Welcome to TAG Roundup!
Ever wonder what you missed in the world of gaming last week? No worries – we’ve got you covered!
We read a ton of video game articles each week and wanted to share some of our favorites with the Average Gamer community. We’ll feature everything from previews to reviews and everything in between.
The articles we share will be from a combination of well-known sources (like IGN) and more niche blogs that you may not have heard of. In the previous TAG Roundup post, we talked about Mars Horizons, No Man’s Sky, Crash Bandicoot Mobile and more!
At the top of the hour, we’ve got news about Valhalla, the latest entrant in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Featuring Dark Ages Vikings, Valhalla will hit the shelves at the end of the year!
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the Way – Polygon
Assassin’s Creed has come a long way since the 2007 action-adventure release. The series has fluctuated between stealth and more direct combat for over a decade, building a strong, vocal community. With Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft looks to build off the success of the franchise with a 9th-century adaptation.
Valhalla will have all the things you love from AC games of the past: politics, settlement building, fierce combat, and more! It’ll also feature some of the most vicious looking Vikings that you’ve ever seen.
Watching the trailer immediately reminded me of the aptly-named tv show, Vikings, which follows the story arc of several warriors. The characters in the trailer even look similar to many of the TV show’s characters.
If you’ve watched a few episodes, it’ll be tough not to draw comparisons. This can definitely be a good thing, given how much appreciated the combat abilities and evolving storylines from the characters!
Valhalla focuses on the leader of a Viking clan, Eivor, taking your people across England to capture riches and supplies. The native Saxons eventually get fed up, fight back, and try to push back your forces.
Epic Games gets another win here as Valhalla will be available on their store at the holiday release. The game will, of course, also be available on the Ubisoft Store and will be included with an Uplay Plus membership.
The release date is set to ‘Holiday 2020’ and you can pre-order Valhalla now to make sure it ends up in your game library!
Streets of Rage 4 Review – Metro
Streets of Rage is one of the most well-known, side-scrolling, beat ’em-up franchises in the world, and for good reason! After more than two and a half decades, we’ve finally got another release in the series.
In this review, Metro praises the smooth combat and importance of situational awareness. There’s also a nice balance of weapons and environmental effects to keep the fights from getting stale.
Overall, the reviews have been very positive for Streets of Rage 4 and you can pick it up now on console and PC!
Polymega Beta Units Are Here – Nintendo Life
The Polymega is supposed to be the latest and greatest in the world of retro gaming. It’s got an optical drive to play your favorite CD-based console and has full emulation to relive the glory days of video games!
It runs at 1080P on any modern display and features its own motherboard that looks to be far advanced beyond typical Raspberry Pi setups. The specs are pretty impressive and promise to deliver high-quality emulation of 30 systems across over 9,000 games!
The beta console is out in the wild now and the final version will launch on July 6th.
Make Your Own Games with Fancade – Cult of Mac
A new app called Fancade will let you play existing games or make some of your own. There’s a library of mini-games that are available in addition to a simple drag-and-drop creator studio that allows the player to create a unique game.
I’m also pleased to hear about new tools for creators and Fancade looks to make game development more accessible to the masses. It’s gear toward casual mobile games but at least gives you the flexibility to create across many different genres.
Pick up Fancade here and start creating today!
Apex Season 5 Announcements – Gamespot
I’ve definitely been slipping in Apex Legends in the latter half of Season 4, but I think Season 5 is about to draw me back in. In addition to the new character, Loba, Respawn will be introducing in-game quests:
When Apex Legends Season 5: Fortune’s Favor arrives on May 12, players will find a new game mode, Quests, that will have players hunting for treasure and answers each season, Those who complete the journey will be richly rewarded.
We’re less than 2 weeks away from the start of Season 5 so stay tuned for more news as we approach the May 12th start date!
Confirmed Xbox Series X Games – Laptop Mag
Over the last several months, we’ve seen dozens of reports that shared details about the next generation of gaming consoles. In addition to the specs, we now have a list of confirmed games that will be released on the Xbox Series X.
Halo Infinite is one of the most anticipated titles, but the list also includes some interesting games like Gods and Monsters. The line up looks pretty solid but I’ll, of course, still be picking up my PS5!
Free Arcade Games – Apartment Therapy
Free is good. Free games are better. Free arcade games might be best. Free arcade games that you can play in your browser? Sign me up!
The Internet Arcade hosts arcade games that go back as far as the 70s, allowing gamers to relive the coin-binging days of old. If you’re still sheltering in place, which I hope you are, check out some titles that are sure to stir up plenty of nostalgia!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZKoejwKOs
Best Board Games for 2020 – CNET
CNET put together a list of some of the best board games available now and you’ll likely find at least one game that you’ve never heard of before. I can vouch for Zombicide and Arkham Horror, but the rest of the games are foreign to me.
The Star Wars game looks pretty cool and has a companion app to teach you how to play. Check out this video for an in-depth review!
That’s All For Now
There were plenty of other highlights from last week but these ones really stood out. Be sure to check in next time to read about video game current events.
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