted. When I put my original reservations about a TLOU remake to the wider GamesRadar+ team, my colleagues had a number of theories as to why it makes sense at this point in time. The cynics among us recognised that a better-looking game creates new business opportunities. Nine years on from the original, there are inevitably players who are yet to experience the OG adventure, and thus remaking it against today’s standards is a sure-fire way to reignite interest. This same logic extends to players who played and enjoyed TLOU, who will be equally keen to see it fully-reimagined with an impressive new lick of paint, and, presumably, tighter controls and a more intuitive UI, as per The Last of Us 2. 

As was also revealed at Summer Game Fest, The Last of Us’ HBO series is on the cusp of release. Should the TV adaptation do well, it’s not a stretch to assume Sony and Naughty Dog would be keen to capitalize on its success by promoting its source material – and having the original game looking its best in that event, with both games featuring on PS5, makes sense from their perspective. Another inevitability, surely, is the fact we’ll see another The Last of Us game at some point in the future – be that another sequel, a prequel, or some form of spin-off should the standalone multiplayer Last of Us game perform well . Again, modernising the 2013 horror venture would allow the games’ publisher and developer to bundle the would-be trilogy in one big sparkling AAA package on modern hardware.

Looking at things through a less cynical, less financially-driven lens, however, it should be noted that The Last of Us is one of the few big-budget games out there that actually merits a fully-fledged remake. Whether I or anyone else thinks it’s too soon is a different argument, but Ellie and Joel’s debut outing is one of the few games of the last 20 years that has even so much as earned its place in the conversation. Put sales and money and profits and coinciding television shows to one side, the original game is a bloody good one. In fact, few horror games of the modern age have captured the hearts of so many at once, through its near-perfect balance of action, horror and emotive storytelling – something I don’t think has been bettered since, besides its own sequel several years on. 

As I’ve alluded to before, we appear to be in the golden age of horror game remakes. And while I’m unsure if it can sustain itself, if the glorious before and after screens we were treated to during Summer Game Fest are anything to go by, it seems The Last of Us: Part 1 will raise the bar even higher than the one set in horror remake terms by Resident Evil 2 in 2019. With Resident Evil 4 now officially confirmed, talk of a Silent Hill 2 remake abound, and Dead Space and System Shock games promised for next year, it truly is a frightening time to be a horror fan. Add this to the fact that Slitterhead, led by Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, looks like a modern take on the old-school formula and is due next year; The Callisto Protocol looks like Dead Space 4 in all but name; The Last Of Us’ long-awaited and much-anticipated multiplayer mode has finally been confirmed; and that Bloober Team’s 2016 Layers of Fear is in-line for an “expanded and updated” variation – named ‘Layers of Fears’, incorporating the first two games, plus a DLC, and running on Unreal Engine 5 – and just the thought of keeping pace at this point seems as daunting as these games’ nightmarish worlds. 

I’m fully-aware that pretty much everything is for show during events like Summer Game Fest, but the beaming reaction to the The Last of Us: Part 1 trailer from Ashley Johnson – the actor who plays Ellie – seemed genuine. On stage with Troy Baker (who plays Joel), she said this was the first time she’d seen the remake’s new footage, and seemed assuredly blown away. As much as I may have doubted it beforehand, I felt the very same way from the comfort of my living room. With no stake in the games, the HBO series, Naughty Dog nor Sony, I still don’t think we needed Part 1 as it will appear come launch day on September 2, 2022. But, wow, am I now excited to see more. The Last of Us remake? Don’t need one. But, actually, I cannot wait. 

Played too many of the best horror games and reading this from under the covers? Don’t blame you!  

The post I didnt think we needed a The Last of Us remake until I saw it in motion appeared first on Game News.

Bethesda’s Todd Howard took to the stage at the end of today’s Xbox Bethesda showcase and revealed the very first Starfield gameplay trailer, which gave us a look at the player character exploring the mysterious moon Kreet, shooting at some baddies, and later on, creating a custom base and spaceship.

Howard explained that you can customize the look and layout of your spaceships with “loads of different modules, ship manufacturers, and more.” You can also choose crew members you meet along your journey to work on the spaceship because, naturally, you have much more important priorities as the captain of the spaceship – the gameplay trailer shows the player character piloting their spaceship around various planets and shooting at hostile enemy ships. 

As for Starfield’s character creator, Howard said it’ll be Bethesda’s “most flexible yet.” You’ll start the game by picking a background with three unique starting skills and then building out your character before the adventure starts.

Today’s Starfield presentation also added a bunch of details about the size and scope of Bethesda’s upcoming action-RPG, like the fact that you’ll be able to explore over 1,000 planets and tinker with somewhere around 100 systems. And of course, since this is Bethesda after all, there will be a lockpicking minigame.

Elsewhere in today’s Xbox showcase was the news that Diablo 4 is launching in 2023.

The post Starfield lets you build and fly your own spaceships appeared first on Game News.

The annual show, presented by our friends at PC Gamer, returns once again for another round of reveals on the latest and greatest in PC gaming. The PC Gaming Show is set to run following the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on Sunday, and will be just under two hours long.

How to watch the PC Gaming Show 2022

The main show will begin on Sunday, 12 at 12:30pm PT / 3:30pm ET / 8:30pm BST via YouTube (opens in new tab) and Twitch (opens in new tab). If you want to tune in early, a 30 minute pre-show kicks off at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm BST, which will feature an array of brand-new trailers and a new documentary series focused on the folk heroes of PC gaming.

The PC Gaming Show 2022 is set to feature over 45 games, and some of the teased announcements are already looking exciting. We’ll see the debut of a new game from the Frostpunk developers at 11 Bit Studios, the first gameplay from the sci-fi adventure game The Invincible, and gameplay footage from the astounding mod campaign Half-Life: Alyx – Levitation. Plus we’ll get a new look at Victoria 3.

You can check out many of the games set to be at the show over at the event’s Steam page (opens in new tab), which will also be updated as new games are announced.

Check out our E3 2022 hub for all the announcements, and follow the E3 2022 schedule for all the remaining broadcasts.

The post How to watch the PC Gaming Show 2022 appeared first on Game News.

Microsoft notes in a media briefing (noted by VGC) that it released “five new games” across console, cloud, and PC in its current fiscal year: Microsoft Flight Simulator, Psychonauts 2, Age of Empires IV, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite.

The company says “we are on track to meet or exceed that amount in the next fiscal,” running from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. That date range would include both Redfall and Starfield, which were recently delayed to the first half of 2023, but the other three (or more) games are currently unknown.

It’s likely we’ll hear about those games this weekend, with the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, coming on Sunday, set to provide a pile of information on Microsoft’s upcoming slate. Hopefully that will include some release dates for those games we’ve been hearing about for some time.

We’ve been seeing Hellblade 2 since the reveal of the Xbox Series X, and it’s one of the few first-party games Xbox has shown gameplay footage of, suggesting that it’s further along in development than many other titles in the publisher’s upcoming catalogue. A 1.0 release for the Obsidian’s early access survival game, Grounded, could be on the cards, as well, though that may stretch the definition of “new games” in Microsoft’s statement.

Check out our E3 2022 hub and the E3 2022 schedule to stay current on all the information coming through this week.

The post Xbox is “on track” to release five first-party games in the next year appeared first on Game News.

That October 7 release date applies to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. The Switch version “will be available at a later date.”

The trailer opens with an attack by Venom, joining the villains in wreaking havoc on the city. Naturally, Venom’s traditional foe, Spider-Man, swings into the fight, confirming suspicions that he would join the roster of playable characters.

The trailer does not show any gameplay, but it does show a sleek new look for Spider-Man, as well as demonic versions of characters like Venom, Sabretooth, Scarlet Witch, and Hulk.

The trailer also shows Scarlet Witch standing among the heroes under a title card, so it looks like she’ll be part of the playable roster, as well – and that matches up with recent leaks, too.

We got some hands-on time with the game recently, so check out our Marvel’s Midnight Suns hands-on preview for much more information. In short, it’s already looking very promising, but it won’t scratch your XCOM itch for tough-as-nails, high-stakes strategy – which director Jake Solomon tells us is a very deliberate choice to build a more empowering type of strategy. It’s also a play style shaped by some surprising influences, including anime and JRPGs. 

Even without a real E3 2022, the E3 2022 schedule is heating up today, so you can follow those links to stay current on everything that’s happening throughout the weekend. Check out our Summer Game Fest live coverage for all of today’s big announcements, too.

The post Marvels Midnight Suns gets Spider-Man and an October release date appeared first on Game News.

Among its library of feature tweaks, clothing items and aesthetic adjustables is an emote library – within which you’ll find my own favourite: Dab the Sun, a Dark Souls-flavoured stance that nods to the 2011 action-RPG’s defacto mascot, Solaire of Astora. 

As we already know, Saints Row is raising the bar on character customization with prosthetic limbs, elf ears, and killbot eyeballs. And while the full release of Volition and Deep Silver’s series reboot is still several weeks away, Boss Factory offers a pretty comprehensive look at what to expect from its vast character creation suite. There, you might turn your skin green, shape the size of your gums and teeth (the “Oops, All Molars!” preset is pretty terrifying), or perfect a catalogue of asymmetrical face design options.  

As detailed during its reveal, Boss Factory is out now, completely free-of-charge, and is available across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC from each platform’s respective digital storefronts. Besides progression-locked items, Boss Factory contains all character customization options from Saints Row’s full release, and creations can be shared with and voted on by other players. 

Come August 23, player profiles crafted in Boss Factory will be easily transferable to Saints Row. Here’s more on that from Deep Silver: “Any characters you create and save in Boss Factory will be automatically available to play in your copy of Saints Row on the same platform. In addition, there are lots of ways to use Boss Factory and the web gallery to find and curate Bosses you love from any Boss Factory user, on any platform, and use them in your copy of Saints Row.”

Keep your browser pointed at our E3 2022 schedule for everything else on the way this week. 

As for my dabbing Knight Solaire, et voila:

Praise be the dab, indeed. 

Need more from Santo Ileso? Check out our Saints Row reboot preview.

The post The Saints Row Boss Factory customisation tool has a Dark Souls dab emote appeared first on Game News.