It’s best to be careful these days, because news is coming in fast and furious from this year’s Gamescom. Each year, the spectacle gets larger and larger in Cologne, Germany. Luckily, we’ve compiled some of the show’s highlights for your reading pleasure. In today’s Gaming Daily: Square Enix refers to the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider reboot as a trilogy, our very own Samantha Sofka gave her impressions of Dark Souls III after going hands on with the game, The Mega Man Legacy Collection will be launching this month, EA reveals that you’ll be able to pilot the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Battlefront, and eSports fans will be happy with some of Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s new features.
Square Enix calls Tomb Raider a trilogy.
No longer will we need to decipher all of the cryptic messaging coming from Square Enix, as the company has decided to reveal some interesting tidbits about Lara Croft’s future. Ever since Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced as a timed exclusive, many wondered whether it was the first step towards turning the franchise into a Microsoft exclusive. Talking to Gamespot, CEO Phil Rogers had the following to say,” We don’t see this over time becoming an Xbox IP. This is a story and we’ll look back over the Tomb Raider franchise and history, and it will be a chapter where it was a timed-exclusive with Xbox.”
More interestingly, when questioned about the reasoning behind the choice to go the exclusive route, Mr. Rogers slipped up and revealed that Lara’s story will be told as a trilogy, “What it’s done for the sake of the studio and the next beat with the Tomb Raider trilogy… But the backlash is–we’ve watched carefully and we believe it’s the right thing to do.” There hasn’t been an official announcement from either Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics about a future game.
All parties involved with the Xbox exclusivity have done their best Neo impressions and dodged every tough question thrown their way, so finally getting the skinny on one diminishes the speculations thrown around about Lara’s future. Phil Rogers was also stressed how necessary the current deal with Microsoft was, probably because of the marketing prowess the mega-company provides. He also stated that future agreements such as the one they currently have in place are an option for future installments, but those choices will be made on a game-by-game case.
I still believe it’s incredibly short sighted on Square’s end. They are alienating PS4 owners, the console with the largest install base thus far in this generation. They want it to compete with the likes of Uncharted, but excluding 20 million people won’t help that cause. Plus, releasing it the same day as Fallout 4 does not bode well for sales numbers either.
HT: Gamespot
Hands-on impressions of Dark Souls III.
Surprise, surpriseâ you’ll be dying a lot in Dark Souls III.
Our very own Dark Souls nerd, Samantha Sofka, can confirm that the brutal difficulty rivals, if not surpasses, previous installments of the franchise. In other words, all the Sun Bros. should feel right at home. Praise the sun! There’s also a new “weapon arts” combat mechanic that changes how your on screen character holds his or her weapon. Altering positions will yield different attack styles. It’s similar to the physical transformations in Bloodborne. Having Hidetaka Miyazaki back at the helm should make this a memorable oneâ that man knows how to design levels.
HT:Â Nerdist
The Mega Man Legacy Collection launches this month.
The wait for the Mega Man Legacy Collection will soon come to an end. Capcom announced that the 6 game bundle will be getting a digital launch on August 25, for the PS4, Xbox One and PC. The bundle will run you $14.99. That’s three short weeks from today. The Nintendo 3DS version, however, is still slated for an early 2016 release date.
Players, like myself, who are still hesitant to embrace the all digital future will be pleased to learn that a physical release of the collection is also incoming. The cost of owning the disc (or cartridge on the 3DS) will be $29.99, which is double the price tag of the downloadable version. Those opting for this version will also have to wait for it to hit retailers in early 2016.
Defeating all the robot masters at the end of this month is going to be a blast. Mega Man still get’s insufficient credit for its masterful level design and tight controls. This bundle is easily one of the best deals around this year. All of the attention to detail by Capcom is commendable.
 HT: Capcom
Pilot the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: Battlefront.
EA announced earlier today that Star Wars: Battlefront is going to feature a 10-on-10 aerial dogfight mode called Fighter Squadron. If that wasn’t cool enough, they also revealed that players will be piloting some of the most iconic vehicles from the franchise, including the Millennium Falcon–“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid.” All my dreams are coming true. The short, but sweet trailer also reveals a playable Slave 1 at the very last second. The 2 minute clip is enthralling in all the right ways. Taking the battle to the skies will become extremely special in this AAA mammoth. All it needs is a robust control scheme and engaged online community. It’s a spectacular year for nerf-herders everywhere.
HT: Nerdist
eSports competitors will be pleased with new Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIÂ features.
Don’t tell Colin Cowherd this, but eSports are here to stay. Activision is trying to capitalize on the popularity by adding new features to their upcoming shooter, which were further detailed at the Gamescom’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Global eSports reveal. A new ranked player system will be introduced, accompanied with further options for CODcasting, a new “Ban and Protect” system, and Uplink will also be making a comeback.
CODcasting will become more streamlined for both broadcasters and spectators, with more options at their disposal, making it incredibly simple to change things up on the fly. This also marks the return of the fan favorite Uplink mode from Call of Duty: Advance Warfare, where the objective is to send a remote satellite towards the opponents uplink station, basketball style.
More interesting is the “Ban and Protect” multiplayer system being introduced. This will allow players to vote for items, weapons, or specialty classes to either be banned or protected during competition. It looks like a fun way of strategizing, and even balancing matches. If an opposing team is beasting with a certain weapon, simply vote for it to be banned.
For all the flack that CoD garners for being completely unimaginative, it sure has evolved on these new generation of consoles. I just worry that all of this means very little to the average online player. If only they could fix all the kids online talking ill-advised trash about everyone’s mother.
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Now thatâs a jam-packed Wednesday. There’s plenty to digest, especially all of the Rise of the Tomb Raider information. Will you be purchasing the Mega Man Legacy Collection this month, or do you plan on waiting for the physical copy? Are you willing to wait a year for Laraâs next adventure? Let us know in the comment section below.