Cytus Alpha Physical Release Due Out In North America Next Month
Earlier this year in January, PM Studios and acttil announced a physical and digital version of Cytus Alpha (or ‘Cytus α’) would be coming to the Switch in North America this April. Over the past few days, there have been reports the physical version had been delayed, and it’s now been confirmed.
Instead of arriving later this month, this version of the game will arrive in this region on 14th May. The digital version will still be released on 25th April. Apart from this, nothing else has changed. If you decide to purchase a physical copy of the game, you’ll still receive a special CD and exclusive box art (see above).
If you haven’t heard about this game before, it’s been developed by Rayark – the studio behind VOEZ and Deemo. Cytus Alpha features futuristic graphics, more than 200 songs (new and old) touch controls and online multiplayer – where players can engage in score battles. Here are all the details from the official PR:
Music: More than 200 tracks from the original release with over 400 Charts, and additional unreleased songs, including exclusive songs from Cytus Ω, which are available in Chapter Ω! and collaborations from Chapter Ω!
Visuals: Mesmerizing futuristic graphics with a new UI developed specifically for Nintendo Switch!
Story: An in-depth data system for diving into even deeper story engagement!
Difficulty: Easy to hard modes to satisfy beginners and veteran rhythm game players alike, and various musical tastes such as pop, jazz, trance, hardcore and more!
Do you like the sound of this game? Tell us down below.
Gotham Actor Plays Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order's Main Character
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order follows the story of a Padawan that escaped the Emperor's ruthless extermination of the Jedi, and developer Respawn Entertainment has brought in actor Cameron Monaghan to portray its main character, Cal Kestis. Fans were introduced to Kestis and Monaghan during the Jedi Fallen Order panel held at this year's Star Wars Celebration.
Monaghan is known for starring as Ian Gallagher in the TV series Shameless and, more recently, has made a name for himself playing Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, a version of DC's iconic villain Joker in the Batman prequel series Gotham.
His character, Cal Kestis, is on a journey to overcome the tragic events of his past while also attempting to complete his training to become a full-fledged Jedi. Of course, he's also fighting for his life, as the Empire and its Inquisitors have been empowered by Order 66 to wipe out the Jedi, and they're after him.
During the panel, developer Respawn Entertainment also confirmed that Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order's release date as November 15. The game will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC through publisher EA's Origin service.
Star Wars Celebration also gave us the first trailer for next entry in the movie franchise and confirmed that the film will be titled Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. You can watch the trailer here. If that wasn't enough Star Wars for you, Disney revealed that The Mandalorian, a spin-off TV series from Iron Man, Jungle Book, and The Lion King director Jon Favreau will be available when the Disney+ streaming service launches later this year.
Star Wars Celebration is sure to keep on delivering exciting news and tidbits about the future of the beloved franchise. You can stay up-to-date with all of it using our Star Wars Celebration roundup, which is being updated as and when new information is revealed.
Respawn Entertainment Is Well Aware Of The Demand For Apex Legends On Switch
During an interview in February this year with Eurogamer, Respawn Entertainment’s lead producer Drew McCoy said his team would “love” to bring its first-person battle royale game Apex Legends to the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.
In a Wired Tech Support video posted earlier this week on YouTube, McCoy was asked once again about the possibility of Apex Legends coming to the Switch and said the team was aware of the demand for it. Here’s his full response:
“If Switch was coming, we would tell you and we would blast it across the world.”
“We are hearing all the Switch players who say they want the game. I can’t make any promises right now. We have a lot of things that we’re working on, so stay tuned for anything in the future. But currently, we don’t have anything to announce.”
Cross-play is also something the team is apparently looking into right now and “really care about” according to McCoy.
Would you like to see Apex Legends make the Switch? Have you played it on another platform? Tell us down below.
Anno 1800 ? Lead the Industrial Revolution! Welcome to the dawn of the Industrial Age. The path you choose will define your world. Are you an innovator or an exploiter? A conqueror or a liberator? How the world remembers your name is up to you.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-15-2019, 10:19 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Pokemon Go: Shiny Buneary Appearing In New Eggstravaganza Event Next Week
Easter is just around the corner, and Niantic is celebrating by bringing back the annual Eggstravaganza event in Pokemon Go. The week-long Egg-themed event returns next week starting Tuesday, April 16, and this time around it'll give players their first chance to capture Shiny Buneary.
Throughout the Eggstravangaza, you'll be able to hatch baby Pokemon like Pichu, Smoochum, and Magby from 2 km Eggs, and you'll receive twice the typical amount of Candy for every Egg you hatch. On top of that, Incubators will be twice as effective for the duration of the event, while Lucky Eggs will last twice as long as normal.
Beyond that, Niantic will also be distributing special Field Research tasks revolving around Eggs at Poke Stops. Buneary will also appear in the wild much more frequently than normal, and if you're lucky, you may come across its Shiny version. You can find more details about the event on the Pokemon Go website.
In the meantime, Pokemon Go's second Legendary Lunch Hour event is set for April 10. Shortly after that, Niantic will host this month's Community Day. The monthly event returns this Saturday, April 13, and will feature the rare Dragon Pokemon Bagon. Then, starting April 15, the Legendary Latios will make an encore appearance as part of a special week-long Raid event.
In addition to all of the upcoming events, Niantic has a couple of new features on the way for Pokemon Go, namely the Lucky Friends mechanic. Each day, you'll have a chance to become Lucky Friends with a player you've become Best Friends with, which will guarantee you both receive a Lucky Pokemon in one trade. The developer is also adding avatar poses to Pokemon Go's in-game store. These run for 500 coins apiece and let you customize your Trainer's pose in the game.
Reminder: There’s Still Time To Vote For Your Favourite Game Boy Games!
Next week – 21st April to be precise – is the 30th anniversary of arguably the most iconic piece of hardware in the history of video gaming. Speak to someone who knows absolutely nothing about game consoles and they’ll still be able to name the Nintendo Game Boy and most probably whistle the tune to Tetris too. Its ubiquity in the early ’90s meant it became shorthand for gaming in general, part of the cultural fabric in a way that few other pieces of hardware can claim.
Next week we’ll be publishing several new articles in celebration of the humble handheld, plus digging through the archive to find the very best of our previously published features. We’ll also be posting a ‘Top 50 Game Boy Games’ article along the lines of our previous 50 Best Switch Games So Far and 50 Best 3DS Games features.
As with those selections, the ranking will be entirely based on User Ratings from the Nintendo Life Games database, so readers can rate any game they like and after a minimum threshold has been reached, that game then becomes eligible for the list according to its overall rating. This has worked well for the previous lists, and we’ve seen some interesting changes as the fluid ranking fluctuates over time. Of course, 3DS and Switch have plenty of user ratings already, but going back 30 years it’s inevitable that Game Boy games only have a fraction of votes compared to more modern systems.
That’s where you come in! We’ve updated our database to include all Game Boy titles that saw a release in the west, so in preparation for the 30th anniversary we’d love for you to rate your favourites using the specially designed tool below.
Assuming you’re logged in, simply scroll through the alphabetical list and click the star to bring up a rating of 1-10. Click on the score you think it deserves and you’re all done! If scrolling through six pages of the Game Boy’s substantial library feels too much like work, simply use the search bar at the top of the list to find your favourites and rate them from the list of results. Lovely!
If you need a reminder on a particular game, feel free to click the game title and check out our reviews and screenshots. However, bear in the mind that many of them won’t have been rereleased on Virtual Console and therefore may not have a Nintendo Life review to their name – the Game Boy’s over double the age of the site, remember! A Wikipedia link on the game page should hopefully job your memory, though.
So, what are you waiting for? Get stuck in!
It’s difficult to believe that 30 years have passed since Game Boy changed the portable gaming landscape forever. Thanks for voting – we’ll be sharing the results, our memories and more next week, but in the meantime feel free to reminisce below…
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-15-2019, 03:06 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Star Wars 9: How Can Emperor Palpatine Come Back For The Rise Of Skywalker?
We've finally gotten our first look at Star Wars: Episode IX, thanks to the movie's debut teaser trailer, which was released during a panel devoted to the film at Star Wars Celebration. We also learned the title of the movie--The Rise of Skywalker--and caught a new tidbit that's teasing a big new development in the final movie of the Skywalker Saga: the return of Emperor Palpatine.
If you didn't catch Palpatine's return, it's likely because it was a bit subtle. The trailer, which features voice-over from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), ends with a spooky laugh. You'd be forgiven for not realizing the creepy cackle belongs to Ian McDiarmid, who plays Palpatine, but Disney confirmed fans' suspicions by bringing McDiarmid out on stage after revealing the trailer. (You can check out our trailer analysis for a breakdown of other key moments.)
Palpatine has been Star Wars' major villain for quite a while. We saw how the Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious pulled the strings of the galaxy in the prequel trilogy to turn the Old Republic into the Galactic Empire, and how he turned Anakin Skywalker from a Jedi into the galaxy far, far away's most feared villain, Darth Vader. Sidious was famously killed by Vader in Return of the Jedi, in order to save his son Luke Skywalker's life. So how can Palpatine be back?
We know from that Palpatine had a bunch of contingency plans in place in the event of his death, like what we saw in Star Wars: Battlefront II's story. In Star Wars lore of the past, Palpatine's plan was to use hidden clones in case he was killed. Though it's no longer canon, the old Star Wars Expanded Universe included a lot about Palpatine's return after his death. In those stories, Palpatine had created a secret cloning facility where copies of himself were being grown, which he could use in the event of his death. In his search for immortality, he'd learned about a Force technique that allowed him to transfer what was essentially his spirit into other bodies--effectively allowing him to keep moving from clone to clone forever.
In the Expanded Universe, the trouble was that Palpatine's clones were never very good. They were only viable for a short time; at first, the bodies only lasted about a year, and he had to continually transfer himself. That still allowed Palpatine to spend years in hiding, marshalling his forces for an attempt to restore the Empire after his defeat. He even briefly turned Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side to serve as his apprentice.
Palpatine was ultimately defeated by Luke and Leia, as well as some sabotage from his inner circle. Leia saved Luke from the Dark Side and they managed to destroy most of Palpatine's clones, while what remained had been sabotaged by Palpatine's own royal guards, causing the last clone to deteriorate much more quickly than the others. When Palpatine tried to transfer into the body of Leia and Han's son Anakin, another Jedi Palpatine had struck down, Brand, managed to drag Palpatine into the Force, leaving him a disembodied spirit forever.
Obviously, lots of the big portions of that story are no longer possible because of changes since Disney acquired Star Wars, but we've seen the Disney Star Wars canon borrow ideas from the Expanded Universe before; Grand Admiral Thrawn, for instance, was the villain of a trilogy of Expanded Universe books, and has been brought into the new canon with a 2017 novel and Star Wars Rebels. Palpatine making some clones for himself tracks with what we've seen of him in the past, too--we know his mentor, Darth Plagueis, was searching for immortality, and it would make sense that Palpatine would continue the search for those same Sith secrets.
The return of Palpatine doesn't have to be precipitated by ideas from the Expanded Universe, though. It's possible The Rise of Skywalker could expand on an idea first floated in Star Wars: Rebels. In that series, Palpatine attempted to enter the World Between Worlds, a nexus that connected all of space and time together. He was thwarted by Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger in that show, but the setup for Palpatine to pull some Sithy time travel shenanigans is there.
And while that laugh is Palpatine's, that doesn't mean Palpatine will return in a form we all expect. It's possible what we're hearing is some recording or artifact that contains Palpatine's will, his memories, or his personality. We saw a powerful Sith holocron, an artifact that contains information, in Rebels, and that one included something called "The Presence," which seemed like an artificial intelligence. And back during The Clone Wars, there was another Sith holocron that actually held the ghost of the Sith Lord Darth Bane, which means Palpatine could take a similar approach, even without clones. Battlefront II also saw the Emperor ordering his soldiers to destroy a bunch of Sith artifacts before the Rebels got hold of them, which might have related to Palpatine's plans to survive beyond his demise.
We won't know exactly what method Palpatine uses to come back into the galaxy, but one thing's for sure--Rey and Kylo Ren probably won't be able to use a Jedi mind trick to cut him in half.
Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 13th)
Here we are at the end of yet another week, finally winding down and getting ready to enjoy some of those video game thingies we seem to talk about so much. As always, team Nintendo Life has gathered around to discuss our gaming plans for the weekend, and we’d love for you to get involved in the comments and poll sections below. Enjoy!
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
Amazingly, for the second weekend in a row, I’ll be spending my time actually interacting with other, real human beings. I have a friend staying over for a while, so I imagine any gaming time will naturally be spent playing the Switch’s top multiplayer hits.
For us, that’s usually things like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sure, they’re the boring choices, but sometimes you just can’t beat Nintendo’s biggest and brightest.
Gavin Lane, staff writer
This weekend, time permitting, I’ll be diving into the Labo VR Kit. News that Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild are getting some manner of VR update was the tipping point and I pre-ordered a game for the first time in… 20 years?! The last thing I remember pre-ordering is Donkey Kong 64 with the Expansion Pak.
I went for the smaller basic Blaster kit because I lack both the space to store all that cardboard and also the time to build it. I’m very interested to investigate how the VR experience holds up given Switch’s tech limitations. Would it be possible to see an adapted port of Ubisoft’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew on Switch, for example? Before this Breath of the Wild update I’d have said ‘no way’, but I’m starting to wonder…
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
Having been blessed yet again with good fortunes from the East, I will be spending my weekend mostly with Super Robot Wars T. I’ve been a fan of the series since stumbling upon it on Super Famicom and it is a true luxury to have the latest, greatest entry in the series 100% in English. There will, as per usual, be some ARMS Party Crash Bash and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo action along with some downtime sessions of Switch ‘N’ Shoot, Super Star Path and the deliciously difficult Out There Ω: The Alliance.
My game of the week is Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet for no reason at all except my faint hope that Koei Tecmo puts an actualDead or Alive on the Switch down the line since we know now for sure that yes, the system can handle all the necessary physics involved.
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, I’m picking up the full Labo VR kit and pretty much devoting all of my time to that. I’m a sucker for buildable toys – LEGO was my jam growing up – and considering each Toy-Con takes at least an hour to make, I should be set. I’ll also be having friends over the entire weekend, so I’m sure there will be some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2 and Smash Bros. Ultimate thrown in as well for good measure.
Liam Doolan, news reporter
Like many other Switch owners, I’ll be spending the next few days in virtual reality testing out the new Nintendo Labo VR Kit. Based on my own experience so far – I’m impressed. I went in with low expectations and have been pleasantly surprised. While it’s obviously not as good looking as more expensive products on the market, it’s equally as entertaining. The Labo Goggles will also be a good investment if Nintendo continues to roll out free VR updates for older titles.
When I’m not playing Labo VR, I’ll be working on a few cases in the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. To finally have this series on my television is a dream come true. That’s it for me this weekend.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (267 votes)
Kitana Graces Us With Her Presence In The Latest Mortal Kombat 11 Trailer
Earlier this week, we got a glimpse of Kitana in action in a Mortal Kombat 11 promotional trailer and now NetherRealm Studios has officially revealed the fighter during the latest Kombat Kast live stream.
In the video below we get to see Lady Kitana – who started out in Mortal Kombat II alongside her evil twin Mileena – take on the hive queen D’Vorah. Be warned, though, the scenes within this reveal trailer are incredibly graphic:
Mortal Kombat 11 for Nintendo Switch launches in North America on 23rd April and arrives in Europe later on in May.
Are you glad Kitana is returning in Mortal Kombat 11? How about D’Vorah? Tell us down in the comments.
Raytracing was one of the stars of GDC 2019 this year, with both Unreal and Unity announcing DXR support. Unreal Engine support was available almost immediately with the release of Unreal Engine 4.22. Unity users on the other hand have to wait quite a bit longer, with the first official release coming in Fall of 2019 or later. Fortunately for the impatient Unity have released a highly experimental Unity build with raytracing support.
You can download the experimental build from Github here with compiled zipped binaries available here. To fully make use of this version you need to have Windows 10 version 1809 or higher installed as well as an RTX card (even with the updated drivers from NVIDIA, this install will not work on 10 series cards, unlike Unreal Engine).
If you are interested in learning how Unity deals with real-time raytracing, you can download the PDF documentation right here.
