Just the facts and a logical opinion.

Today, Game Science unveils a brand-new 15-minute gameplay trailer for Black Myth: Zhong Kui, the second title in the Black Myth series. The trailer offers a first look at the protagonist in combat, along with a glimpse of the story.

As the game is still in early development, all footage was captured in-game from a work-in-progress build running at a 21:9 aspect ratio. The final release may differ.

Official Website: https://gamesci.cn/zhongkui

Link to video: https://youtu.be/oi2QgPH61JM?si=5yyTnRAmLOSwSqzx

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Aaron Shack 4/19/24 Aaron Shack 4/19/24

Fallout TV Series leads to Massive Game Sales

It's amazing that the Fallout TV series has brought so many new and returning players to the series. Whether you're playing the older strategy titles like Fallout, Fallout 2, or Fallout Tactics, or Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, or Fallout 76 there is no wrong answer of which game to play first. I know we all have our favorites to recommend but let's welcome people to the franchise as a whole and let them enjoy all the games or whichever game they choose as we were allowed to do.

Fallout 4 the most popular game in the UK, sales and player counts are high. What an awesome chance to share our passion and love for this series.

Aaron Shack 11/24/23 Aaron Shack 11/24/23

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is meant to be a back to formula and a homage to the first game; with the classic social stealth assassinations and parkour the series was built on. Ubisoft Bordeaux’s first game developed is Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which follows the story of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a thief from the streets tortured by haunted dreams and visions of a djinn. Djinn/jinn are often alluded to in the Qur'an and stories like One Thousand and One Nights as sentient beings that occupy the space between the spiritual and the physical world. The story takes place during the Ninth Century Golden Age of Islam in Baghdad. Basim meets Roshan and is mentored by the Hidden Ones to become a Master Assassin. He will journey to Alamut, much like Altair traveled to Masyaf to train to become an Assassin among his peers in the order.

Upon his return to Baghdad and the surrounding desert and towns, Basim will utilize his parkour skills to seamlessly traverse through the four districts of Baghdad. To the southeast, the trade region of Karkh, to the north the industrial Harbiyah district, and to the west the scientific district of Abbasiyah which contained the House of Wisdom, in the center the gardens of the Round City or Madinat As-Salam. Basim will seek out side contracts, tools, and assassination targets at the Assassin’s bureaus. The menu in the game will allow Basim to chart out his investigation by collecting vital clues and assembling them in a chart that makes investigations and missions easy to track based on district and targets. It is through this research that Basim is able to stalk and identify his targets before going in for the kill. Mirage also presents the return of social stealth, Basim will have many skills and tools that will allow him to stealthily take down targets using both new and familiar abilities from the series’ past.

Aaron Shack 11/21/23 Aaron Shack 11/21/23

The Invincible Review

From Publisher 11 Bit Studios and Developer Starward Industries comes an all new narrative exploration experience, The Invincible. It is a science fiction, Astropunk styled, space exploration game that has the player assume the role of Yasna, a biologist on a research vessel sent to Regis III to search for signs of life. Things go wrong and Yasna wakes up with no memory of the expedition. The game unfolds with mystery after mystery as you explore the planet and attempt to find your crewmates, rescue them, and remember what happened. While the game is mostly a walking simulator, much like Firewatch, you will make lots of narrative conversational choices throughout the game as you chat over the radio with the Astrogator.

You’ll interact with classic Astropunk retro technology that seems heavily inspired by the 1950’s-1960’s technology in science fiction of the time as you seek to understand the mysteries of the planet and the factions that occupy it. While the game is narrated by an excellent cast, the pacing stays relatively flat. Even the most exciting moments are derived of tension when narrative choices ultimately lead to little confrontation, little risk, low stakes, before you’re back to exploring. The game is very immersive but if you’re not interested in biology and engineering talk, you might find some of the dialogue boring. I however enjoyed the immersion of researching the planet, theorizing what is happening, and seeing if the scientific method proves correct.

Aaron Shack 11/11/23 Aaron Shack 11/11/23

Opinion: Tony Stark made a moral choice, to be a hero.

Alright, let's talk comic books. Remember when Tony Stark realized the weapons of his company were bombing innocent people and ironically one lands near him? Remember what he did? We all praised him for that. Wow, he stood against war, against genocide, war profiteering, all of it.

He took his money and did something good with it. He realizes he can't be the sleazy playboy billionaire and ride off the success of his parents arms company. He builds the first suit. He became Iron Man. He stood against the very evils his company was built on. Sometimes he fights alongside America's interests, other times he doesn't want to be their puppet and admits he fights for what HE KNOWS is right.

Therefore, in sort of a fictional way, he's incorruptible.

He makes mistakes sure, he battles his ego, but he learns from every experience and grows from it.

Aaron Shack 11/6/23 Aaron Shack 11/6/23

I am now Fundraising for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund

All Livestreams and videos moving forward, I will have a link to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund. I've wanted to raise funds to help the innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and one of the biggest issues is the orphaned children from these bombings and genocide of Palestinians. They are sick, injured, with no power, food, water, telecommunications, etc. Hospitals, Schools, Churches, and Refugee Camps are being bombed and Gaza is essentially a concentration camp full of refugees and descendants of refugees from the 1948 Nakba. These are people unable to escape the reality of the Zionist Genocide of Palestinians.

I have milestones for certain amounts of donations where I will do fun things on videos and livestreams. I am also open to suggestions of things you would like to see done on stream as a way to bolster fundraising for this charity. Feel free to donate anonymously or publicly. Either way, your support is very much appreciated. If you've been looking for a way to help but are confused as to how you can best do so, THIS IS IT.

Use this link to donate here: Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

I am also including a video from People Make Games. This video includes several prominent voices of Game Developers and Palestinians speaking out about what is happening to Palestinians so you can have further context on this issue. Please note that the video is age-restricted and may show scenes of graphic violence. You will be opted to watch the video on YouTube.

I will also be making my own videos on Palestine and I have one older video from 2021 of my thoughts on the Palestinian Humanitarian Crisis here.

Aaron Shack 11/4/23 Aaron Shack 11/4/23

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Campaign Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Campaign complete in about 8 hours. Very powerful in terms of story and narrative. The Campaign maintains the usual set piece action packed missions with Weapons Free missions throughout. The Weapons Free missions alter the pacing of the game and place the player in a boots on the ground situation where the choices of how to complete the objectives are left up to them.

To those familiar with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Trilogy of the early 2000’s these newer entries are often branded as remakes, when they are actually more a reimagining, with modern graphics, controls, etc. The story took some twists and turns away from what people may expect, it is not a note for note take of the original trilogy.

The events of the game keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know what is going to happen next. Whether it is stopping a terrorist attack, chasing a global fugitive, infiltrating a secret base or defending a location from an onslaught of enemies. The pacing is brilliant and I never wanted to stop as each mission had a reason to be part of the story and wasn’t merely just a chance to have a shootout in a different locale.

The cutscenes could easily be a Call of Duty movie. It's well acted, voiced, and beautifully rendered with cutting edge graphics. There were several times where I thought I was watching a movie, from the photorealistic graphics, to the camera angles, and the well written dialogue. I would very much enjoy deeper narrative journeys in the Call of Duty universe.

Aaron Shack 10/27/23 Aaron Shack 10/27/23

Metal Gear Solid: Delta Snake Eater In-Engine Footage shown at Xbox Partner Preview

At the Xbox Partner Preview, a showcase of Third Party Games on the Xbox Platform the first in-engine look of pre-alpha footage of Metal Gear Solid: Delta Snake Eater was shown to gamers. This remake of the classic PlayStation 2 game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is running in Unreal Engine 5 and appearing to use some of the movement and technology of later games like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

The crouch walking and cover system are reminiscent of MGSV.

What do you think of the new footage of Metal Gear Solid: Delta Snake Eater? Let me know in the comments below.

Aaron Shack 10/23/23 Aaron Shack 10/23/23

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is so fun! The animations are a key difference

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is so fun! The animations feel inspired from The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) the game is full of WONDER and joy. You can't help but smile and laugh. Nintendo definitely has a lock on the nostalgia but also leaves room for new ideas and constantly evolves these beloved characters.

It's amazing how fast a 2D game like this shot up to the top of my Game of the Year list for 2023.

Let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Aaron Shack 10/20/23 Aaron Shack 10/20/23

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd First Impressions/Review

My first Impressions and gameplay of Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. Not a game I'd recommend. Clunky controls, actions on screen to my button presses were delayed or not registered. The low frame rate/animation of Hellboy himself is jarring to look at when the rest of the game world runs at a smooth 60fps. It's probably a creative choice, but it makes for quite the eyesore.

When people talk in cutscenes, their mouths don't move and the still angles make conversations boring. The enemy types are repetitive and boring which makes the game feel even more dated. The story doesn't really pull you in even after several hours of playing.

I saw people comparing the combat in this game to the Batman Arkham games and that couldn't be further from the truth, that's a comparison we shouldn't be making for any game, to be fair.

The comic inspired art is awesome, Lance Reddick voicing Hellboy is awesome. Getting perfect parries was gratifying. The fact that the game often wouldn't register my blocks/dodges in time made Hellboy and his already clunky combat, poor camera angles, and bad directional combat even worse. It's not a fun game to play, despite me being really curious, excited, and only wanting to play more out of desperation that maybe it will get better.

As I like to say, don't take my word for it. Make up your own mind by checking out my experience with the game as I highlight things I enjoy and things I found to be flawed. Some folks watched my video and found the game enjoyable. I'm happy for that too. Make your own choices. Thank you for checking this out.

Aaron Shack 10/16/23 Aaron Shack 10/16/23

Halo Infinite’s Forge mode includes AI Toolkit in Season 5: Reckoning

Halo Infinite is adding some impressive tools to Forge, the map creator in the game. For the first time ever, players will be able to add Campaign AI to their creations using the AI Toolkit and some amazing new features putting immersive tools in the hands of players. This includes two new canvases (essentially map biomes), 200+ new objects, object collision toggle, lighting improvements, quality of life updates, and more. This update to Halo Infinite’s Forge mode is part of Season 5: Reckoning which launches on Tuesday, October 17. This new update and the AI Toolkit is incredibly detailed so check out the link here which also has a video and detailed blog post on the new features.

This will be a game changer essentially allowing players to create their own Campaign missions and AI game modes using these tools!

Aaron Shack 10/13/23 Aaron Shack 10/13/23

Xbox acquires Activision Blizzard King

After two years of negotiations Xbox has acquired Activision Blizzard King. Activision are some of the publishers of some of the most played and most beloved franchises in gaming history across console, PC, and mobile. Games like Pitfall, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Diablo, Guitar Hero, Starcraft, Hearthstone, and more. You can read Phil Spencer’s statement here the CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

Why did this happen? If we go back several years Activision and Blizzard were fraught with sexual assault allegations across multiple studios from the developers of Call of Duty to World of Warcraft to Overwatch. Nothing was being done about it and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was not going to do anything either. This purchase also includes a generous severance package for the Activision CEO and he will be out by the end of 2023. This will not be a magic pill for the allegations and charges against the company but this acquisition will place the company under Microsoft that will make sure that these bad practices come to an end, or it will be their name that becomes besmirched next.

Xbox did negotiate with PlayStation that Call of Duty would remain multi-platform for the next ten years as Sony was constantly trying to stop this acquisition from going through. At the end of that time, it will be up to Xbox to decide whether to continue to work with PlayStation but I personally think that has a lot to do with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan’s sudden retirement, is the mishandling of this acquisition, false statements and lies before the board as well as in the court systems. Phil Spencer has commented that it is best to keep Call of Duty multiplatform as that is what gamers expect as well as because it is a mass selling first person shooter franchise that you wouldn’t want to cut it’s sales by a large portion down to only the Xbox, PC, Switch platforms.

So what does this mean for gaming as a whole? Well, when it comes to the average gamer not a lot will change. A lot of your favorite games will still be available where they are. It is reasonable to assume all Call of Duty games will be on Xbox Game Pass at some point. Xbox has done the great service of enabling servers on older Call of Duty titles to ensure gamers can experience those incredible games from years and years ago just as they were at launch, a huge win for gaming history. In order to remain competitive in the market Xbox has made large acquisitions over the years to bolster its first party studios beyond Halo, Gears of War, and Forza offering a wider variety of games coming from their studios. I think it will be very exciting to see what these studios can do with a budget from Microsoft and the chance to create more unique IP that Activision notably hasn’t done since the early 2000’s.

What does it mean if you’re a fan of PlayStation? Well if you’re part of the console wars and want to argue about your favorite plastic box, this may seem like the end of the world to you. I would argue that had PlayStation made this acquisition, history would show that all these games would be exclusive to their service and NOT one would ever be seen on Xbox and they would be praised for doing so. There’s a unique double standard against Xbox here and the onus is on them to do what they want with their new properties. While I wouldn’t expect all games from ABK to be multiplatform, you can assume some will not be. Much like Bethesda’s Starfield, some games will be designated in the best interest to be an Xbox Studios exclusive title. So perhaps it is time to simply embrace gaming as a whole rather than choose sides. There will be benefits for owning each console/PC and the person who can own all of them ultimately wins when it comes to player choice of what game to play.

Below you can see a handy chart of Xbox’s first party studios composed by Klobrille. What do you think of the Xbox acquisition of Activision, Blizzard, King? Let me know in the comments below.

Aaron Shack 10/10/23 Aaron Shack 10/10/23

Silent Hill: Ascension pre-install available

Silent Hill: Ascension, the digital event where the audience decides the fate of the characters of the Silent Hill canon each episode premieres October 31, 2023. You can pre-install and find out more at this link. Please note there may be mature themes on the website. You’ll be prompted to pre-install on Apple’s App Store or Google Play. What do you think of Silent Hill: Ascension? Will you be joining in on this limited series? Let me know in the comments below!

Aaron Shack 10/10/23 Aaron Shack 10/10/23

PS5 slim model announced with price hike

Sony has announced the new PlayStation 5 slim models coming this November. For the digital version, without the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive, you will be able to purchase a Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive add-on that is only compatible with this new slim model should you want a disc drive later on. Sony claims the new slim PS5 model has been “reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to the previous models.” The new PS5 is now slightly shorter by 1.25 inches, and slightly narrower, by 1.73 inches. It will weigh approximately 3 pounds less.

There’s no change in price for the standard PlayStation 5 model. The redesigned PS5 will launch next month for $499.99. However, the PS5 Digital Edition is getting a price increase of $449.99 at launch. (The original PS5 Digital Edition launched at $399 in 2020.)PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – $499.99PS5 Digital Edition – $449.99If you purchase the PS5 Digital Edition can purchase the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive separately for $79.99. Which is once again, only compatible with this slim PS5 model and not any older digital edition PS5.These new slim models are also launching with a 1TB SSD which is a slight increase from the 500GB SSD included with the original PS5 console at launch.

I personally see this as a good way for new players to get a PS5. While the PS5 is one of the largest and clunkiest consoles Sony has made, there really is no need to upgrade here for people that already have one. If you would like a larger SSD you can look into options to install one much cheaper than buying a new PS5. What do you think about the PS5 slim models? Let me know in the comments below!

Aaron Shack 10/9/23 Aaron Shack 10/9/23

Redfall by Arkane Studios gets 60 FPS update

On October 6, 2023, over five months after its launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC, Redfall finally has a 60 FPS update to the game. As part of update 2 for the game, Redfall on console has received a Performance Mode. This also includes several new features to the game as Arkane has promised amid a plagued launch for the game that they would “make things right.”

There are now stealth takedowns, accessibility options, new encounters, more enemies, improved PC performance, performance improvements to hero abilities, weapons, and systems in the game.

Aaron Shack 10/5/23 Aaron Shack 10/5/23

More layoffs in the gaming industry: Telltale Games

Following consistent layoffs at developer studios across the gaming industry and on the wings of a SAG-AFTRA strike with game studios, Telltale Games has reportedly laid off a significant amount of its workforce.

Jonah Huang, a Telltale Games Cinematic Artist tweeted about the layoffs saying that “Telltale laid most of us off in early September.” Huang also noted that he was under NDA and could not say more other than “Games industry, we must UNIONIZE.”

Telltale Games has since responded with a comment spread to multiple outlets and Geoff Keighley shared: "Due to current market conditions, we regrettably had to let some of our Telltale team go recently. We did not take this action lightly, and our commitment to storytelling and finding new ways to do so remains the same. We are grateful to everyone for their dedication along this journey, and we are working to support everyone impacted. All projects currently in development are still in production, and we have no further updates at this time. " – Telltale

In 2018 Telltale closed the studio after mass layoffs and was bought and put under new management in 2019. At The Game Awards in 2019, The Wolf Among Us 2 was revealed, a highly anticipated sequel to The Wolf Among Us. Telltale spent years after the first game bouncing around making different narrative based games around The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park, Guardians of the Galaxy, Borderlands, Batman, and most recently in 2023, The Expanse.

Aaron Shack 10/3/23 Aaron Shack 10/3/23

SAG-AFTRA talks with the videogame industry have ended with a failure to reach a resolution

I recently reported on the SAG-AFTRA strike in the videogames industry approving a Strike Authorization Vote with a 98.32% Yes Vote. The latest news comes in that a deal has failed to be reached and a strike is likely to begin. This will impact several companies listed in the strike such as: Activision, Blindlight, Disney, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take Two Productions, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games.

This news comes shortly after the Writer's Guild Of America (WGA) strike ended with a negotiated tentative agreement with The Alliance Of Motion Pictures And Television Producers (AMPTP) after a strike lasting 148 days. The SAG-AFTRA strike in the film industry against The Alliance Of Motion Pictures And Television Producers (AMPTP) is still ongoing. The last strike for SAG-AFTRA in the gaming industry lasted 183 days and took place from 2016-2017.

I think it is important to remember with these strikes that these workers unions are often asking for more pay and regulations to be protected in the workforce and to make enough money to be allowed to live around the place that they work. While it may be inconvenient to you that games are delayed or your favorite actors don’t show up in some games as studios attempt to hire non-union actors, it is worth looking at this issue from someone else’s perspective.

What do you think of the strikes in the gaming industry? Let me know in the comments down below!

Aaron Shack 10/3/23 Aaron Shack 10/3/23

Developer Naughty Dog laying off contract developers

As a part of the wave of recent layoffs in the videogames industry amidst a year of some of the most highly anticipated and high quality games in years, PlayStation Developer Naughty Dog known for games such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, is laying off some of its contracted developers. With most of the workers let go were from the Quality Assurance Testing Department, which is very important for maintaining a quality and bug tested experience for games. Other Departments such as art and production were downsized. Kotaku broke the story that no full time developers were being let go but that the 25 that were let go were not receiving severance pay and were also told to keep quiet about the news of the layoffs.

This year we’ve seen numerous studios with varying degrees of success in the gaming industry face large amounts of layoffs from Epic Games just last week, to 343 Industries who makes Halo games for Microsoft. Layoffs this year have included companies such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Embracer Group, and the closure of Volition who made Red Faction and Saints Row.

This news might lead one to ask “Why are there all these layoffs when these studios are releasing games with record breaking profits, cutting millions of dollars of bonus checks to their CEO’s while they layoff workers just after launching a game?” It’s a good question, why are developers not allowed to celebrate in the success? Why is it that the cuts in the industry start at the bottom when it is often the leadership that is at fault when a game is not successful. It is often marketing executives in the board room that will suggest radical features such as pay to win, microtransactions, forcing games into a live service model that wasn’t the intention of the original design by developers, and it’s all motivated by profit.

This is not even a problem just relegated to the gaming industry, we see it across all industries with multiple strikes in the labor force from actors, writers, voice actors, auto workers, and more. We see CEO’s from every company buying a new Super Yacht while their workforce struggles for basic cost of living expenses in a time where inflation is high and wages have been stagnant. These companies often demand loyalty from their workers but offer none in return. Older generations would stay at a job all their life and have a pension and retirement benefits while now, as soon as it comes time to pay up or share bonus checks, we’re hit with a wave of layoffs and your time at the company and your loyalty means nothing.

What do you think of the layoffs in the game industry? Is there some sort of fix for this issue? Let me know in the comments down below.

Just the facts and a logical opinion.

The Gaming News & Reviews you need.

No hot takes, no clickbait.

Aaron Shack

The Gaming News & Reviews
you need.