Two monitor-themed Should You Bother Withs in a row? Normally my desire for editorial heterogeneity wouldn’t allow it, but while ultrawide screens have been around for donkeys’ years, 2024 seems to be welcoming a genuinely new take on gaming displays: the dual-mode monitor.
A seemingly innocuous change made to Space Marine 2 as part of this week’s big Patch 3.0 has got Warhammer 40,000 lore fans excited about potentially huge implications for the game’s story and the wider setting itself.
Warning! Huge spoilers for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 follow:
Space Marine 2 patch 3.0, released yesterday, September 26, made a long list of welcome changes to the game, but one line in particular buried within the patch notes suggests the Emperor himself played a key role in the story all along.
Pre-patch, during the climax of Space Marine 2, we see a cutscene in which protagonist Lieutenant Titus almost dies while destroying a Chaos artifact. He then hears a voice that says: “Rise, son of Guilliman.”
According to the game’s subtitles, that line — again, pre-patch — was attributed to Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines. Fans took it as an odd thing for Calgar to say to Titus, given he also is a son of Roboute Guilliman, the primarch from which all Ultramarines are based.
Now, onto patch 3.0. Here’s the change in question:
Assigned to the wrong character, you say? So, who is the right character? The same cutscene now attributes the line to [Voice], which is ambiguous, but Warhammer 40,000 lore fans have a clear idea who this voice belongs to: the Emperor himself.
If true, this has big implications for Space Marine 2’s story, the nature of Titus’ abilities not just in this game but the first, and any role he might play in the ongoing narrative. But given Titus is now part of the Warhammer 40,000 canon (he has his own model you can play on Games Workshop’s tabletop game and the company has even released an official lore video delving into Titus’ backstory on Warhammer TV), fans are taking this as further evidence of the Emperor’s resurgence across the galaxy.
For the uninitiated, the Emperor of Mankind is the reigning monarch of the Imperium of Man whose slowly decaying body has sat immobile within the Golden Throne of Terra for over 10,000 years. But that hasn’t stopped the Emperor, the most powerful psyker to have ever existed, from seemingly stepping in every now and then to help humanity out in its darkest hours.
At this point in the ongoing (and slow moving!) Warhammer 40,000 storyline, there is growing evidence to suggest the Emperor is finally stirring, with some convinced his return proper is coming sooner rather than later. Indeed, in Warhammer 40,000 novel Godblight, the Emperor uses Guilliman as a vessel to burn down the Garden of Nurgle from within the Warp, miraculously reviving his son in the process.
Warhammer 40,000 fans now believe the Emperor is doing something similar with Titus. Titus’ unexplained immunity to the corrupting influence of Chaos during the Space Marine games may have been the Emperor’s doing all along. Indeed Titus’ ability to interact with the Chaos artifact and destroy it might be because he is blessed by the Emperor. As the ending of Space Marine 2 makes clear, the Inquisition’s suspicion of Titus and his abilities continues despite his heroics. But perhaps in the inevitable Space Marine 3 we’ll see the truth of the Emperor’s involvement, and Titus finally clear of the Inquisition’s attention.
For now, Space Marine 2 and Warhammer 40,000 lore fans are simply enjoying the debate this change has sparked, and have pointed to a tease by creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick about whether the line of dialogue in question does indeed come from the Emperor. Here’s his response:
“That is open to individual interpretation. It could be in Titus’s mind, could be Calgar, or it could be the Emperor (though GW might disagree on that). I know who I meant it to be when I wrote it but I’ll keep that to myself ;)”
IGN recently interviewed Saber chief creative officer Tim Willits about the boost he expects the PS5 Pro will give the game, and how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 has “changed everything” for the studio.
Meanwhile, Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill has been playing Space Marine 2 and delivered his verdict, and we also have details on what fans can expect from Space Marine 2’s seasonal post-launch content model. Season 2 runs from October until the end of 2024, and includes a new Operations map, a new enemy, a harder difficulty level, a new weapon, and various other improvements.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Alice Bee (RPS in peace) wrote about platformer System Purge a while back, saying it starred a witch with a nice hop. So I tried out the demo for its sequel, System Purge: Hollow Point, and can confirm that the witch still has a nice hop. I’m thankful for this, because if the witch did not have a nice hop, the game would be maddening in a bad way. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still maddening. Just in a good way. The hop is good.
Pole position.
The latest boxed charts data from Japan is now available courtesy of Famitsu, and once again, we can see that the Switch is still comfortably dominating in the region both with hardware and software sales. Astro Bot is the only representative from Sony’s PS5 platform.
Frankly, it’s mad that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe keeps selling so well. More than 7 years after its Switch debut with mere months (weeks..?!) to go until we learn more about the Switch successor, the arcade racer has now surpassed a mind-boggling 6 million units sold in the region. Worldwide, of course, the latest data confirms that the game is now sitting well above 60 million units sold.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Valve instituted a fairytale punishment for cheaters in its unreleased laney shooter Deadlock yesterday. Cheaters will now be turned into frogs, provided the other players in the match vote for it. A Counter-Strike 2 modder proved the effect in a post on Xitter after the change was mentioned in some out-of-the-way patch notes by a Valve developer.
A new shooter set in the StarCraft universe is in the works at Blizzard, according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier’s book Play Nice, via Eurogamer. The project is headed up by Dan Hay, who worked various leading roles on Ubisoft’s Far Cry series, and also a 1999 CGI film starring Jim Belushi named “The Nuttiest Nutcracker”. The real-time strategy spinoff was also mentioned during an IGN podcast that aired yesterday.
That’s pretty much all, folks.
Fans of old-school sports compilations may remember Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge on Super Nintendo. In it, you played as the titular animated youngsters, who competed in enjoyable cartoon versions of familiar events. SNES also had Looney Tunes B-Ball, a beautifully animated genre classic that put a colourful spin on the NBA Jam formula.
Bamtang Games hopes to bring back this forgotten subgenre with Looney Tunes: Wacky World Of Sports, a collection of four game types, pitting the original Warner Brothers animated line-up against each other in solo and multiplayer tournaments.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
“Classic turn-based tactics”.
Following successful funding on Kickstarter, the turn-based tactical strategy game Warside has finally locked in a release date. It will launch for Switch and multiple other platforms on 28th January 2025.
In case you missed our existing coverage of this one, as you can see, it’s heavily inspired by a certain Nintendo series. The developer previously mentioned how it felt it could “evolve” the genre and was happy to cite not only Advance Wars but also series like Wargroove and Into The Breach as inspirations.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
It was released on Switch last year.
It’s meant to be all about Echoes of Wisdom this week, but there are also some celebrations currently taking place for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
A year after its release, Link’s massive open-world sequel outing has now taken out the “grand award” at Japan’s Game Awards for 2024. This award was accepted by series producer Eiji Aonuma and the game’s director Hidemaro Fujibayashi.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Join us for a tour of the PlayStation booth at the Tokyo Game Show 2024, featuring some memorable photo ops as well as hands-on with a few anticipated PS5 games. Let’s dive into the booth plus gameplay reports for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Dragon Quest III HD-3D Remake, and Metaphor ReFantazio.
At the PlayStation booth, visitors can take a look at the PS5 Pro console – displayed publicly for the first time and set to be released on November 7 – and also play Final Fantasy VII Rebirth or Gran Turismo 7 on the new console. Additionally, the entire lineup of the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection is also displayed at the booth.
SIE is showcasing an exciting lineup of PS5 titles, including Astro Bot and the highly-anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds. Let’s dive in!
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a remake of the 2004 game Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater for PS2. I had a chance to play a versus mission at the PlayStation booth.
As Snake descends into the jungle, he calls up his mentor, The Boss. The excellent voicework for these iconic characters immediately brought me back to my PS2 days with the original. The map design, where players move between sub-areas, is also faithfully recreated in the remake. While it may have been highly possible to create a single large map using today’s advanced technology, the sub-area design helps make each jungle section feel distinct.
The new high-definition visuals are stunning, with the character’s textures and the jungle’s atmosphere being realistically rendered. The change in the camera angle, from bird’s eye view to third-person, also elevates the immersive feeling of exploring the dense jungle. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a game that not only feels novel with its updated graphics and controllability but also brings a wave of nostalgia as it remains faithful to the original story, dialogue, and map design.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, launching on November 14, is a vivid reimagining of the beloved 1998 RPG The game provides richer aesthetics by adding 3D effects to pixel-based backgrounds. The pixelated characters and monsters coexist harmoniously with the 3D backgrounds, and I was captivated by the meticulous depiction of the rippling water surfaces and the details of the interior decorations. The scenery also gradually transitions from day to evening to night as time passes.
With the new Monster Battle Road feature, I was able to send three captured monsters into battle arenas against other teams of creatures. While you can’t directly control the monsters, you can still choose from four preset tactics to influence your monsters fight. I learned that frequently switching tactics paves the road to victory.
During the playthrough, I also explored the Skyfell Tower and battled against the boss bandit, Robbin’ ‘Ood. Just as in the original, combat is based on random encounters. Instead of assigning actions to each party, I opted for a group command for some AI combat actions. The combat offers three options for speed, so I chose the quickest option for fast-paced, hassle-free battles. Waiting for me at the top of the tower was Robbin’ ‘Ood and his three henchmen. Skillful use of spells, special skills, and recovery commands is key to toppling these lethal foes.
Metaphor: ReFantazio, launching October 11 on PS5 and PS4, is a new IP from the creator of the Persona series.
In the Dungeon modes, Occupied Cathedral, I explored with friends who possessed awakened abilities, Archetypes, and experienced a unique combat system called Fast & Squad. Combat began with enemy encounters that triggered a turn-based command battle called Squad. However, against lower-ranked opponents, I could immediately assault them with a Fast Attack, defeating them with a single blow instead of initiating a turn-based fight.
The Squad command battle is based on Atlus’s signature Press Turn Battle system. You can use the Press Icon to determine how many actions are remaining for each turn since normal attacks, stronger attacks called Synthesis, and Archetype skills each consume a different amount of press. Notably, attacking the enemies’ weak points don’t consume Press and provide more options for additional actions. The thrill of a successful strategy is matched only by the disappointment of a failed one, creating an emotional roller-coaster where every decision carries significant weight. This intensity and excitement are particularly palpable during combat against formidable foes. The stylish ultimate move skill Synthesis perfectly capture the essence of Persona.
In Journey mode, I traveled on the gauntlet runner and mingled with friends to find out more about their identity and what they mean to my character..
Sonic Generations is remastered with new content featuring Shadow in this high-speed action-adventure, launching on October 25.
I dropped into the Space Colony Ark: Act 1 from Shadow’s storyline, guiding the hedgehog through a space station with lightning-fast reflexes. With missiles, lasers, and robots all trying to halt my advance, the power of Chaos Control helped meoutmaneuver them.
Later in the game, I faced a familiar but stronger boss, Metal Overload, from a 2003 PS2 Sonic game. For this part of the game, Doom Surf is the only way of traversal as the stage is set on the ocean. Using L1 and R1, I spun to deflect the enemy’s missiles to attack the boss. Between jumping over a barrage of lasers and dodging the boss’s tail swiping, this game is packed with endless action and kept me on my toes the whole time.
You can also find the recent hands-on reports for my experience with Monster Hunter Wilds, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and Dynasty Warriors: Origins at Tokyo Game Show 2024.
