Morning DLC: Video Game News & Rumors 1/27/2016
"Umbrella Corps will launch this May, Capcom announced in a press release. There’s no firm date beyond the May window for the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC title as of yet, but the new trailer above offers another look at the game.The third-person shooter, first revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2015, is a team-based action game with a Resident Evil-style coating. Many of its areas specifically draw from the worlds of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, according to Capcom."
If you remember this from TGS 2015, Umbrella Corps was a bit bizarre. Aside from the occasional zombie, there wasn’t really anything to distinguish this as a Resident Evil title, and not really anything to distinguish it as a unique shooter experience, either. We’ve only had the barest of previews so far, however, and we won’t have to wait long to find out what Umbrella Corps holds for us.
"Another point of contention in the Japanese version of Fire Emblem Fates was a feature that let players use the 3DS touch screen to stroke characters, some of whom would respond with suggestive dialogue. It got excessively, um, interesting when it involved the player character’s adoptive siblings (who are apparently still romanceable). You can read a few fan translations here, if you want.While the English version of Fates still includes many relationship-building activities by way of robust castle functionality, Nintendo confirmed to me that petting is 100 percent out. It’s unfortunate, given that moments of physical intimacy are so rare in games, especially as a means of building character relationships."
Oh darn. I won’t be able to pick up Fire Emblem and use the touch screen to awkwardly stroke the faces of anime characters to raise their affection and elicit awkward sexual dialogue. As I said a few days ago, it is the prerogative of the studios and creators to make these sorts of changes. In this case, the change will do minimal if any harm to the game itself, and cause many fans to be significantly less creeped out during play.
"The time to offer your own submission of who should stand alongside games like Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Doom, and World of Warcraft is now.If it wasn’t clear, the list above are the games that are already part of The Strong Museum of Play’s World Video Games Hall of Fame, but it is currently taking submissions for new entries here. The window for submissions closes on February 29. Finalists will be announced on March 29, and then and the inductees will be revealed at a special ceremony on May 5."
If you missed the big induction last year, I highly recommend submitting a game for inclusion this time around. Though the games added are ultimately chosen by a panel, the public’s voice is important in helping their decision. Aside from preservation purposes, it’s important to help recognize games for their important place in both art and culture.
Fortunately, I’ve got a month to decide between Majora’s Mask, Pokemon, and Chrono Trigger. Yikes.