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 Konami retro gaming, Super Nintendo Land, Apex News and more!
Here we go!
Pokemon Home Pricing – Polygon
The Pokemon Company has created a cloud-based storage system to move your virtual critters through virtual Poke banks. There’s both a basic and a premium option which gives you access to storage, a judge function, and room trade, among other features.
Pokemon Home will work with Pokemon Sword and Shield as well as the Pokemon: Let’s Go games. You can purchase access for anywhere from $1.33-$2.99 per month, depending on how long of a subscription you buy.
Check out the Polygon article for all the deets and let me know if you think this offering is worth it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKc4YXCGoCY
Should Gaming Companies Build Hotels? – Input Mag
Obviously, yes.
Atari came into 2020 swinging! They announced a series of gaming hotels that will bring a “one-of-a-king video game-themed destination”.
We don’t have many details about the hotels themselves, but I’ll definitely be checking out the San Francisco location once it’s open! On top of games, we’ll see restaurants, a movie theater, a gym, and business spaces.
Ground will be broken in mid-2020, so look out for more hotel news this summer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPn1fJ2dGKI
Play Virtual Boy on a TV – Nintendo Life
For the gamers blessed enough to get their hands on a Virtual Boy back in the 90s, you remember the painful red lines and unique controller. Two and a half decades later, modders have customized a Virtual Boy system to tap into the power of your television!
They 3D printed a custom case around the Virtual Boy motherboard to bring this dream to life. The design is sleek and the end result is your daily dose of nostalgia, from Virtual Boy Wario Land to Mario Clash.
How much would you pay for this retro console?
Consolized a Virtual Boy system with @Furrtek Virtual Tap board and servo emulator while using the Nintendo Multiout Port for RGB display and with @Marcus919 3D Printed case! You can now play the Virtual Boy on TV now. Much thanks to @apdwaldo6 for providing the printed case. pic.twitter.com/DQjxly9C4a
— iFixRetro (@iFixRetro) January 26, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1I1oAataSE
Battle Axe: Old Look, New Feel – Gematsu
Many of us know the original Golden Axe as an exciting, top-down action-adventure game, packed with plenty of hack n’ slashin. Henk Nieborg hops to build off this legacy in his latest Kickstarter campaign, Battle Axe.
It’ll have both solo and local co-op options, with players choosing heroes that each have their own weapon and ability sets. It reminds me of a more violent version of Magicka and the early footage looks really cool!
It’s set for a January 2021 release, but only if he hits his Kickstarter goal by the end of the month. Go support this creator if the game looks interesting to you!
https://youtu.be/nEhQUZhH9sk
BYO FPS – Wireframe
I want to make my own video game, but it’s just so difficult without years of training and evening more years of development. I even went so far as to purchase a course in Unity, but have only gotten about 2% of the way through it.
Perhaps this 140-page guide is the way to go for folks looking to build their very own First-Person Shooter.
It’s complete with images, straightforward instructions and is completely free. Someone please go read this thing, build the game, and then summarize everything for me in a one-pager. Kthx
PS5 Physics News – Playstation Lifestyle
With the new gaming consoles hovering on the horizon, plenty of people are clamoring at the upcoming games, teraflops, graphics card, you name it. Equally important, but less talked about, is the physics engine that comes with the hardware upgrade.
Last week’s talk of the town was how realistic the movement of hair looks on the PS5! See the tweet below for the incredibly impressive likeness to an actual person!
The implications of this are actually profound and give hope for additional realism in the way other objects move in video games. I expect to see some eerily-real looking waves, grass and animals in the coming months.
Everyone's talking about raytracing but I just want next-gen to let me twirl with this hair… pic.twitter.com/CtSojcTpyn
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) January 23, 2020
PS4 Remote Play Expansion – Push Square
Some people still don’t know that you can stream from your PS4 to your desktop or laptop! You need a decent internet connection on both ends but it’s a decent way to enjoy some turn-based PS4 games when you’re away from home.
Sony is potentially looking to expand this offering by allowing games to stream games to devices like the Nintendo Switch or Apple TV. This could be especially interesting for Switch users who are already carrying around their portable console.
Lastly, there’s talk of a smaller DualShock controller. The article says there’d be a screen reminiscent to the Wii U gamepad. Check out the Reddit survey here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jGuQiURSg
New FPS from Creators of Halo – Gamespot
The co-creator of Halo was fed up with the grind at the Destiny studio and ventured out on his own. His latest project, Disintegration, is described as a “sci-fi first-person shooter set in the near future on Earth where the only hope for human survival is through integration, a process developed to preserve human brains in robotic armatures”.
From the gameplay footage, it looks like you can fly around in a vehicle while also commanding boots on the ground. They just wrapped up the technical beta and the game is expected to launch later this year on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
This unique combination of FPS and RTS could be a winning formula for this new studio. I’m interested to see how they balance the strength of the vehicles against the squishiness of the foot soldiers. I’ll have more updates as we get closer to launch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaEVFH0YDqE
Phantasy Star Online 2 Closed Beta on the Way – Forbes
PSO 2 launched in Japan in 2012 and is finally coming to North America 8 years later!
The closed beta will begin at the end of this week and the devs plan on a full launch in Spring 2020. You need to sign up through the Xbox Insider Hub app then can join in starting Friday.
Phantasy Star Online 2’s beta will include ‘Urgent Quests’ that players can complete during the designated half-hour blocks. The game will be cross-platform enabled and you can pre-load the game starting February 3rd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ias3ZR-5z9w
The Largest Switch So Far – The Sun
I’ve seen some legit game rooms on Pinterest, but nothing has topped the giant, curved Switch TV-housing from Steven Beck. Steven built the case from scratch for his son and is probably the coolest dad alive, right now.
Altogether, the materials only cost him about $94 (£71). People have been asking Steven to build them one and he could have a legitimate business on his hands if he doesn’t mind making these all day. Maybe there could even be an IKEA partnership waiting for him out there!
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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.Â
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