Author: Game Infliction

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Goes Super Saiyan-Heavy With Reveal of First 24 Characters

Bandai Namco has revealed the first 24 characters that will be playable in the upcoming fighting game Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, and we really hope you like Super Saiyans.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is the first title in the long running Budokai Tenkaichi series to be released in well over a decade. According to developer Spike Chunsoft, it’ll feature reactive environments and a large roster of playable characters sporting their own “iconic” transformations, abilities, and techniques.

And, earlier on Monday, Bandai Namco confirmed the identities of the first 24 playable fighters that will take center stage in the upcoming action battle game – each and every one of which is a variant of longtime series rivals Goku and Vegeta. Fans couldn’t be happier.

The newly unveiled character variants include offerings of Goku and Vegeta transformations ranging from Super Saiyan 1 to Super Saiyan God, and even the giant form of Great Ape Vegeta, much to the excitement of some fans.

Needless to say, the 24 variants showcased today likely represent a mere tease of what Spike Chunsoft has promised will be “an incredible number of player characters” yet to be revealed. A roster screen featured at the end of the newly released trailer suggests that there could be over 150 fighters and fighter variants in the final lineup, including Android 18, Mr. Satan, Cell, Piccolo, Krillin, and a range of other fan favorites.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is set to be released on PC, PS5, and the Xbox Series X|S consoles, but has yet to be given a release window. While you wait, check out our list of the 10 best Dragon Ball Z characters ever to emerge from the popular anime series, or our coverage of the dizzying array of DBZ video game adaptations released to date.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Embracer Group Reportedly Cancels Deus Ex Video Game as Layoffs Hit Eidos Montreal

Embracer Group has reportedly canceled a new Deus Ex game that was two years in development and laid off some staff at Eidos Montreal.

According to Bloomberg, the unannounced third mainline entry in the Deus Ex series was supposed to enter production later this year. However, developer Eidos Montreal will reportedly focus on an original franchise instead.

Eidos Montreal released a statement on Twitter, addressing layoffs but not the reported Deus Ex game cancellation. “The global economic context, the challenges of our industry, and the comprehensive restucturing annonced by Embracer have finally impacted our studio,” said the studio. “The difficult decision has been made to let go 97 people from development teams, administration, and support services.”

When reached by IGN, an Embracer spokesperson told us, “Embracer announced a comprehensive restructuring program for FY 23/24, running until end of March 2024. This process will be managed locally on operative group level with focus on informing affected employees first, and on group level we will not comment on specific studios.”

Embracer Group has been aggressively shutting down its studios ever since its rumored 2 billion dollar deal with the Saudi-backed Savvy Games Group reportedly fell apart.

Some studios that Embracer Group has shut down so far are Saints Row developer Volition and Timesplitters developer Free Radical Design. Elex developer Piranha Bytes is also currently going through a difficult time with rumors circulating about a potential closure and having trouble finding a partner for its next project.

Embracer Group acquired Eidos Montreal from Square Enix back in 2022, along with the rights to franchises like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex. The company also said that it envisioned “great potential” for the new IP, including remakes, sequels, and remasters. There have been rumors regarding a new Deus Ex game for a while now, but voice actor Elias Toufexis said that he hasn’t been contacted yet about reprising his role as protagonist Adam Jensen.

The most recent entry in the Deus Ex franchise was 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. In IGN’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, we said, “Layered, intelligent, and impeccably designed, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s gameplay rewards curiosity and creativity.”

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

There are almost 20,000 Palworld breeding combos, and now players want to breed Pals with humans

Palworld isn’t just about capturing non-copyright-infringing Poke-fied wildlife, slaughtering the poor creatures and/or setting them to work in terrible gun factories. There’s also the frightful question of Pal breeding. Every Pal in the game can be bred with every other Pal to produce a Pal subspecies with a chance of inheriting traits from its parents.

Read more

Anniversary: Pokémon FireRed And LeafGreen Are 20 Years Old Today

Can you Diglett?

Get your appropriate ageing GIF at the ready (Matt Damon in Saving Private Ryan, the Tenth Doctor, that Titanic one — the choice is yours) because we have to break it to you that Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are now 20 years old.

While we let that sink in, let’s run through some facts. Released on the Game Boy Advance on 29th January 2004 in Japan (the games would be released in September and October in North America and Europe respectively), FireRed and LeafGreen saw The Pokémon Company turn to the past for the first time in the series, remaking Gen I’s Pokémon Red and Blue in a similar style that Trainers had seen in Gen III’s Ruby and Sapphire two years prior.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

State of Play returns this Wednesday

Hi everyone, 2024 has just begun and it’s time for our very first State of Play!

The broadcast will be over 40 minutes long, and feature guest appearances from some of the most talented minds in gaming. Among many other updates, we’ll feature extended looks at Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin, two great games coming to PS5 this year. And we’ll give you a new look at other titles coming to PS5 and PS VR2 in 2024 and beyond. 


State of Play returns this Wednesday

The show begins Wednesday, January 31 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm GMT on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. Here’s to a new year of great games!

Regarding Co-streaming and Video-On-Demand (VOD)

Please note that this broadcast may include copyrighted content (e.g. licensed music) that PlayStation does not control. We welcome and celebrate our amazing co-streamers and creators, but licensing agreements outside our control could interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this broadcast. If you’re planning to save this broadcast as a VOD to create recap videos, or to repost clips or segments from the show, we advise omitting any copyrighted music.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Nocturne is a landmark in trans representation, but for her voice actor it’s just the beginning

I bought Baldur’s Gate 3 shortly after its release as a need than a want, when I was a year-and-half into my gender transition and hormone replacement therapy. Gender transition is not just an arduous journey of self-discovery, but also a profound and constant engagement with one’s own reality. I was desperate for some escapism, and Larian Studios’ much-anticipated new entry into the Baldur’s Gate fantasy RPG franchise offered the perfect rabbit hole to fall down.

As a child, my gaming habits were relatively stereotypical for a closeted girl: select female characters wherever possible, especially in RPGs. But the immersion almost always wears off. The trans inclusion in games like Dungeon Siege, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and others is effectively non-existent, and the result for transgender and transsexual players is a feeling that, even in fantasy worlds, we are invisible at best. Nocturne, a trans supporting character in Baldur’s Gate III played by Abigail Thorn, has changed that experience for me. In an interview, Thorn shared some of her thoughts and experiences regarding Nocturne and trans representation in games.

Read more

Cliff Bleszinski Says Microsoft and Gears of War Dev Would Ask for His Help ‘If They Were Smart’

Gears of War co-creator Cliff Bleszinski is confident Microsoft and developer The Coalition would benefit from his ideas, saying they would bring him in to consult on the next entry “if they were smart”.

Bleszinski posted a statement on X/Twitter to suggest Microsoft isn’t interested in collaborating with him on more Gears of War games despite his assertion “it would be gold”.

“I’ve down to consult, give my two cents. Crickets,” Bleszinski said. “I understand that Gears will always be an enormous part of my legacy. I appreciate and respect that. That said, Microsoft or The Coalition haven’t hit me up. Okay. It is what it is.

If they were smart they’d enlist me for my input.

“If they were smart, they’d enlist me for my input because, just from a PR standpoint alone it would be gold. But nothing. Ah well. It is what it is. So be it. Last few years I’ve moved on. Boss Key didn’t work out. Fine. S**t happens.”

Boss Key Productions was the studio Bleszinski founded after leaving Epic Games (which owned Gears of War initially) in 2012. It only lasted from 2014 to 2018, however, with neither of its games able to gain much traction.

Commenting on the success of Palworld, commonly dubbed Pokémon with guns, Bleszinski also insisted he’d had a similar idea years ago. “Palworld’s success kinda validates my pitch that was turned down at Epic many years ago: medieval Pokémon with baby dragons instead,” he said in another post.

Gears of War’s latest mainline release was 2019’s Gears 5, although turn-based tactics spin-off Gears Tactics launched a year later in 2020. Work on another game is almost certainly underway, though Microsoft is yet to say anything official.

Bleszinski said in October 2023 he believes the franchise needs a God of War style reboot to make the next entry more appealing to gamers, and again made clear he was happy to consult on what that would be.

In our 9/10 review of the last mainline game, IGN said: “No matter which mode you approach it from, Gears 5 is an incredibly fun and polished game.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Would you wait over 20 years for a Final Fantasy 6 remake? Because that’s how long it might take

Final Fantasy 6 is one of the most beloved Final Fantasy games in the series, so much so that even staff at Square Enix keep hassling series producer Yoshinori Kitase about when they’re going to remake it and give it the full Final Fantasy 7 treatment. Alas, the prospect of such a project has had fresh water poured over it this weekend, with Kitase explaining that, given it’s already taken them ten years to make Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (with a third entry to complete the trilogy yet to come), a Final Fantasy 6 remake would likely take twice as long as that to actually make. And you know what? I’m good, actually. The Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster is good enough for me in this lifetime.

Read more