Aquaman steals the spotlight in new Injustice 2 gameplay trailer

Under the sea

A couple of days ago we got a nifty CGI trailer which confirmed a sequel to 2013's DC-centric fighting game Injustice was in development. It was a great promo, featuring some beautiful renditions of some of DC's most recognizable super humans, but many gamers, myself included, were more interested in seeing the actual game in motion. Thankfully, NetherRealm heard our cries, quickly turning out a trailer comprised entirely of in-game footage.

As you can see, the serie's roster has been expanded to include a raft of new faces, including Atrocitus, the savage Green Lantern baddie with a penchant for the colour red, Clark Kent's Kryptonian cousin Supergirl, and (best of all) Gorilla Grodd, a hyper-intelligent simian hellbent on world domination.

As exciting as Grodd's inclusion is, the best moment in the trailer comes at the end when we see Atlantean superhero Aquaman perform his brutality, a series of savage moves that ends with him summoning a nightmarish sea creature from the briny depths before siccing it on his unfortunate opponent.

The game's full roster has yet to be revealed, although images on Twitter suggest Dr. Fate, Captain Cold and Harley Quinn have all made the cut. In the footage, we also get a brief glimpse of Black Manta, but - for the time being - it is unclear if he is playable or just a background character. Personally, I'm hoping Swamp Thing will finally put in an appearance - his powers seem like a great fit for this series.

Berserk game from Dynasty Warriors devs incoming

Long considered one of the greatest manga series ever written, Berserk has enraptured two generations of anime fans with its bloody action and shocking narrative twists and turns. Those same fans have often wondered if Berserk would ever return to the world of videogames. Well, it looks like Guts and co. are finally heading back to consoles, courtesy of Omega Force, the Japanese developer behind the Dynasty Warrior series.

For those of you who've never had the pleasure of reading Kentaro Miura's manga epic, Berserk is a gritty fantasy series which follows the exploits of Guts, a swordsman clad all in black, who hunts demons following a tragic event in his not-so distant past. It's gruesome, unspeakably violent but also filled with fantastic characters and some great storytelling beyond its awkward early chapters.

Given the popularity of  gritty and gruesome fantasy series like Game of Thrones and Dark Souls (whose aesthetics already borrow heavily from Miura's artwork), now seems like the perfect time to thrust Berserk back into the limelight.

According to publisher Tecmo Koei, the game will also be "the most lethal warrors game yet", confirming that the Guts' current-gen debut will stick to the musou formula which underpins their bestselling Dynasty Warriors series of titles.

No release date has been announced, but if has been confirmed that the game will be available in the West on PS4, PS Vita and PC.

First Yooka Laylee trailer released

A rare treat 

A shiny new trailer for playful looking platformer Yooka Laylee has found its way online.

Comprised of ex-Rare employees (the folks behind such classic platformers as Banjo Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day) the good folks over at Playtonic are attempting to resurrect the kind of colourful, sprawling, collectible-filled platformers that were very much in vogue during the early days of 3D gaming.

Their first attempt is Yooka Laylee which, as we can see from the trailer, does an excellent job of hearkening back to a time when mascot platformers ruled the proverbial roost. There's plenty of floating platforms, power-ups and even a spot of mine carting. It really does look like an N64 platformer that's been plucked off the drawing board and brought to life with modern gaming tech.

For a game that's only been in development a short while, it's all looking surprisingly polished. The graphics are gorgeous and there's a lot of variety in the environments on show. Sadly, this trailer does confirm that the game will miss its October 2016 release date. The new release date is Q1 2017 - not a huge delay, and if it gives Playtonic time to iron out those bugs and make the game shine, we're sure it'll be worth it.

Final Fantasy XII remake confirmed

Finally! 

 

A video showcasing a new and improved, PS4 version of vaunted role-player Final Fantasy XII has found its way on to the internet.

As you can see from the video, the PS2 classic is looking very sharp indeed, no doubt thanks to some updated graphics tech as well as to what seems to be higher res textures, character models and backgrounds.

Judging by the trailer, it's safe to say the re-release will be based on the International 'Zodiac' Edition of the game. This is all rather exciting, especially as this edition was never seen outside of Japan. It also added a job system to the game in addition to several tweaks and improvements to the combat.

As with most of Square's recent Final Fantasy re-releases, XII will include a few adjustments to make life easier for us modern gamers. These include a turbo mode, which will let you coast through combat encounters, decreased loading times and an auto-save option.

At present, the game has only been confirmed for release on PS4. That could change, but given that the Final Fantasy X remaster was a Sony console exclusive I wouldn't be surprised if XII followed suit. We'll know for sure either way when Square give us an official announcement.

Is this our first look at a fully regenerated Shin Godzilla?

Action figure gives us a closer look at the resurgent Godzilla

 

 

If you've seen the trailer or any of the images for Godzilla Resurgence released so far, you'll know that this version of the King of Monsters isn't quite as photogenic as some of his previous incarnations. In fact, Shin Godzilla is downright gruesome; a mangy concatenation of scales, scars and exposed gristle. Rumour has it, however, that Godzilla will not stay in this attenuated state for the entire film, but will slowly regenerate over time, ending the film, presumably, in a state that more closely resembles the Godzilla we all know and love.

He's certainly looking a little less peaky in the image above which shows a Godzilla markedly less gaunt and wasted than the one glimpsed in the film's other promotional materials. Of course, this could just be down to the sculpt - at a glance, this Godzilla still seems to be crisscrossed with scars and wounds - as this particular line of figures isn't exactly known for its movie-accurate modelling.

Personally, I think this one's down to the sculpt, although I do believe we will see Godzilla in different stages of recovery in the final film. If (as is believed) this is the original Godzilla, rising, revenant-like, after being exposed to the oxygen destroyer at the end of Godzilla 1954, the film may even kick off with an even mangier, more grizzled version of the Big G than the one we've seen so far. The image of a grossly malformed, half-skeletal Godzilla rising out of the ocean like the world's largest zombie would be pretty terrifying. 

Source: Scified.com

Legion, the X-Men spin-off from Fargo showrunner, greenlit for TV

Although X-Men: Apocalypse may not have been the out-and-out success Fox were hoping for, they're still not done with their merry band of mutants. There are a few X-men themed projects currently in development, the most exciting of which would definitely have to be Legion.

From the mind of Noah Hawley, responsible for both seasons of Fargo, Legion takes a sideways look at the mutant world and, according to FX's Nick Grad, brings "an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world."

The story follows David Haller, played by Dan Stevens of Downton Abby and The Guest fame, a man who has spent his life in and out of various psychiatric institutions. He comes to realise, however, that the voices and visions that plague him may not be a product of his damaged mind but of his burgeoning mutants powers. In the comics, David is the son of Charles "Prof. X" Xavier and suffers a form of dissociative identity disorder. In true comic book fashion, each one of his multiple personalities has its own superpower, which sounds ideal for the needs of a weekly TV show.

The series, expected to hit out TV screens in 2017, so impressed the execs at FX with its pilot that it has already been commissioned for a full, eight-episode series. Fox's last X-Men spin-off, Deadpool, was a major coup for the studio, and Legion could help further cement its fledgling, interconnected comic book universe.