Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun will offer a single-player, good old-fashioned sprite-based, hardcore experience in the boots of the ultimate killing machine: a Space Marine. You can check out the reveal trailer below:

Load up your Boltgun and plunge into battle headfirst! Experience a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, classic, frenetic FPS gameplay and the stylish visuals of your favourite 90’s retro shooters. Play a battle-hardened Space Marine on a perilous mission across the galaxy, as they battle against the Chaos Space Marines and daemons of Chaos.

In glorious boomer shooter style, unleash your devastating Space Marine arsenal as you blast through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood. Run, jump and charge across huge levels to shoot, shred and slice the worst heretics across the galaxy!

“We are delighted to be working on this fast-paced indie FPS alongside the talented Auroch Digital studio, and our long standing partner Games Workshop,” announces Dessil Basmadjian, Chief Creative Officer at Focus Entertainment. “We are excited by Boltgun’s skilful combination of iconic 90s style, the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and thrilling gameplay that is sure to delight all kinds of players.”

“Auroch Digital is proud to be working with Games Workshop again and Focus Entertainment on Boltgun. As a team of massive Warhammer 40,000 fans, this game has been brewing since 2018 and we’re so excited we can FINALLY shout about it from the rooftops! We can’t wait for players to get their hands on it and to see their reactions” says Nina Adams, Operations Director at Auroch Digital.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is being developed by Auroch Digital and published by Focus Entertainment with a planned release date of 2023 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. It can be wishlisted on Steam here: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun on Steam (steampowered.com)

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Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings all three games together into one neat package, giving you access to all three titles from a single screen. For newcomers to the Mass Effect you play as Commander Shepard, their story and appearance are defined by you. You and your crew are out to protect the galaxy from the Reapers from commiting galactic genocide.

The story still stands up brilliantly and as you play through Mass Effect 1 you’ll build a huge understanding of all the different species that coexist and the tensions that have bubbled up between the different factions. You’ll learn all of this through conversations aboard the Normandy and CIA the various missions you undertake. As you expect there is a main set of missions but there is plenty to enjoy through the different side quests that appear through scanning planets and talking to people on the citadel.

Generally the upgrade to the graphics is impressive, even in the first game, although the character models are let down by the lifeless animations. This all improves as you move through the other games of course. The various planets you visit look that much more interesting, the cutscenes are smooth and detailed and the whole experience is a big improvement.

The gunplay is still good and spending on what sort of character you have created your biotic abilities are still great to experiment with. As you move through 2 and 3 that gameplay improves, especially as it becomes easier to direct your squad in battle. Getting a mix of abilities in your squad allows you to create combinations, for example having a biotic character that can throw a group of enemies in the air so the other two in the squad can shoot them down like clay pigeons never gets old.

The various enemies you come up against are intelligent for the most part, although you’ll still come across opponents who get stuck or won’t move from their position. Some of the larger enemies are great to go up against and Saren, the major villain is an excellent opponent.

The Mass Effect series is all about the relationships, sometimes you are relieving tensions between the different alien races and other times you are helping your fellow humans.As you level up Shepard you’ll unlock new conversation arcs and depending on whether you play as a good guy/role model or a Badass who doesn’t care what people think the different characters you meet will react to you in different ways. As you play through ME2 you’ll learn a lot more about the characters you first met in ME as well as meeting some excellent new people that you’ll go on one hell of a journey with. Some you’ll get on with , some you won’t but that’s the beauty of the excellent dialogue and choices you are forced to make.

Load times are much improved, though it’s sort of spoiled because you have to load the game to a main menu where you then have to select which game of the three you want to play.

The post Mass Effect Legendary Edition review appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

At this stage the VR support is for PSVR only, but surely its only a matter of time before it comes to other headsets.

I won’t give any spoilers away, but I am really interested to see how the cliff-hanger plot twist at the end of the main campaign of Hitman 2 is resolved. Unfortunately, the multiplayer “ghost” mode has been removed from this game entirely, so this time around there is no competitive player vs player action to be had.

Hitman 3 is the best place to play every game in the World of Assassination trilogy. All locations from the previous two titles can be imported and played within Hitman 3 at no additional cost for existing owners – plus progression from Hitman 2 is directly carried over at launch.

Hitman 3 is the third, and last in the World of Assassination trilogy and is released on January 20th 2021 for Xbox, Playstation and PC. It features six new locations such as Dubai, Dartmoor, Berlin, and Chongqing.

For more information, please visit the official website.

You can read my review of Hitman 2 right here!

The post Hitman 3 comes to VR appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

Available in the in-game item shop now, includes heroes Black Panther and Captain Marvel, as well as villain-for-hire Taskmaster.

The Marvel Royalty and Warriors Pack includes:

BLACK PANTHER

• Black Panther Outfit With Kinetically Charged Style
• Vibranium Daggers Dual Pickaxe
• Wakandan Skyrider Glider
• King Cowl’s Back Bling With Kinetically Charged Variant Style

CAPTAIN MARVEL

• Captain Marvel Outfit With Empowered Variant Style
• Alpha Staff Pickaxe
• Power of Mar-Vell Glider
• Kree Backplate Back Bling With Empowered Style

TASKMASTER

• Taskmaster Outfit
• Mimic Shield Back Bling
• Copycat’s Sword Pickaxe

The post Captain Marvel, Black Marvel & Taskmaster join Fortnite appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

The video game market is worth around $159bn, according to Games Industry Biz, making it lucrative and expansive. Some titles are console hits, with huge budgets and worldwide reach, whilst others drop on mobile devices and tablets looking to fulfil a different niche. The absolute best tend to have one thing in common these days – offering the chance to play online.

That is especially the case with football games, which have always been better with more than a single player. Kick Off 2, Sensible Soccer, Pro Evo – they all became big hits on standalone consoles for their competitive edge and how they pit friends against each other in frantic and exciting battles. As technology has advanced, players can now compete with anyone around the world, and not just in actual match action. We have selected four different genres of the beautiful game currently delighting football fans online.

Simulation

The actual game simulation was always the biggest draw, right back to 8-bit machines, and the market is now minimal, but no less competitive. There are two big-hitters for gamers to choose from, the behemoth that is the FIFA franchise, and the pretender to the crown, eFootball PES 2020. The latter tends to be preferred by the purists, but FIFA remains the top title due to the depth of the licenses and their lucrative Ultimate Team mode, which generates $1.49bn in revenue for EA Sports.

Management

Football fans are not just after the intense match action. Some like the other side of the game, the statistics, the players and tactics. They are the supporters who prefer to understand how a team is constructed and to test themselves against other masters of the craft. The best title for fans who prefer numbers and percentages in Football Manager 21, which was recently released on PC. Football Manager dates back to the early eighties when Kevin Toms programmed a version for the ZX 80, amongst other machines, but the current incarnation is heavily linked to developer Domark’s Championship Manager series from the early nineties.

Slots

Football can be represented in games that do not relate to the real world but instead draw from the general themes to give a fan an alternative experience. This is particularly evident in the online slot world, where games can often be varied to attract a range of different players depending on their real-life interests. This is the case with online provider TuxSlots, who have two titles in the form of Football Champions Cup and Football Star, which both use typical images from the game without drawing directly from its rules, gameplay or wider world. These titles do not offer the gamer the chance to take part in match action, but instead, take their interest and move it into a different direction. For a fan with football on the brain, they can be a welcome distraction from the game itself, without straying too far from their core interests.

Chairman

Which football fan dreams of stepping up to be a club chairman? Very few probably, but for those that do, the online gaming world has delivered in abundance. Owning a football club might be out of reach of the average man or woman, but with releases such as Football Tycoon, you can do just that. The original dropped way back in 2009 but has since been followed by mobile games such as Football Chairman which puts you in control of commercial decisions and financial responsibilities.

The post The Best Online Football Experiences appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

Fast forward eight years (good grief has it been that long already?) and what was considered by many to be a franchise that would never see the light of day again, THQ Nordic’s Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning would suddenly appear on the horizon, much to the delight of the small group of adoring fans (one of which is writing this now).

Set in the Faelands in the Kingdoms of Amalur (the place, not the title), the home to the immortal Fae of the Summer and Winter courts, the Tuatha are wreaking havoc on what was once a peaceful land. You play the “Fateless One”, effectively a reanimated corpse of a fallen soldier who is miraculously resurrected by a gnomish scientist Fomorous Hugues. Once you have been through the pretty comprehensive task of character creation, you are given your main quest, and away you go!

I wouldn’t usually spend too much time to discuss character creation, but Kingdom of Amalur’s deserves some time in the spotlight. It’s not quite like your usual RPG character creation. Certainly, actually deciding the gender, race, hairstyle and whatnot is pretty standard fare, but I really like how skill development is handled. You have your usual strength, stealth, and sorcery skill trees (Might, Finesse, and Sorcery respectively), how you choose to develop these tree have direct influence on what equipment you can use. Don’t have quite enough Finesse? That’s a shame you can’t use this awesome chest piece just yet. This makes you really think about how you want to dish out those skill points, and define your character and playstyle. It was easy for me, 100% sorcery and all the cool robes…

Along with the skill tree, Destinies play a large part in your character development. Once again focusing on each of the main disciplines – Finesse, Might, Sorcery. The Destinies unravel as you assign specific points to each of these. For me, I was focusing purely on Sorcery, so as I levelled up, I would unlock levels within the Sorcery Destiny, gaining titles as I go; Acolyte, Initiate, Seer, etc. Players aren’t locked into single disciplines either, and are welcome to mix and match as they like, unlocking the related Destiny as they go.

On top of these skillsets, there’s a whole host of weapon types that should satisfy anyone who likes to bludgeon things, slice things, send things to their fiery doom, and much more. It’s almost overwhelming at first, but you soon work out which works for your style, and combat becomes smooth and almost effortless – more on that later!

So for character creation you are set in Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning! But what good is a badass fighter without things to fight?

There are plenty of things to kill, don’t you worry! Amalur is set in a semi-high-fantasy world, and on your travels you’re never too far from Trolls, Wolves, and an array of weird woodland creatures that want to chew your face off! Thankfully, with your arsenal of weapons, and a few spells up the sleeves of your baggy mage robes, tackling them is a delight. Using a mix of primary and secondary weapon setups, and a host of spells which can be assigned to the various face buttons, battles soon go from an “Oh shit I’m going to die!” moment, to an “Oh shit, did you see that?!”. My poor wife had to put up with me acting like a five-year-old every five minutes, as I would pull off some incredible combo of destruction magic and literal soul-destroying spells.

The Kingdom of Amalur, as dangerous as it is, is incredibly “pretty”. I hate using that word, but it is… It’s vibrant, inviting, and the little nooks and crannies of the world are begging to be explored. However, as gorgeous as it is, it suffers a bit with age as exploration in Re-Reckoning is very “of its time”. Never truly being open world, but more open corridor. Some areas do open up, and allow a little more freedom in exploration, but generally you are pretty restricted as to where you can go. But, in a time where so many games are so vast, and offer almost too many options of where to go, a little restriction can be welcome to allow you to focus on the task at hand.

As in any RPG, tasks and quests are everywhere… I don’t know about you, but I am a quest hoarder… See an exclamation mark, and I am there! Sure, I’ll go find your lost child, once I’ve helped this person with their chickens! What was that? You need me to speak to the local witch? Sure, I’ll pop up there for you… Amalur is full of people wanting things doing, so if you find yourself a little strained from the main campaign, there’s always something else to do. These additional tasks don’t tend to repeat task types too often, even if they do, I didn’t notice as I was enjoying myself too much, heading into a local cave to retrieve someone’s lost trinket.

Overall, I adore Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning just as much as I did back in 2012. As we’re on the cusp of a brand-new generation, it’s a love letter to a much simpler time… When RPGs focused more on the stories within the world, rather than the square-milage of its map. Amalur itself is waiting to be explored, and wants to show you everything it has to offer, all while you save the world from evil. It’s a game that I can see myself returning to time and time again. With the different options for skills, Destinies, weapon sets, and more, I can only see each playthrough being as exciting as the last. Yes it has a few moments where 2012 creeps in, the UI is a direct replica of the original, and a little more intrusive than what we’re used to today. And sure, the map indicator doesn’t move with you, but these can be excused, and if anything, evoke some of that sweet nostalgia we all love.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is available now on Playstation 4, PC, and Xbox One for a very reasonable £34.99!

The post Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning Review appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

Veteran broadcaster of almost 20 years, the Australian Elvy has mainly focused on golf in his stints with outlets including CBS Sports and FOX Sports. The American Beem is a three-time PGA TOUR winner, including a win in the 2002 PGA Championship, and currently serves as a Sky Sports television commentator and golf analyst.

In the game, Elvy and Beem provide analysis and insights to anchor a broadcast-style presentation with state-of-the-art graphics, dynamic cutscenes and a seamless replay system. But be warned: While they’ll celebrate your best shots, they’ll also flame you for your worst duffs. PGA TOUR 2K21 gives Elvy and Beem an opportunity to cut loose and improvise with some unorthodox calls they may not try out on TV. Be on the lookout for Beem’s signature “Super Chicken!”.

The post PGA TOUR 2K21 gets a new trailer appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

Shawn Layden leaves Playstation

In probably the most unexpected and surprisingly-handled news category was the reveal that Shawn Layden, Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios had left his role and the company.  And this wasnt revealed by a big announcement, or a well written press statement (as Sony usually does) but by a single tweet on the Playstation Twitter account.

There was no reason given for his departure, there has been no comment from Shawn Layden himself, and most weirdly, no actual official press release from Sony on the move. Time will tell just what went on over at Sony, but Shawn was the driving force behind some of the PS4’s biggest first party exclusives, and in turn the success of the PS4 over the last few years.

It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE. His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 30, 2019

EGX adds to its game line-up

EGX 2019 is being held from 17th to 20th October at the Excel centre in London and this week has added a number of new titles that will be playable on the show floor. Xbox have previously announced they won’t have an official presence at the show, which is understandable given that XO19 is in London in November, but this week Sony have announced that they will be there.

Concrete Genie, Iron Man VR, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Dreams, Predator: Hunting Grounds and Nioh 2 will all feature on Sony’s stand, along with a Death Stranding “experience”.

Cyberpunk 2077 will also get an “experience”, and this week Square Enix announced that Marvel’s Avengers will also be playable. Nintendo will be in attendance as well, demonstrating a number of titles including Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. One publisher yet to confirm is Ubisoft, who normally attends to show off their latest games, and seeing as how Watch Dogs Legion is set in London I would hope that there will be some chance to see this game in the flesh.

Check out the official EGX website for all the news on whats at the show, and expect further announcements in the run up to the show.

New Additions to Xbox Game Pass

I get bored of writing phrases along the lines of “Can Xbox Game Pass get any better value for money?” but the service just keeps improving. The launch of Gears 5 saw a lot of my old gaming buddies purchase Xbox One consoles purely for this service, and Gears in particular. But now they are investigating and playing other titles on the service that they probably wouldn’t have before, which is one of Microsoft’s main ambitions.

Announced as coming to Game Pass in October are; Dishonoured 2, World War Z, Yooka Laylee, Fallout: New Vegas, Felix the Reaper and Panzer Dragoon Orta. This week also saw the release date for a game high up on my Most Wanted list – Lonely Mountains: Downhill, which releases on October 23rd, straight into Game Pass. The latest game from Night School – the developer behind Oxenfree – is Afterparty, and this will launch a week later as well, on the 29th, and will also be a Game Pass title.

Sony quietly turns on Cross Play

Historically Sony have always been dead set against Cross Play, the ill informed comments about “protecting the kids” when discussing joining in with Minecraft cross platform play was the first indicator of this. However, time has passed and policies have changed, and earlier this year Sony announced that the Cross-Play Beta was active, and Fortnite was the main test.

Quietly this week, Sony announced that the Beta was over, and the functionality could now be implemented by any developer who wishes to incorporate it into their games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare famously has multiplayer cross play, so here is hoping that a lot more games are coming soon. Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has been active on Twitter recently on this subject, which does point towards a more open approach on gamers all playing together where possible.

A new Avenger joins the team

May 15th 2020 is the release date of Crystal Dynamics Marvel’s Avengers. We knew we would get to play as the main superheroes, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor et al, but also joining the team is Kamala Khan. In a recent announcement on the Square Enix blog it was revealed that the attack on New York which starts off our journey in Marvel’s Avengers, Kamala gets her powers from the Terregan mist.

“Telling our story of Kamala’s coming-of-age brings a fresh, hopeful perspective to the gameplay experience and her unique abilities as Ms. Marvel make her a character every person will want to play,” said Shaun Escayg, Creative Director and Writer at Crystal Dynamics. “Kamala Khan is the defining ingredient that makes our game stand apart from any Avengers story you’ve experienced before.”

With great honor and strength, I am proud to finally announce:
I am KamalaKhan. #kamalakhan #MsMarvel @PlayAvengers https://t.co/IUtvxkfKca

— Sandra Saad (@sandraramzysaad) October 4, 2019

Upcoming releases

Atlas (Xbox One, PC) – October 8th
Concrete Genie (PlayStation VR, PlayStation 4) – October 8th
Indivisible (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – October 8th
John Wick Hex (PC, Mac) – October 8th
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – October 8th
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – October 8th
Grid (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC) – October 11th
Killer Queen Black (Switch, PC) – October 11th

See you all next week!

The post Thumbstix Top News of the Week – October 4th 2019 appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

We know the release date for The Last Of Us 2

February 21st 2020 is when we will get to continue the adventures of Joel and Ellie. The Sony State of Play delivered on our expectations and also gave us a brand new trailer to devour. Tuesday 24th September also saw a media event taking place in LA, and the embargo of that lifted on Thursday 26th, so we now know a lot more of what to expect in this long-awaited sequel. This Eurogamer article conveys just how the opening two hours are paced, and has definitely made me hungry for more!

There are a number of editions of the game released, from the standard edition, all the way up to the “Ellie” edition which features both a statue and a replica of Ellie’s rucksack. I’m a sucker for both bags and statues so I am really going to have to rely on willpower to not purchase one of these!

There were also game reveals of a number of new titles coming to Playstation, including Humanity, LA Noire: VR Case Files and Arise: A Simple Story. More details were also shown about Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare which launches on October 25th 2019, including a limited time mode which is exclusive to the PS4 for a whole year! Personally, with the continuing trend towards cross play I think these kind of deals are detrimental to the industry. I understand the need for console exclusives, but launching a game on multiple consoles and then including multiplayer cross play, only to lock a game mode exclusively to one console for a year, is going to attract a whole lot of criticism!

We also had a limited edition Death Stranding PS4 announced, however despite first impressions the controller does not contain a baby!

Game Streaming coming to Xbox in October

The beta for xCloud, the Xbox game streaming service is now open for registration for residents of the USA, UK and Korea, and will be starting in October 2019. Four games will be available on the beta, with Gears 5, Halo 5, Sea of Thieves and Killer Instinct all included. Participants will need an Android 6.0 device, an internet connection download speed of 10Mbps, and a bluetooth enabled Xbox controller to make full use of the service. I have already registered, as this service will be perfect for my lifestyle, whether it be travelling for work or waiting around for my son at his swimming training, the ability to connect up and play an hour or two of Sea of Thieves will be fantastic! More details can be found on the Xbox Game Streaming website.

Also announced on the Inside Xbox show were more details of XO19, DayZ, Hitman 2, Afterparty, Code Vein, Felix the Reaper, Children of Morta and the announcement that Atlas is arriving into Xbox Game Preview on October 8th. Check out the official post on Xbox Wire detailing all the news.

The Xbox Games with Gold for October were also announced this week, with Xbox One getting Tembo the Badass Elephant and Friday the 13th: The Game. Whilst on 360 and Xbox One via Backward Compatibility, play Disney Bolt and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge.

Is there a new Batman game on the way?

Both Warner Bros Montreal and Rock Steady have been far too quiet of late, with rumours of new game announcements expected at the last two E3 conferences, but never materialising. But this week, Warner Bros Montreals Twitter feed sparked into life with a couple of teasers, the first on September 22nd, followed by the second a day later, which featured the phrase “Capture the Knight” and a series of rotating symbols which experts believe match those found in the Batman comic series of Court of Owls. Was it also a coincidence that the first teaser came on Batman Day, which this year was the 80th anniversary? No further announcements have been made, so watch this space.

Capture the Knight / Cape sur la nuit pic.twitter.com/yMFXMd4djU

— WB Games Montréal (@WBGamesMTL) September 23, 2019

Respawn working on a VR Medal of Honor game

Back in 2017 Respawn announced that one of its projects was a Triple-A VR game exclusive to the Occulus devices. This week that project was announced to be Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Set in World War 2, the game is set to have three main acts. Act 1 pits you as the resistance in  Nazi-occupied France prior to the invasion of Normandy. Act 2 is the invasion, beginning with an Omaha Beach level. Act 3 sets you off to destroy the Nazis’ secret weapons, such as the hydroelectric plant in Norway.

The game is being shown off at the Occulus Connect conference and is due for release in 2020.

Apex Legends Season 3 gets a New Map

Hot off the press news, coming in on the afternoon of Friday 27th, is that Season 3 of Apex Legends will be set in a new location. We wave goodbye to Kings Canyon and say hello to Worlds Edge “where molten heat and chemical ice collide”! Thats all we know for now, but expect more news before the season kicks off on October 1st.

So, loads of news this week, and narrowly missing the Top Five were the following;

Hitman goes to the Maldives

The latest update to Hitman 2 sees Agent 47 pulling on his Speedos and heading to Haven Island in the Maldives. Our hero has to assasinate three new targets, and the update also comes with new achievements and trophies, challenges, mastery levels and new gadget unlocks.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Open Beta Weekend

The Open Beta of the upcoming Ghost Recon: Breakpoint will take place from Thursday September 26th through to Monday September 29th and will feature; Solo or four player co-op exploration, Six regions to explore (Smuggler Coves, Mount Hodgson, Sinking Country, Fen Bog, New Argyll and Infinity), Five main story missions (three new to the open beta) and several side missions, 12 Faction missions available, with two Faction missions playable every day in each region and PvP (competitive multiplayer) on four maps – Skell Port, PMC Camp, Cold War Bunker and Deserted Harbor.

So, loads to test out ahead of the full game release on October 4th, however your progress will not carry over.

New Releases

Only two notable titles to mention this week, with October 4th seeing the release of the aforementioned Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and October 1st being the big day for all you Destiny fans out there, with the release of the latest game update, Shadowkeep. This date will see Destiny 2 go free-to-play as Destiny 2: New Light. For those of you who are confused, New Light is all the Destiny 2 year one content for free. It does not include any of the Year 2 content, including the Forsaken expansion. The handy graphic below should make things clearer?

Thats it for this week – Catch you all in another seven days!

The post Thumbstix Top News of the Week – September 27th 2019 appeared first on THUMBSTiX.

Apple Arcade

Apple Arcade released on September 19th, initially onto iPhones with the iOS13 update, and will follow later onto the iPad and Mac devices. Early feedback has been very positive, with the game library totalling 71 games (as of Friday 20th), and including games featuring well known characters such as Sonic and Rayman, which will do wonders to attract the more casual gamer. Some well known and respected game developers and publishers are supporting the service, with Devolver and Konami both having some of these launch games, which should appeal to the more clued-up of us! At £4.99 per month, with no ads or micro-transactions, it seems like the subscription service has a bright future ahead. Don’t forget that you can also connect your Xbox and PS4 controllers to the devices as well, which is a great feature for console gamers.

Personal highlights so far look like Sayonara Wild Heights (AnnPurna) and Where Cards Fall (Snowman). More details of all games currently available can be found on the official Apple Arcade website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frLeePH8W9Y

Apex Legends

Respawn have officially announced that Season 3 of Apex Legends will launch on October 1st, and with it comes a brand new legend! Crypto has been teased on multiple occasions previously, and was deemed to be the hacker responsible for the destruction of the Repulsor which led to the map changes at the start of season 2. Last weekend Crypto was found by some eagle-eyed players hacking terminals in the Labs area of Kings Canyon, fuelling the speculation that he would be the next character.

This was then all confirmed by Respawn on September 19th, with the news that Apex Legends Season 3: Meltdown would drop on October 1st, with Crypto, a new Battle Pass, a new weapon in the Charge Rifle and Ranked Season 3. More information followed with a Crypto episode of the Apex Legends Stories from the Outlands animated video series (see below).

Crypto’s special ability is rumoured to be “specialised surveillance drones to stay in the fight and out of the spotlight” leading us to believe that he may have the ability to disappear or manually place his own cameras to see where the opposition are on the map. Whatever the skill is, expect the Thumbstix team to continue playing a whole heap of Apex Legends over the coming months! If you are into your Apex lore then it’s also worthwhile to check out the subreddit of r/ApexLore.

Xbox Game Pass additions

Another bunch of new games were announced for Xbox Game Pass earlier this week. Already released on September 19th were Jump Force and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, both 2019 full-price releases that are now free with the subscription services. Jump Force looked like it was going to be a fantastic triple-A fighting game but came out to middling reviews, whilst Bloodstained looked to be a Castlevania inspired side-scrolling RPG that was taken to the hearts of fans of the genre.

Then, coming later in the month are Bad North, Dirt Rally 2.0 and Lego Worlds. More details of the service, including the free to play weekends, can be found on Xbox Wire.

Sony’s State of the Nation

Not actually news for this week, but this will definitely be at the top of the list for next week! Sony have announced a State Of Play event for Tuesday 24th September, and The Last Of Us 2 will be covered off, which hopefully points to a release date announcement. This event falls on the exact same day as the planned Last Of Us 2 media event which is being held in LA, so I am certain that we will know so much more about the game come this time next week.

"I'm gonna find…and I'm gonna kill…every last one of them." pic.twitter.com/vO0cC6dGkO

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 20, 2019

The official Naughty Dog twitter account has confirmed the games attendance at the State of Play event with a beautiful post quoting a line from the first ever trailer – “I’m gonna find…and I’m gonna kill…every last one of them.”

Squeals of excitement all round!

Batman comes to Fortnite

The Fortnite behemoth rolls on, this time with a crossover with Batman! Starting on Saturday 21st September and running through to the 6th October, Fortnite x Batman has turned Tilted Town into Gotham City, a “Caped Crusader Pack” of cosmetics and weapons will be available to purchase, and the game will include the usual challenges and rewards based around our favourite hero.

Check out the official website for full details and patch notes.

Releases

As previously mentioned we have had two huge games hitting the Nintendo Switch, with both Untitled Goose Game and The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening arriving on Friday 20th September. Next week brings The Surge 2 on the 24th September and Code Vein and FIFA 20 on the 27th September.

The post Thumbstix Top News of the Week – September 20th 2019 appeared first on THUMBSTiX.