monster hunter

The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly for the week of April 29th 2021! This is a weekly video games newsletter featuring my top 5 stories of the week. 

Lost Soul Aside looks amazing, Sony and Microsoft are making a lot of money, and Nintendo keeps doing Nintendo things. Let’s get into the news!

Lost Soul Aside Gets a Fantastic New Gameplay Video

Via: Lost Soul Aside Twitter

Lost Soul Aside is a project created by one man, Bing Yang, from China. The project was originally shown off way back in 2016 with much attention. Shortly after that, he was approached by Sony to help with development, and Bing Yang was able to create his own studio, Ultizero Games. Within the last 5 years, we have not seen or heard anything about Lost Soul Aside, until this week. The official Twitter account was updated with a statement apologizing for the wait and an 18 minute gameplay video to watch.

The new gameplay video set the gaming world ablaze. The game itself still maintains it’s Final Fantasy ascetic, but the gameplay itself looks like Devil May Cry. I am pretty amazed by the showing and I am interested in seeing more for sure. There is no release date or release window just yet, but Lost Soul Aside will be available on PS4, PS5, and PC.

Surprise! Super Mario Party Gets a New Update

Via: Game Informer

Nintendo continues to do Nintendo things. Originally released in 2018, Super Mario Party is receiving a big update. Update v. 1.1.0 will include 70 new mini games, a 2 vs 2 Partner Party mode, and online play!

Since there is no end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic just yet, this is a pretty nice surprise. Fans have been wondering why Super Mario Party did not ship with online play to begin with. My theory is that the update was going to come out way sooner, but COVID slowed down production. Either way, better late than never and this should breath new life into the game altogether.

Monster Hunter Rise 2.0 Update Released This Week

Via: Polygon

Monster Hunter Rise got it’s big new 2.0 update this week. The update features a great deal of new content including an unlocked HR, Elder Dragons Chameleos, Teostra, and Kushala Daora, Apex monster hunts, and new weapons and armor to craft. The Apex monster hunts are a nice touch as they were only available to fight in the Rampage mode quests. The Apex monsters available to hunt are Apex Arzuros, Rathalos, and Diablos. They will be a bit tougher than their regular counter parts, so prepare accordingly. There is more content that was not necessarily covered in the trailer so you will have to find out on your own. More content will be on the way as update 3.0 will be released in late May. Happy hunting!

Guilty Gear Strive Open Beta 2 Has Been Announced

Via: Guilty Gear

The next Guilty Gear Strive beta will be available on PS4 and PS5, 8pm PST on May 13th to May 16th at 7:59PM PST. All characters, including the newly announced I-No and Anji, will be available to play. Offline versus mode, tutorial, training and online matches will be playable. Some features added from feedback on the first open beta have been implemented as well, such as a rematch function. This is great, because after each match in the first beta, you would go directly back to the lobby and you would have to start the match up all over again. A rematch option is a great addition and gets players back into the game a lot faster. Check out the link above for more details on the beta.

Numbers!

Considering how hard it is to buy these consoles, PlayStation and Xbox and moving a lot of units.

Via: The Verge

Sony has sold a total of 7.8 million PlayStation 5 consoles, as of March 31st. This puts the PS5 selling a bit faster than the PS4, as that system sold 7.6 million units as of March 31st. 2014. NPD has stated that the PS5 is the fastest selling console in US history through it’s first five months of availability.

Via: GameIndustry.biz

Microsoft’s fiscal Q3 showed a 50% increase year over year. The personal computing division jumped up 19% to $13 billion, and Microsoft has credited gaming as the primary driver of that growth. Hardware was up 232% year over year, for the quarter. Those results are accredited to the continued demand of the Xbox Series X | S consoles.

Noteworthy:

The Last of Us 3 has a script: IGN

Rumors: Netherealm is working on a Marvel fighting game?: Comicbook Gaming

Respawn wins an Oscar: Game Informer

Yoko Taro is working on a strange new project: Game Informer

iOS PS5 and Xbox S | X controller support is here: Games Radar+

Yoshinori Ono moves on from Capcom: Twitter

Bobby Kotick takes a payout: Game Industry.biz

Jedi Fallen Order gets a next gen update: Polygon

Microsoft lowers PC sales cut: Game Informer

Notable Releases:

Tuesday, April 27th:

Death end re;Quest – Switch

Wednesday, April 28th:

Second Extinction – Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

Genshin Impact – PS5

Thursday, April 29th:

Total War: Rome Remastered – PC, Mac

Friday, April 30th:

R-Type Final 2 – Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC

Returnal – PS5

New Pokemon Snap – Switch

Catch me every week on The Skill Tree: A Gaming Podcast

Madness (Episode 17) – The Skill Tree (A Gaming Podcast)

On today's festive episode (which features Hashim in the best mood he's possibly ever been in), the guys talk about their initial impressions of Guilty Gear -Strive-, and the first part of the Summer Games Fest for 2021, which includes (but not limited to): Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, Battlefield 2042, the Ubisoft Forward, Devolver Digital, and more! The guys also talk about Overwatch finally getting crossplay, and Back 4 Blood rumors.  — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theskilltree/message
  1. Madness (Episode 17)
  2. StoneCold (Episode 16)
  3. Affiliated (Episode 15)
  4. Bullying (Episode 14)
  5. Legally (Episode 13)

Would you like this weekly newsletter sent directly to your mailbox? Feel free to subscribe!

The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly for the week of April 8th 2021! This is a weekly video games newsletter featuring my top 5 stories of the week. 

Monster Hunter Rise prints money, E3 is all online, 99 Pac-Men appear out of thin air? That’s a lot of Pac-Men. I assume that’s the plural of Pac-Man, but anyways let’s get into the news!

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The Geek Dojo Weekly

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Hi, I’m Jeff and welcome to the The Geek Dojo Weekly for the week of March 4th 2021! This is a weekly video games newsletter featuring my top 5 stories of the week. 

Fall Guys gets bought out? Yuffie is in Final Fantasy VII Remake? Will we get the greatest Pokemon game of all time, next year? We’ll have to wait to find out. Let’s get into the news!

Epic Games Acquires Tonic Games Group

Via: Epic Games

The studio behind 2020’s smash hit, Fall Guys, is being acquired by Epic games. Epic jumped out ahead to assure nothing about Fall Guys will change by stating, “For Fall Guys fans, your gameplay isn’t changing and Epic will continue to invest in making the game a great experience for players across platforms. Your favorite colorful beans will still stumble through the chaos on PC, PlayStation, and soon Nintendo Switch and Xbox. Check out this blog post for answers to all your Fall Guys questions.”

Both parties seem to be very excited about this move as they share the same goals. Tonic Games CEO Dave Bailey feels like they have found a new home and they share a mission to “build and support games that have a positive impact, empower others and stand the test of time and we couldn’t be more excited to be joining forces with their team.” Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeny also hones in on those same goals, “It’s no secret that Epic is invested in building the metaverse and Tonic Games shares this goal. As Epic works to build this virtual future, we need great creative talent who know how to build powerful games, content and experiences.” 

It will be interesting to see where Epic will go from here and if Fall Guys eventually goes free to play. Other than being the creators of the Unreal Engine, Fortnite battle royale has been Epic’s real stepping stone into the gaming space. With that they have been able to build by acquiring Psyonix, the team behind Rocket League, and now Tonic Games Group. Rocket League eventually went free to play under the Epic umbrella, so it could be safe to assume Fall Guys will do the same. Either way, this is a huge get for Epic and the sky is the limit for Tonic Games Group.

Pokemon Presents Delivered the Goods

Via: IGN

Last week we got a brand new Pokemon Presents presentation and they showed off some really cool games. First we were greeted with a new gameplay trailer for New Pokemon Snap showing off the world, new characters to the Pokemon universe, and some of the Pokemon you will run into on your adventure. New Pokemon snap is slated for an April 30th, 2021 release.

Next we were greeted with the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes, titled: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This remake will not be handled by Game Freak themselves, instead Pokemon BD/SP will be handled by ILCA Inc. Their previous work includes Pokemon Home and they have also done support for many other games like NieR: Automata, Dragon Quest XI, and Yakuza 0 to name a few. This great news to see Game Freak out sourcing content. They are still a relatively small studio, so they can’t juggle too many projects at once. Also, good on ILCA for securing a lead big project like this. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are scheduled for a late 2021 release.

Lastly, we got to see what Game Freak has been working on and it is a treat. Pokemon Legends Arceus is a brand new open world action RPG Pokemon game! It takes place in the very early days of the Sinnoh region. The trailer shows off a little bit of early gameplay with your character running around the world, catching Pokemon, and a few battles. There is even a dodge roll mechanic! This was easily the most exciting part of the presentation and I cannot wait to see more. Pokemon Legends Arceus is expected to arrive early 2022.

Square Enix Announces Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and a Couple of New Mobile Games

Via: Square Enix

Our wishes have been granted! Final Fantasy VII Remake will get PS5 updates with it’s next iteration, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. The PS5 version will bring visual improvements, photo mode, as well as new story content featuring Yuffie. Owners of the PS4 version will be able to upgrade for free, but the Yuffie episode will be sold separately. Final Fantasy VII Remake is also now available in March’s PS Plus offering. That version is not eligible for the PS5 upgrade. Intergrade launches June 10th 2021.

Square Enix also announced a couple of new mobile games. Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis and Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier

Square Enix to have Multiple Remakes in the Works with Forever Entertainment

Via: Destructoid

Square Enix has recruited Forever Entertainment to publish multiple remakes on the studio’s classic IPs. Forever Entertainment has published the recent Panzer Dragoon remake and will also be publishing Panzer Dragoon 2. At this time, there is no information on what IP Forever Entertainment will be working on. Square has an incredible catalog of games. Fingers crossed it’s Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger.

Monster Hunter Rise will be Ported to PC in 2022

Via: Fanbyte

And to round out The Geek Dojo Weekly this week, turns our Monster Hunter Rise will not be exclusive to just the Switch as the game will appear on the PC in 2022 as well. The game is still in development, according to the producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose.

Noteworthy:

Guilty Gear Strive is delayed until June: Twitter

PlayStation announces 6 new PSVR titles: The Verge

Mistwalker reveals a new mobile JRPG: Polygon

God of War Ragnarok will release “When it’s done.”: Push Square

Dragon Age 4 will not have multiplayer: Engadget

Sony working on PS5 storage solutions this summer: Game Informer

Sony Japan Studio is winding down: VGC

Elden Ring leaked trailer rocks the internet: Game Informer

Notable Releases:

Tuesday, March 2nd:

Maquette – PS5, PS4, PC

Harvest Moon: One World – PS4, Switch

Yakuza: Like A Dragon – PS5

Thursday, March 4th:

Mortal Shell – PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Sea of Solitude – Switch

Gnosia – Switch

Catch me every Monday on The Skill Tree: A Gaming Podcast

Madness (Episode 17) – The Skill Tree (A Gaming Podcast)

On today's festive episode (which features Hashim in the best mood he's possibly ever been in), the guys talk about their initial impressions of Guilty Gear -Strive-, and the first part of the Summer Games Fest for 2021, which includes (but not limited to): Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, Battlefield 2042, the Ubisoft Forward, Devolver Digital, and more! The guys also talk about Overwatch finally getting crossplay, and Back 4 Blood rumors.  — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theskilltree/message
  1. Madness (Episode 17)
  2. StoneCold (Episode 16)
  3. Affiliated (Episode 15)
  4. Bullying (Episode 14)
  5. Legally (Episode 13)

Would you like this weekly newsletter sent directly to your mailbox? Feel free to subscribe!

NOT Your Game of the Year List – 2019

/ Jeff Jones / Leave a comment

Welcome to my NOT Your Game of the Year List! Unlike your usual “Game of the Year List,” everything is made up and the points don’t matter, this list does not feature your typical gaming categories. The winners may not have actually released in the year mentioned either. Kudos to my homie Charles aka Profex for coming up with this idea. Without further ado, I present to you my 2019 NOT Your Game of the Year list.

I WISH MORE OF YOU PLAYED THIS – GAME OF THE YEAR |

CONTROL

Control came out to solid reviews, but a lot of people did not pay it much attention… including myself. I honestly did not pick this up until December of last year, immediately following The Game Awards, and I’m glad I did. The story is interesting, the atmosphere is eerie and the art direction is captivating. This is a supernatural adventure that is worth experiencing.

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