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(06/26/19 4:00pm)
by Katherine Simon
Disclaimer: This article was written prior to Nintendo’s E3 2019 Direct, therefore some of the predictions made might be a little outdated. There will be an addendum at the end of the feature reflecting on my thoughts towards DLC and how it affects my future predictions.
Arguably the biggest crossover event in all of gaming, many people are excited to see which of their favorite video game characters will make their way into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
While there are some people who get way too heated over which characters make it in or not, there’s something incredibly fun about trying to guess which beloved gaming icons will make the cut while also seeing what kind of unexpected fighters Sakurai and his team will throw at us next. With the first two DLC fighters of Smash Ultimate being candidates that nobody would’ve expected, Piranha Plant and Persona 5’s Joker, it seems like just about anything goes when it comes to who could be potential candidates.
With the possibilities being almost limitless, I thought it might be fun to throw my hat into the ring and share my predictions for the remaining four Smash DLC fighters before E3 comes along and horribly dates my predictions (Spoilers, it didn’t). I mean I was one of the few people rooting for Joker to get into Smash, so maybe luck will be on my side this time. Probably not, but hey this is just for fun and I’ll be happy with whatever we get as long as it’s not Fortnite guy.
(06/21/19 6:00pm)
by Katherine Simon
Very few things in life are as constant as Atlus trying to milk the latest entry of the Persona franchise for all its worth. After coming across a goldmine with the release of Persona 4 (and to a lesser extent, Persona 3), Atlus realized that they could capitalize on their new cash cow by releasing as many spin-offs as possible until the release of the next mainline game. Among these spin-offs, one of the most peculiar was a 3DS game titled Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, a crossover RPG between the Persona 4 and Persona 3 casts developed by the Etrian Odyssey team. While there was a lot to enjoy about this game, such as the combat system and a few fun character interactions, it was ultimately bogged down by some tedious dungeon design and faulty characterization. It’s not a bad game by any means, but the experience left a lot to be desired as someone who absolutely adores the Persona series.
Of course, with Persona 5 being such a massive success to the point of landing its protagonist a spot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it should come as no surprise that Atlus would want to continue the Persona 4 formula of releasing as many spin-offs as humanly possible until the next mainline game rolls around. One of the first spin-offs announced was a sequel to Persona Q that would later be titled New Cinema Labyrinth. On top of bringing back the Persona 3 and 4 casts, this new game would also feature Persona 5’s Phantom Thieves and, strangely enough, the long-neglected female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable. If you’ve completely bought into Atlus’ propaganda that Persona 1 and 2 never existed, every party member from every mainline Persona is in this game, making this the series’ biggest crossover yet. While I was cautiously optimistic about this one, as someone who found the first game to be a mixed bag, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this game exceeded my expectations and ended up becoming one of, if not the best spin-off to come out of the series.
(06/16/19 4:00pm)
By Blake Chapman
Christmas for gamers comes twice a year. The obvious one is the day that jelly-bellied dude in the red overcoat comes rolling down your chimney to deliver all those new consoles, games, and accessories. The second instance happens over the span of just one week near the start of June - E3 2019. This year promised a plethora of information on previously announced games as well as surprise reveals of unexpected titles. However, major players like EA and Sony were missing from the traditional conference lineup bringing the total down to only five true presenters ranging from Xbox to Square Enix. Even with that noticeable divot in content shown off live across YouTube and Twitch, there were still plenty predictions to make and expectations to be dashed.
Here are the gifts I was wishing would show up under my E3 Christmas tree and what I actually received.
(06/11/19 8:19pm)
(06/10/19 4:39am)
(06/10/19 4:36am)
by Eben Griger
Bethesda is one of the biggest names in gaming. whether it be the legacy of past games, or the IP's they currently hold, it's hard to ignore anything that has the Bethesda name on it. Unfortunately for the gaming giant, this year that included a good amount of controversy.
After the muddy launch and post-launch response of Fallout 76, Bethesda had been in a good amount of hot water with fans. Normally, things like this get swept under the rug at conferences like E3. Bethesda decided to take the high road with this though, having both Pete Hines and Todd Howard himself address the issues they faced from the community. After a few jokes at their own expense, Bethesda launched in to their announcements.
(06/10/19 12:00am)
by Tanner Kinney
As this generation of consoles winds down, the last couple E3’s are usually fairly tame. The big three companies will all hold their cards and wait to see how they can one-up their competition and capitalize on their mistakes. As such, with both Sony and EA stepping away from a formal conference this year, E3 feels surprisingly empty this year. It’s likely that next year will be the one where Sony announces the PS5, waiting until it’s ready to ship.
This year, however, there are plenty of rumors around Microsoft’s conference. With Halo Infinite and Gears of War 5 on the menu already, along with dozens of new titles they are planning to announce, there’s a lot of buzz. Banjo is said to be making a return somewhere, which is leading people to predict either him as Smash Ultimate DLC or in a remake/remaster of the original Banjo-Kazooie, all ignoring the possibility of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts 2. Most promising though, are the rumors around the Xbox Scarlett project, which is said to be their next-gen console. If Microsoft can nail a console announcement and have it out by the winter, it could be the head start Microsoft needs to trail blaze into the next generation. All eyes are on Microsoft to show something truly amazing.
(05/31/19 10:00pm)
by David Kurzendoerfer
Disclaimer: This review is of the Nintendo Switch version of the game, played in both handheld and portable mode
The long-awaited third installment of the Sonic Racing series is finally here, this time with a new twist in its team-focused gameplay that helps solve many of the issues of traditional kart racers. Instead of having to rely on luck, players can finally leave the end result up to their skill. As a disclaimer, I played Team Sonic Racing on the Nintendo Switch, and I primarily played in docked mode with a little portable play sprinkled in when I was in bed. I found very little difference in terms of the amount of frame drops I experienced between both docked and undocked play.
Although the Sonic Racing series may seem like a Mario Kart knock-off at first glance (and it's undoubtable that much inspiration was taken from the wildly popular franchise), Team Sonic Racing makes the formula much more balanced. Team Sonic Racing includes many of the same items that are present in most every Mario Kart game (Blue Cube Wisp is a Banana Peel, Orange Rocket Wisp is a Green Shell, Crimson Eagle Wisp is a red shell, etc.). Don’t let that fool you, though. Team Sonic Racing is faster, more action-packed, and more strategic. With its team-based gameplay, even the most devastating setbacks can mean nothing in the grand scheme, which saves the momentum and leaves everyone feeling completely satisfied.
(05/27/19 6:00pm)
by Daniel O’Connell
In 2010, id Software, the video game studio behind classic first-person shooters such as Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein, released Rage. While the game received praise for its combat mechanics, it was criticized for being bland and uninspired with its story and setting, which took elements from games such as Fallout and did nothing new with them. As time went on, Rage was forgotten about and dismissed as a footnote in id Software’s history. Since then, the studio has undergone a resurgence of popularity with their reboots of Doom and Wolfenstein. With this newfound success, they decided to give Rage a sequel. Partnering with Avalanche Studios, the developers behind the vastly underrated Mad Max game, id Software developed Rage 2, which has proven to be a fun, chaotic experience.
(05/21/19 4:26pm)
by Emily Worrell
Disclaimer: This review is based on the PC version of the game and was played on a PC with Intel Core i5-8250U, 8 GBs of RAM.
As I have stated in previous reviews, I am an avid fan of everything Life is Strange. From the original game itself, to Before the Storm and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, to the first two episodes of the sequel, I have happily consumed any media DONTNOD Entertainment releases that is even remotely Life is Strange related.
And then came the third episode of Life is Strange 2.
After waiting about three months for a new installment, I’d had plenty of time to build up my hopes. When it finally came out, I settled down in front of my computer, ready to spend the next three to four hours living in the universe that I had come to know and love.
But that wasn’t what happened. I found myself only briefly living in the beautiful Life is Strange world before being thrown into what felt like a mediocre replica. Everything just felt ever-so-slightly off, to the point where it wasn’t a complete disappointment, but it certainly didn’t feel like I was spending time in my favorite video game world anymore. Compared to the episodes before it, Life is Strange 2: Episode 3 is clearly a weak link in the story as a whole.
(05/11/19 9:00pm)
by Ben Sapet
After four years of real development and three E3s, Days Gone has finally arrived to mixed reviews. With its release so fresh, it’s hard to tell where public opinion will settle on the Sony’s latest exclusive. Some found it a buggy trainwreck; some found it lacking compared original promise; still others decided to band together in comment threads and defend Sony from tepid reviews. Days Gone is a fine game but it belongs in back in 2016, where it first made a splash at E3.
(05/04/19 3:49am)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s3e9-study-reveals-gender-stereotype[/embed]
Welcome to the last How It's Played episode for this semester! We are discussing a recent Norway study, where it said that girls are negatively impacted by games. Is this study valid? How does this play into the greater gender perspectives in the gaming community? Find out this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played!
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, Tanner Kinney, Emily Reuben
Edited by: Sam Smith
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Malia Hutton
(04/26/19 6:52am)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s3e8-playstation-5-coming-soon[/embed]
Welcome back to How It's Played! This week, we are discussing the latest details around the next generation of PlayStation. How will it define itself from its predecessors? Will Sony continue to reign the gaming console competition? Find out this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played!
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, McKenna Kolb
Edited by: Ashley Curry
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Katherine Sinkovics
(04/17/19 9:48pm)
by Makayla Hughes
With all of the new video games released every month, some may feel nostalgic for a simpler time of gaming. One where you didn’t have to pay $60+ for an incomplete, unplayable game, and where all of the content came with the game when you bought it. This meant no downloadable content, no new updates, no online, no subscription playing, just an old, beat-up copy of a game that might not even have a case or work half the time.
I’ve been finding myself in this nostalgic mindset of the way games were back when I was younger. Growing up with gaming, I feel as if games from my childhood are better and more simple than the games of today. Not to say that the games of today aren’t fun, but I feel as if there’s nothing like these games on today’s market, making me want to play these older games even more. In my mind, they seem like so much fun because I had such good memories playing them. I spent hours upon hours on these games, so maybe they’re not as amazing as I’ve built them up to be in my mind, but here are some of the top games from my childhood I’d love to see remastered.
(04/04/19 6:44pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s3e6-apple-focuses-on-games[/embed]
Welcome to this week's episode of How It's Played! This week, we are discussing Apple's announcement of the game streaming service. How will this service compete with the already crowded market? Is this another example of Apple creating a monopoly? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, Emily Reuben, Matthew Yapp
Edited by: Brad Killion
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: McKenna Kolb
(04/03/19 10:03pm)
by Daniel O'Connell
The developers at FromSoftware have made a name for themselves by creating the Soulsborne games. Consisting of the Dark Souls trilogy and Bloodborne, these games are notorious for their difficult gameplay. While this has turned off a lot of gamers, it also garnered a loyal fanbase. With the release of the last Dark Souls game back in 2016, fans of FromSoftware eagerly awaited what game the company would release next. With that game now finally released, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice proves to be another success for FromSoftware.
(04/02/19 8:09pm)
by Blake Chapman
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of Byte and Byte's editorial board.
It seems Hollywood has really done a number in recent years on the image of sequels and continuations of long established series. The stink of greed and unoriginality have began to really overstay their welcome in the eye of the general public. With Toy Story 4, The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo, The Twilight Zone and possibly more revivals on the horizon releasing in 2019, it could be inferred that that section of the entertainment industry is drying up when it comes to “original ideas.”
This outlook has not reached the same capacity when it comes to the video game industry. Fans of long dead franchises are kept salivating for another official main series title, often to no avail. For enthusiasts of Gearbox Software’s action role-playing game series Borderlands, it seems a conclusive third installment is just around the corner.
Borderlands 3 is not the only sequel that should come out of limbo. Here's a list of famous franchises still waiting for a much desired sequel.
(03/30/19 5:58pm)
by Jeremy Rogers
This review is of the Android release of 'Stardew Valley.' The game was played on a phone that has a Snapdragon 845 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and runs ver. 9.0.4 of OxygenOS.
I, like so many others, have fallen head over heels for the endearing, agrarian little town created by Eric Barone. I have racked up around 150 in-game hours of Stardew Valley across both the PC and Switch releases of the game, cultivating my own farms and starting my own online co-operative. As the game has added features since its original 2016, some have been implemented more easily than others.
So how does this new resident in the Valley fit in with the other entries in the series? With some of the more problematic features like multiplayer absent at launch, will that help make for a purple star game, or will the perturbed spirits do everything they can to make this entry worse?
(03/30/19 4:00am)
Welcome to this week's episode of How It's Played! Google announced Stadia, a new venture in cloud gaming. How will this service run within the Chrome browser? Will this service receive widespread support, or is this another crazy idea by Google? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
(03/29/19 3:31pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/how-its-played-s3e5-google-announces-stadia[/embed]
Welcome to this week's episode of How It's Played! Google announced Stadia, a new venture in cloud gaming. How will this service run within the Chrome browser? Will this service receive widespread support, or is this another crazy idea by Google? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
Hosted by: Eli Sokeland, Brad Killion, Katherine Sinkovics
Edited by: Brad Killion
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
Thumbnail by: Alexander Smith