Month: January 2020

Remedy Entertainment’s Control may be the studio’s most interesting game to date, which might explain why Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s co-writer has expressed interest in writing a movie based on the game.

Gary Whitta–writer of After Earth, The Book of Eli, and Rogue One–responded to a fan on Twitter asking what would be the best video game to base a movie on. Without hesitation, Whitta replied that Remedy’s trippy third-person shooter would make a fascinating project–and he would love to write it.

The studio’s communications director, Thomas Puha, said the two should talk. Whitta then told Puha to slide into his DM’s. While nothing is set in stone, it appears some kind of conversations are underway.

Though Whitta is best known as a screenwriter, he has also dipped into game development and television production. Whitta worked on a couple of Telltale games, including original The Walking Dead, its 400 Days DLC expansion, and The Walking Dead: The Final Season. He also wrote four episodes of Star Wars Rebels. Whitta also worked as a games journalist, working for ACE magazine and founding PC Gamer before transitioning to Hollywood.

Control has received numerous awards since its August 2019 launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In addition to getting nominated for Game of the Year at a plethora of awards ceremonies, including The Game Awards 2019 and The Game Developers Choice Awards, Control also secured a spot on GameSpot’s Best Games of 2019 list. In our writeup, we said, “Control is amazingly dense and lovingly constructed by a team that knew exactly what it wanted to make.”

Between the original franchise, the more popular “Z” series, the divisive GT and the recent Super, we’ve seen Goku and friends shout, power up, and fight each other for almost thirty-five years. Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has transcended its manga beginnings, becoming a pop-culture phenomenon (though the less said about the live-action movie the better), so it’s no surprise that there’s no shortage of video game adaptations – dating back all the way to 1986.

While it might seem obvious that the majority would be fighting titles, there’s a surprising amount of diversity to be found throughout Dragon Ball’s pixelated history, ranging from action RPGs all the way to card-battlers, and even a short-lived MMO. In honor of the first Dragon Ball game of the 2020s, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, let’s take a look at the games that came before. Whether you know your Goku from your Gohan, it’s time for a trip down Snake Way.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-dragon-ball-game-ever&captions=true”]

Flip through the gallery above to see all the Dragon Ball games, or scroll down for a breakdown of some of the franchises best, worst, and most unique games since the 1980s.

1986: Humble, Muscley Beginnings

A top-down shooter for the Epoch Super Cassette Vision, Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō sent Goku into battle atop his cloud companion the Nimbus, tasked with collecting the Dragon Balls by firing Kamehamehas and swinging his Power Pole at enemies in a top-down shoot-em-up.

Dragon Daihikyō was unique at the time, thanks to it’s more tactical take on the action/shooter – the hungrier our hero gets, the shorter his Power Pole becomes; meaning he has to refuel with items occasionally thrown by Chi-Chi. This nod to the anime (Goku is constantly eating) – is something latest release Kakarot builds upon with stat boosts awarded when our hero eats.

1986 – 1996: The Famicom/Super Famicom

The early nineties saw a multitude of Dragon Ball titles on the Famicom and Super Famicom consoles, and while many mesh into a homogenous blur of 2D fighting titles, there are a few surprisingly unique additions.

Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai was a 1992 fighting game that required a peripheral for the NES called the Datach Joint ROM System, which was in many ways a precursor to Amiibo. It would scan barcodes on trading cards that would unlock characters and items in the game.

In 1994, the Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku titles, Chikyū-Hen and the re-release, Uchū-Hen, (which translates to the catchily-titled DBZ Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans), were Japanese-exclusive card-battlers – similar in many ways to something like Slay The Spire, where moves and attacks are dictated by the cards drawn by the player.

With animated battle scenes and a wealth of characters (and an original story, something not found often in the franchise), Uchū-Hen was well-received by fans.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/31/dragon-ball-z-the-history-of-broly”]

Both Chikyū-Hen and Uchū-Hen even made their way to Playdia, Bandai’s proprietary console. The system only lasted on the market for two years, but boasted a wireless joypad (with infrared connectivity – a fairly novel idea at the time but one that Atari championed as far back as 1983 with the 2600’s CX-42 Joysticks) and was one of the earlier consoles to adopt running games from CD Roms.

The disc-based medium led to plenty of FMV-style titles, but short of licensed titles like Sailor Moon and the aforementioned Dragon Ball titles, the console faded into obscurity – despite a bizarre late push from Bandai to publish more… “adult-themed” titles.

1996 – 2000: The 3D Era

The arrival of Sony’s PlayStation in the mid-nineties offered a fresh opportunity for the Dragon Ball franchise – though its transition to 3D graphics wasn’t exactly an easy one.

The first PS1 Dragon Ball game, Ultimate Battle 22, had 3D backgrounds but 2D character models, and was panned critically for its imprecise controls and outdated graphics (yes, even back then). One review called it “one of the worst-looking titles ever released on the PS1,” which is impressive, considering the fact that Bubsy 3D had come out seven years earlier.

The following year’s Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout shifted to a fully 3D fighter along the lines of its contemporaries like Tekken. While the character models were well received, the gameplay was not – with many critics noting that flight animations were punctuated by characters just standing idle in mid-air.

Despite disappointing critics, the original Japanese version sold enough to earn a spot in PlayStation’s “Best for Family” branding campaign – there’s likely a lot of disappointed families.

2002 – 2010: The Budokai Years

The three Budokai games of the early 2000s restored Dragon Ball Z games’ public favour. These fighting games offered retellings of the anime storyline alongside an increasing number of playable characters, all modelled fully in 3D – with Budokai 3 reaching 42, including characters from outside of the anime’s story, such as Gogeta and Cooler from the movies.

The care given to the franchise clearly paid off, as reported sales of all three Budokai titles reached 3.9 million units in the US by July 2006 across PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube – a huge increase from the 10,000 shipped of GT: Final Bout back on the original PlayStation.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-ign-dragon-ball-game-review&captions=true”]

This success led to the Budokai Tenkaichi trilogy, which allowed players to mix up flight, melee, and ranged combat in open 3D arenas, able to move in all directions, with a third-person perspective. In fact, much of what helped revitalize the Tenkaichi games is still present in the series today, including the camera position, the mix of using Ki-blasts to weaken opponents, and the cinematic elements afforded by flashy new special moves.

While the first Tenkaichi title featured an impressive 64 playable characters, the roster would only grow from there – leading to an incredible 161 playable characters from all eras of Dragon Ball anime.

Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is still considered by many to be the pinnacle of the franchise (to the point that it earned an HD remaster alongside the original game in 2012. Its use of a cel-shaded art style not only made it look more like the anime, but also helped the game age more gracefully than the polygonal models of the past.

Many still consider Budokai Tenkaichi 3 to be the pinnacle of the franchise (to the point that it earned an HD remaster in [year]), featuring 161 playable characters from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. It also fine-tuned the trilogy’s cel-shaded art style, which not only made it look more like the anime but also helped the game age more gracefully than the polygonal models of the past.

It wasn’t all fistfights and Galick Guns though, as three Game Boy Advance titles put Goku in top-down RPGs in Legacy of Goku. Despite simplistic controls and gameplay, the first two titles shipped over 600,000 units in the United States alone, and while the third entry dropped the “Legacy of Goku”, Buu’s Fury still sold over 400,000 copies – suggesting Bandai was right to continue releasing games in the franchise.

In 2005, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas became the first game in the franchise to be developed by a studio outside of Japan, with the honour falling to Avalanche Software (who had previously worked on Prince of Persia 3D, and would go on to helm the Disney Infinity series). Sagas again retells the anime’s story but was playable entirely in co-op with playable characters including Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and Future Trunks.

After a disappointing critical reception (made all the worse in hindsight by launching in the same year as the much more competent Budokai Tenkaichi), the game still shipped around 750,000 units – although it’s still regarded as one of the franchise’s darkest moments, with critics pointing out a lack of moves in combat and a lack of visual polish.

The 2010s

After mixed fortunes in the years prior, Bandai Namco tried to spin the Dragon Ball franchise into an MMO – a genre that had gained in popularity thanks to  MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Age of Conan.

In 2010, Dragon Ball Online launched in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Hong Kong after a three-year delay. However, the initial reception was poor and the servers were unplugged before fans outside of Asia got the chance to jump in.

With the arrival of Microsoft’s motion-gaming peripheral, Dragon Ball Z: For Kinect launched in 2012 and was built on the same engine as Ultimate Tenkaichi. Unfortunately, poor motion tracking and repetitive combat couldn’t make throwing your arms around like a Saiyan fun – despite the game shipping with a cardboard version of Goku’s hair.

In 2013, Bandai Namco brought the wildly popular Dragon Ball Heroes collectable card game to Nintendo’s 3DS as Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission. Equal parts CCG and quick-time event, Ultimate Mission tells an original story in the DBZ universe, even introducing new villains to the series that have subsequently been introduced to the Manga – while an entirely new anime based on the game, Super Dragon Ball Heroes, began in 2018.

2015 saw the release of Dragon Ball Xenoverse – a 3D brawler/RPG hybrid that allows players to create a character and interact with the heroes and villains of the Dragon Ball universe themselves. Playing as a Time Patroller, your task is to ensure the events of Dragon Ball’s past remain unchanged, which is a perfect excuse to head back into anime’s sagas again.

It would seem that Xenoverse (and its 2016 sequel, Xenoverse 2) provide the template that Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot appears to follow – albeit that Kakarot focuses on Goku and friends instead of a bespoke player character while adding more open areas to explore – with multiple small zones connected together as opposed to Xenoverse’s smaller combat-only scenarios.

In 2018, Arc System Works released Dragon Ball FighterZ, arguably the best in the series so far. This 2D brawler uses much of the cel-shaded, accessible fighting template from the developer’s BlazBlue franchise, but adapts the visual style of the anime with stunning accuracy. With screen-filling super moves, a diverse roster, and three-on-three combat, it sold over 4 million copies by the end of March 2019 – and went on to win plenty of Fighting Game of the Year awards.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/dragon-ball-z-kakarot-vs-the-anime-a-side-by-side-comparison”]

Which brings us up today – Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot launches today, taking the third-person combat of the Tenkaichi games, the RPG systems of Xenoverse, and even the stat-boosting dishes from Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō to bring Dragon Ball Z games into a new decade.

For our thoughts on Goku’s latest adventure, check out our full review of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Lloyd Coombes is a freelancer writer, and spends at least one hour a day chanting Sam Fisher’s name in the mirror. You can join him in this dark ritual on Twitter.

Microsoft’s game-streaming service, which is currently called Project xCloud, has introduced even more games. New to the library today are titles like Destiny 2 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, as well as the racing game Forza Motorsport 7 and the strategy title Civilization VI.

You can see the full list of new additions below:

Project xCloud New Additions For January 21

• Black Desert Online
• Civilization VI
• Destiny 2
• Forza Motorsport 7
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Sparklite
• Superhot
• The Surge
• Tracks: The Train Set Game

These nine games join the 90+ titles already available for the Project xCloud trial, which is currently only available in the US, UK, and Korea. Microsoft also confirmed today that the preview is expanding in Korea, with more players now receiving invites. However, there is no word yet as to when Project xCloud will roll out in other parts of the world.

The first public preview for Project xCloud launches in October 2019. The service allows players to stream Xbox games from the cloud to their mobile device over Wifi or a mobile network without the need to own an Xbox. The program currently only supports Android devices.

Project xCloud is separate from Microsoft’s Xbox console streaming program which allows players to stream games from their home console to their mobile device.

There hasn’t been a lot of transparency with how streaming giant Netflix calculates its viewership. Earlier in the month, Netflix revealed it’s top watched movies of 2019, so we all got a look at what people who subscribe to the service are watching the most. However, the way the company figured out what counts as a view is a bit confusing.

Originally, if someone watched 70% of any title on the service, that counted as a view. Things have changed now, and a view counts as watching at least two minutes of any given TV show or movie, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. So when Netflix releases a statement saying 83 million people watched the movie 6 Underground, that doesn’t necessarily mean 83 million people watched the whole movie, or even half of it. They all watched for at least two minutes, and none of this is verified by a third party.

“This way, short and long titles are treated equally, leveling the playing field for all types of our content including interactive content, which has no fixed length. The new metric is about 35% higher on average than the prior metric,” a shareholder letter stated (via THR).

Of course that metric is going to be higher. Two minutes of watch time is less than 2% of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, a three and a half hour movie. With many movies, two minutes of watch time could simply mean, “You made it through the opening credits.” The old 70% measure seems like a much more reputable way to measure how people are watching the streaming service’s content.

Temtem, the PC MMO from developer Crema, has drawn a lot of comparisons to Nintendo’s Pokemon series. Adorable monsters, trainers, anime influence, etc. The game has now launched in early access on Steam, letting you train to be the very finest, like nobody has been before. And the launch comes alongside an animated trailer that pays homage to its inspirations like Saturday morning cartoons.

The Early Access version promises a 20+ hour campaign with four boss dojos, 76 Temtem, a breeding system, Luma (shiny) versions of Temtem, co-op and PvP, and three different islands. Long-term, Crema is planning to introduce more story content, a full roster of 161+ Temtem, three more islands, ranked PvP, mythical monsters, player housing, and special events.

It may scratch the itch for eager Pokemon trainers who have been asking Nintendo to make a proper MMO for years, but it looks to be more than just its inspirations. GameSpot editor Kallie Plagge noted in hands-on impressions that it twists the Pokemon formula in unique ways, and even Nintendo may even be wise to take notice.

Temtem is now available for $35. Crema says that Early Access players will pay less ultimately than others, as the price will gradually rise as more features are added. The game has also suffered some launch server hiccups, and the official Twitter account has been keeping fans regularly updated on those issues.

Voyager’s Seven of Nine will make her triumphant return in Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Voyager was the final series in a Trek television trilogy that began with Star Trek: The Next Generation and continued with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Between all three series, Star Trek was a staple of primetime television for an unbroken 15-year run.

After so much Trekking, Voyager was faced with a dilemma: How could the show explore strange new worlds and civilizations when the Alpha Quadrant had been so thoroughly explored? Thus, the producers made the decision to strand Captain Kathryn Janeway’s ship in the Delta Quadrant, a largely unexplored part of space that was 70,000 light years from Earth. The series was about Voyager’s attempts to get home–a journey that, without shortcuts, would take 75 years.

Most importantly for modern Star Trek fans, Voyager’s Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, is going to be on the new Star Trek Picard, which debuts on CBS All Access on January 23, 2020. Here are the 12 greatest Star Trek: Voyager episodes from the show’s run. And if you liked this gallery, be sure to check out our top Next Generation episodes to get to know Data, and the 10 essential episodes that focus on Jean-Luc Picard.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

1. “Deadlock”

Episode(s): Season 2 Episode 21

It’s a classic Trek conundrum: Somehow, through a combination of time travel, Mirror Universe shenanigans, or, in this case, a space-time rift, a character ends up arguing with a double of him or herself. In “Deadlock,” Captain Janeway and bleeding Captain Janeway debate and work together, knowing that one of them, and one of their crews, must make the ultimate sacrifice so the other can survive.

2. “Tuvix”

Episode(s): Season 2 Episode 24

One of the most controversial episodes in Trek history, a transporter accident merges Tuvok and Neelix together to create a third, unique individual Tuvix. Tuvix combines the best qualities of both men, and ingratiates himself to the crew. But when the Doctor figures out a way to split Tuvix back into Tuvok and Neelix, the moral dilemma rears its ugly head. Should Tuvix die against his will, so that the two men who died to create him can live? Janeway makes a hard decision that’s still debated by the fandom to this day.

3. “Scorpion: Parts 1 & 2”

Episode(s): Season 3, Episode 26/Season 4 Episode 1

The Borg were able to conquer whatever race of beings they came across, until they ran into and attempted to assimilate Species 8472. The Borg faced an existential threat, and Janeway used this unique dilemma to make a devil’s pact with the Borg: Voyager would help them defeat their enemy, in exchange for safe passage through Borg space. “Scorpion” also introduced borg drone Seven of Nine, who quickly became the show-stealer and breakout star for the next four seasons.

4. “Year of Hell: Parts I & 2”

Episode(s): Season 4, Episodes 8 & 9

Voyager faces oblivion when they run into the Thanos-esque Krenim. They are erasing entire civilizations from the timeline with temporal disruptions, in an effort to restore an earlier version of the timeline. It’s an existentially horrific scenario, and Voyager battles multiple Krenim ships over the course of months. Many crew members die, and pretty soon, Voyager is running on fumes, with the crew in bare-bones survival mode.

5. “Living Witness”

Episode(s): Season 4 Episode 23

Chronologically, this episode takes place 400 years after the events of the show. An alien race that encountered Voyager four centuries prior remembers the Starfleet crew as war criminals, indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people. The reactivated Doctor is the only Voyager crew member who is still alive (as a holographic program, he does not age or die, so long as his subroutines are intact), and he tries to clear the names and correct the historical record of his long-deceased friends.

6. “Drone”

Episode(s): Season 5 Episode 2

Seven of Nine, not that far removed from being de-Borgified herself, takes responsibility for a newly created, isolated Borg drone and strives to teach it individuality. The drone names himself One, and makes himself useful on Voyager. Unfortunately, the Borg collective eventually learns of his existence, and when One realizes the destruction that they are capable of, he makes a brave decision that affirms his humanity. As Seven, Jeri Ryan puts on one of her best performances in this episode.

7. “Timeless”

Episode(s): Season 5 Episode 6

In this episode, which takes place years after the current events of the show, an old Harry Kim and Chakotay track down Voyager, which crashed, killing the entire crew. Kim spends the episode questioning his worth (he blames himself for the accident 15 years prior), and he searches for a way to communicate with the past and warn the Voyager crew before it’s too late.

8. “Latent Image”

Episode(s): Season 5 Episode 11

The Doctor slowly realizes that his memory has been tampered with when he observes inconsistencies between his recollections and reality. Has the crew been lying to him? What memory could have been so terrible, that it would necessitate erasure? This is a great episode with multiple twists, and deeper themes about personal choice and the grieving process.

9. “Someone To Watch Over Me”

Episode(s): Season 5 Episode 22

Ironically, some of the most insightful conversations about humanity come from the two crewmates who are still learning about it: former Borg drone Seven of Nine and the holographic Doctor. The most charming scenes in “Someone To Watch Over Me” are when the Doctor is trying to guide Seven through the rituals of dating and romance. It seems, on its face, a bit like the blind leading the blind. But as Seven rises to the challenge, we see the Doctor develop a crush on his pupil. Funny, heartwarming, and a bit sad near the end, this episode is high on human drama.

10. “Equinox: Parts 1 & 2”

Episode(s): Season 5 Episode 26, Season 6 Episode 1

For seven seasons, Captain Janeway bends her principles and breaks Starfleet rules, but she never loses her basic morality or ethical compass. But the same cannot be said for the starship Equinox crew, which is also stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but has made some depraved decisions to survive and get back home. “Equinox” is a creepy look in the mirror–of what Janeway and her crew could have become if they made the wrong sorts of compromises.

11. “Blink of an Eye”

Episode(s): Season 6 Episode 12

On an alien planet, time passes much more quickly than it does for Voyager; a couple of minutes on Voyager is the equivalent of years for this planet’s inhabitants. Voyager sees this civilization grow and develop rapidly, and eventually, its people aspire to contact Voyager, which they see as a fixed point in the night sky.

12. “Endgame: Parts 1 & 2”

Episode(s): Season 7 Episodes 25 & 26

With the notable exception of Star Trek: Enterprise, the Star Trek franchise is excellent at sticking the landing in the series finale. The two-part Voyager finale played to the series’ strengths. We get time travel–old Admiral Janeway meets younger, present-day Janeway–the Borg, human drama, and moral choice, all rolled into one. And we get a definitive answer to the ultimate question of the show: will the Voyager crew make it home to Earth? Will failure come at a cost? And will there be an even bigger cost to play it safe?

If you’re itching to know more about the upcoming year of Rainbow Six Siege content, Ubisoft has confirmed where and when to watch. The company announced that details for Year 5 of the online shooter will be shared at the 2020 Six Invitational, which is set for February 7-16 in Montreal.

Announcements will include details of the next Operation, along with dedicated panels for a deep-dive into both Siege and the game’s related esports scene. The company didn’t pinpoint exactly when in the festivities it will be going into detail about Year 5, but did share a basic schedule of events. The group stage starts on February 7, followed by playoffs on February 11. All of those preliminary events are not open to the public, but will be broadcast. The final days of the playoffs and the finals begin February 14, so any big announcements are likely to occur that weekend.

The championship is offering a $3 million prize pool, including a portion of the proceeds from the Road to SI 2020 Battle Pass. That in-game event includes a special map, unique sportswear for Operators, and other unique cosmetics. It costs 1200 credits (about $10) or you can jump ahead with a premium unlock for 2400 ($20).

Siege is one of Ubisoft’s most successful live games, a model it has tried to imitate to varying degrees of success in its other franchises. Last year the studio announced disappointing financial results and postponed several games, and has now begun a management restructuring–including bringing back the creative director for Rainbow Six: Vegas.