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Summer of Gaming Day 1 round-up
IGN has just hosted the first day of IGN Expo where a variety of studios and publishers announce, reveal and showcase their games. Day 2 begins today, June 11th, at 11:30am PT.
Two new games were announced, trailers for Stronghold: Warlords and XIII debuted alongside new gameplay footage from Blankos Block Party, Iron Oath, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time and Spellbreak, as well as two lengthy sections from Star Renegades and Bravery Network Online.
IGN Expo Day 1 – June 10
- Metal: Hellsinger — Official Reveal Trailer
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX — Official Reveal Trailer
- Demon Turf — Official Reveal Trailer
- Mortal Shell — Official Gameplay Trailer
- Observer: System Redux — Exclusive Gameplay Demo
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon — Gameplay & Dev Interview
- Borderlands 3 – Bounty of Blood DLC — Gameplay Interview
- GTFO — Exclusive Gameplay
- Chivalry 2 — Official Console Announcement Trailer
- The Waylanders — Official Gameplay Trailer
- Second Extinction — Gameplay & Dev Interview
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Official Console Trailer
- Voidtrain — Official Trailer
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood — Official Cinematic Trailer
- Beyond Blue — Official Launch Trailer
- Wasteland 3 — Factions of Colorado — Official Trailer
- Dual Universe — Official Trailer
- Rustler (Grand Theft Horse) — 8 Minutes of Gameplay
- The Riftbreaker — 5 Minutes of Gameplay
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Where does James learn the truth about Mary in Silent Hill 2?
- Rosewater Park
- Toluca Prison
- The Lakeview Hotel
- The Silent Hill Historical Society
The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today’s issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.
Daily Fact
Demon’s Souls was a total mess
Demon’s Souls from 2009 has become legendary for its unforgiving difficulty and inspired countless imitators, but according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki the game barely made it through development.
The team was struggling to make a good prototype with a coherent vision, which attracted Miyazaki’s attention. He was working on Armored Core at the time, but was very excited to get in on an action RPG that he could turn into anything he wanted.
He didn’t even worry about his reputation if his intervention had failed, since the game was on the brink of cancellation anyway. Demon’s Souls made it through development, and eventually sold over 1,7 million copies and let Miyazaki make Dark Souls. The rest, as they say, is history.
Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today’s fact.
Game Spotlight
Review: 1971 Project Helios
Developer: RecoTechnology S.L.
Version tested: Switch
1971 Project Helios is a turn-based strategy game where you scavenge for weapons and battle three villainous factions as you hunt for Dr. Margaret Blythe. Unfortunately, dastardly enemies and limited equipment are the least of your worries.
Enemy encounters are highly scripted, and every battle always starts with the same character positions with full health. If you lose, you just start right next to the encounter trigger, like nothing happened. That means it never feels like your decisions matter, and while the game design can’t carry permadeath mechanics there must have been something the developers could do to spice things up.
The art is sub-par and the animations are clunky, the camera features four locked angles to pick between and the music is simply put annoying. It’s not just irritating: It actively destroys any tension and atmosphere the game might have managed to conjure up with its environments.
1971 Project Helios is the very definition of mediocrity, and there’s no way it is worth the £35.99 asking price. If you want a turn-based strategy game for Switch, you should check out XCOM 2 Collection or Fire Emblem: Three Houses instead. The PC and PlayStation 4 versions are no better. Just avoid it and play something good.