Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Gaming

  • ‘Tomb Raider’ Adds ‘Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green as Writer and Director

    ‘Tomb Raider’ Adds ‘Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green as Writer and Director

    2018’s Tomb Raider wasn’t a massive success with a gross of $250 million worldwide but still made enough to kickstart a new cinematic franchise. It looks like the sequel is finally getting ready, as Misha Green is set to write and direct the upcoming sequel. Green might be most well-known for her work as showrunner of Lovecraft Country. She also wrote Netflix’s The Mother and wrote the successful WGN Underground series. As you can see, she has quite an extensive filmography. However, this will be Green‘s first time taking on directing duties for the film.

    The first film’s adaptation took heavy cues from the 2016 Crystal Dynamics remake of the iconic franchise. It mostly focused on a young Lara Croft fighting for survival while being outnumbered. No details are given what we can expect from the sequel, but there will certainly be tombs involved. The report also confirms that Alicia Vikander will return in the titular role once again.

    Tomb Raider has quite a history with the gaming franchise starting back in 1996. Originally it was designed by the British video game company Core Design, which was owned by Eidos Interactive. Vikander‘s incarnation isn’t the first adaptation to film. Angelina Jolie played the titular role in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider before returning for a sequel. It will be interesting to see how Vikander‘s franchise may grow moving forward, as it may start embracing the franchise’s crazier origins. I am still waiting for her to fight some dinosaurs. Misha Green‘s addition may also add some more horror elements to make the sequel stand out from its predecessor, which is an exciting prospect.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Hitman 3’ Breaks Franchise’s Digital Launch Record

    ‘Hitman 3’ Breaks Franchise’s Digital Launch Record

    In other gaming news, it looks like IO Interactive has some time to celebrate. Hitman 3 was the first major release of 2021 to kick it off with style. After ending last year with many buggy releases and controversies, it is good to start the year off like this in the gaming market. According to the developer, their latest entry had the franchise’s biggest digital launch ever. Its launch was also welcomed by a wave of raving reviews highlighting how it continues to evolve the 20-year-old franchise.

    This franchise defined the developer ever since it was founded in 1998. They’ve worked on seven Hitman titles since and rebooted the franchise in 2016, which would become the World of Assassination trilogy. At the time, they were owned by Square Enix and even got renamed Square Enix Europe. At one point, they were able to do a management buyout a year later and once again become an independent franchise. They almost lost the rights to their original creation in the process but that luckily didn’t happen.

    It is also a highlight to end their trilogy on such a high note. IO Interactive is about to venture out into a new franchise, as around two months ago they announced that they are working on an untitled 007 game. There is no word if they are taking a longer break from the franchise, as they focus on new IPs moving forward. I do think there is always going to be a future for Agent 47, so maybe we get a chance to see him and James Bond duke it out in the upcoming game.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Newsletter Teases Upcoming Hawkeye DLC

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Newsletter Teases Upcoming Hawkeye DLC

    The New Year has finally started, and we are just getting ready to see what the future has to hold. 2020 was a rough year in general, so hopefully, 2021 will be a new beginning for many. That statement also includes Marvel’s Avengers that had a rough launch in the last year. I have been covering the game for quite some bit now, so I am hopeful to see what direction it might take in the New Year. There has been some silence lately, as most developers have only recently returned from the holidays.

    Luckily, we did get a chance to cover the first 2021 developer stream. It offered some smaller teases, which teases some big plans for the year. It looks like a lot is happening for this game, which is exciting to see. Many of us are still anticipating a reveal and release date for the next DLC character, Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye. We sadly haven’t heard anything since December, but it looks like some activity is happening behind the scenes. As a nice surprise, we just got a new newsletter featuring his silhouette teasing his upcoming addition.

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1352702483953561601?s=20

    Sadly, we haven’t received the newsletter in Europe yet, so I am grateful that @PlayAvenger shared the one he received. It doesn’t say anything really, but his inclusion at least is a hint that he may sooner rather than later. We still have no official release date or even any info on their Deep Dive, but any sign of what they are working on is a welcomed change of pace. They have already added an open menu for his addition on the website, so we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks. Sadly, there is no developer stream today, which highlights they might be working on quite a bit right now. We’ll keep an eye out on what the future may hold for Hawkeye and Marvel’s Avengers. 

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘Resident Evil Village’ Trailer Explores the Vampire Castle

    New ‘Resident Evil Village’ Trailer Explores the Vampire Castle

    Resident Evil is celebrating its 25th anniversary. There were some smaller reveals, such as some unique gear for The Division 2. It seems that a multiplayer game is also being added to Resident Evil Village for free, which includes characters from the latest installments. I never really imagined we’d get a third-person Call of Duty clone for the horror franchise. Of course, we were anticipating the latest update for the eighth installment of the franchise. Early trailers already teased a very different game that included werewolves and, what seemed to be, vampires. Well, the latest trailer builds on that and offers some small tidbits of gameplay as well.

     

     

    Resident Evil has been quite busy with their releases. After the successful launch of VII, which surprised players with its new first-person perspective, they’ve released remakes of their second and third installments. These games took the franchise back to its roots. It offered a nice change of pace, as Village revealed to continue where its predecessor left off. In a way, it would allow Capcom to please old and new fans of the franchise. We once again take control of Ethan Winters, who will be facing some rather unlikely foes. The latest trailer took a closer look at the castle and its inhabitants.

    The environments look beautiful with the gothic design, and the overall design does remind me of the game’s fourth entry. Surprisingly, they only teased Chris Redfield, whose role is still uncertain. It is great to see Capcom move away from what we are used to while still embracing what made the franchise iconic. As much as I loved the seventh entry, I think the monster’s design was a bit of a letdown. Of course, the family was a highlight, but the strange black goo creatures got quite repetitive. So, embracing a new twist on vampires and werewolves promises some unique action.

    Source: IGN, YouTube

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Teases Loot 2.0 and MCU Skins

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Teases Loot 2.0 and MCU Skins

    Finally, we have entered a new year for Marvel’s Avengers, and Crystal Dynamics returned with a new developer stream. We are still waiting for some information on future updates. Sadly, I wasn’t able to participate this time. Luckily, the community always has an eye on any update. As such, I am very grateful to @SonicPhoto for keeping notes and @PlayAvenger live-tweeting the event. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the latest and minor updates for the game as we kick-off the new year:

    • They currently have no news to share on Clint Barton. We will only get this information via official channels once they have a War Table planned.
    • The roadmap is still in development. It seems CD is currently working on finding the dates, as they want to add some solid information to it.
    • New content is being worked on while they are going through their backlog. The devs want to include it in the roadmaps.

     

     

    • New Game+, or the Campaign Replay, is currently in QA.
    • The reason for the AIM Cloning Labs delay is due to multiplayer crashes. It seems they are also looking into a join-in-progress feature.
    • Captain America’s traversal is also getting looked into, but there are higher priorities.
    • Loot 2.0 got highlighted in the stream. CD is adding quality-of-life features, gear will be more meaningful, and it’ll be easier for players to choose the right one. So, we can expect more functionality, and they want to make us excited about it. They did say it will still take some time.

     

     

    • MCU skins are heavily being looked into, but there is a lot of red tapes involved.
    • Super Adaptoid multiplayer mission is in bug fixing and will likely drop before the Cloning Labs do.

    Overall, it sounds like a lot of the backlog has been holding the game back. Still, it looks like the end is in sight, so we’ll see how it will develop, especially now that the holidays have ended. The roadmap already setting dates is motivating, as it means they can potentially map out the upcoming months. I believe it would be good to have vague release windows with content information, but Crystal Dynamics probably has their reason for this approach. They did use the chance to introduce a new member of their Community Management, Leyla. It looks like we’ll see more new faces in future streams. So, we have something to look forward to as we await the next big reveal for the game.

    Source: Twitch

  • RUMOR: Animated ‘Mortal Kombat’ Film In Development

    RUMOR: Animated ‘Mortal Kombat’ Film In Development

    Warner Bros. is still building up hype for its upcoming Mortal Kombat film. It was originally going to air in January, but we never saw a trailer before it got inevitably pushed back. It is now eyeing a simultaneous release in theaters and HBO Max in April. Still, it looks like that isn’t all WB has planned for the R-rated franchise, as Illuminerdi uncovered that they are working on an animated feature. The thing that stands out the most is that it currently is given the title Mortal Kombat 3.

    They reveal an active casting call for five characters. It includes a few key players from the franchise, such as Tremor, Kuai Liang, Kabal, Kobra, and Kira. There are no story details, but it seems that the story may focus on an older Sub-Zero forced to fight Tremor. There is the question if this connects to the existing project that is currently produced by James Wan. The title is a rather strange addition, as it would naturally make people assume that a second MK film may already be in development. Animation takes a long time, so they may have mapped out to end the trilogy with a time jump that was easier to balance. Yet, it makes no sense why they wouldn’t just bank on the franchise’s possible box Office success to continue making live-action sequels.

     

     

    The more I thought about it, there is a possibility that this Sub-Zero story may take place in the timeline of the original Mortal Kombat film. So, technically it is going to be a sequel to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Why would they go down this route? The franchise is known for playing around with time travel and multiple dimensions, so why not have a sequel to the original franchise be the jumping-off point for the upcoming reboot. Sub-Zero accidentally rewrites history and restarts the cinematic version of this story. Keith Cooke played Kuai Liang in that original film, so why not expand that franchise.

    It’s just fun speculation, but we’ll see what plans they have for this animated film, as we are still waiting for the trailer of the upcoming remake. There is a good possibility it is also just a new entry in the Mortal Kombat Legends‘ series, which started with last year’s Scorpion’s Revenge. Perhaps the second entry is already further into production, so they started work on the third animated feature. At this point, anything is possible, but I won’t complain about more Mortal Kombat content.

    Source: Illuminerdi

  • Ubisoft Developing an Open-World ‘Star Wars’ Game

    Ubisoft Developing an Open-World ‘Star Wars’ Game

    Looks like the Lucasfilm Games rebranding really got the ball rolling. Just yesterday, we got the announcement that Bethesda is working on an Indiana Jones game. Now, WIRED revealed that they have also contacted Ubisoft to develop an open-world game that takes place within the galaxy far far away. Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment will be at the helm, who has developed Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. They are also working actively on a game based on James Cameron‘s Avatar franchise.

    This move is huge, as it is the first Star Wars game that is not being developed by EA since Disney acquired the rights in 2021. Originally, EA stated they have exclusivity rights for ten years, so either the contract was altered since, or it was only for publication, as development is very early and probably won’t be released until the earliest of 2023. Still, Disney’s Global Games and Interactive Experiences Senior Vice President Sean Shoptaw gave the following statement:

    EA has been and will continue to be a very strategic and important partner for us now and going forward. But we did feel like there’s room for others.

    Julian Gerighty, who worked on both The Division 2 and The Crew will serve as creative director. It will use Massive’s Snowdrop engine. It will be interesting to see what direction they go with this game. An open-world game is a tricky one if you can explore the entire galaxy. Jedi Fallen Order offered multiple areas that were free to explore on various planets. Massive may try to focus on a specific planet. Originally, there were two open-world games that got canceled at some point in development. Visceral Games was working on a game in 2017 before the studio was shuttered. There was also Star Wars 1313 that would’ve featured a playable Boba Fett. We even got an E3 demo for the game a while back that showcased what would’ve been possible.

     

    Source: Wired, Massive Entertainment, Gadgets 360, ScreenRant

  • Bethesda Reveals New ‘Indiana Jones’ Game

    Bethesda Reveals New ‘Indiana Jones’ Game

    Just yesterday, LucasFilms has announced that they are establishing their own gaming division titled LucasFilm Games. Looks like that announcement was just the build-up, as Bethesda just announced that they are actively working on a game based on Indiana Jones. It is nothing more than a teaser visual with the confirmation that the production studio Machine Games is working on it alongside LucasFilm Games. Still, just like IO Interactive’s 007 teaser trailer, it uses those nostalgia-filled visuals that still manage to get us excited within a few seconds.

    So, the big question is how they’ll approach a game based on the titular character. Like many other adventure games, it may be strongly inspired by the Uncharted franchise. Naughty Dog’s game has redefined the globe-trotting treasure hunt genre, so much that even Crystal Dynamic’s Tomb Raider remake was strongly inspired by it. Machine Games has quite an extensive library of games on their belt, most notably the Wolfenstein franchise. So, they could turn Indiana Jones into a First-Person Shooter with whipping action.

    Either way, the game might be in its early conceptual stages, so it is just pure speculation for now. If we are lucky, they might even have a concept trailer showing our first bit of gameplay during this year’s E3, so there is enough time before we hear more about this project. It is interesting to see this resurgence of classic IPs getting reborn as games, so it’ll be interesting what other projects might be hiding in the woodwork. Indiana Jones is no stranger to gaming, as his first game was on the Atari 2600. The last game in the franchise was from 2010 on Facebook titled Indiana Jones Adventure World, so this is a return to form for the adventurer.

    Source: Star Wars, Twitter

  • Square-Enix Trademarks Teasing ‘Final Fantasy VII Remake’ Sequel or Spin-Offs

    Square-Enix Trademarks Teasing ‘Final Fantasy VII Remake’ Sequel or Spin-Offs

    It’s looking like this week will be dominated by Marvel, as we all anticipate the upcoming release of WandaVision. It seems like it isn’t the only thing happening this week, as Square-Enix has been quite busy as well. They had a big year in 2020. They released a remake of one of their most famous games, Final Fantasy VII, which was only the beginning of its return. The remake only centered on the Midgar arc, which was around four to five hours in the original. Of course, to make it an entire game, they’ve added new details and characters from the expanded compendium. It wasn’t until we saw the ending that we would come to realize that Final Fantasy VII Remake was more than what we may have initially bargained with.

    The ending took a very different direction, which left us with many questions. Zack Fair, one of the main characters from the original, somehow managed to change his fate. It kind of implied that he may have a larger role in the future of this new franchise. Well, it seems that there are plans with him, as Square-Enix has just filed trademarks for “The First Soldier” and “Ever Crisis”. They also trademarked a new Shinra Electric Power Company logo, the primary antagonist of the remake.

    The first trademark is connected to SEPC’s SOLDIER program that gave Zack and Cloud superhuman abilities. What makes it significant, however, is the first SOLDIER was Sephiroth. So, it may tease that he will have some kind Now, Ever Crisis is rather interesting, as it could tease a spin-off focuses on Zack, just like the prequel Before Crisis did. The new SEPC visual can be closely connected to the ending reveal from Final Fantasy VII Remake. Most of us were focusing on the upcoming sequel, so the potential of spin-offs is surprising. We’ll see if these trademarks might have some ties to the game’s direct sequel, especially with them trademarking new visuals. It is still good to know that some development is happening with the franchise, and I cannot wait for an official reveal of how they are moving forward with this franchise.

    Source: Gematsu

  • Pitching a ‘God of War’ Series

    Pitching a ‘God of War’ Series

    Long ago, in 2005 A.C., Santa Monica Studios unveiled a story that marked the video game industry forever with their game, God of War. It was the story of Kratos, a Spartan General with a thirst for war and a champion to the Gods. As the years went by, the game developed into one of the most critically acclaimed video-game franchises of all time. Multiple games from the story have gone on to win Game of the Year, and the original God of War game has even been named one of the best PlayStation 2 games of all time. So, with Sony recently announcing that they will be developing seven TV Shows and three films based on their library of games, I’m here to pitch God of War as one of the seven series that is currently in development.

     

    Why a series instead of a film?

     

    One of the biggest challenges when adapting a story is the limited runtime of cinema. It tends to put a heavy constraint on the story that the film tries to tell. God of War would need to branch out beyond these restrictions. An example of an adaptation that did really with this format is Netflix’s The Witcher. I like the idea of a series is that you can play around more with the storytelling meta. For the series, I would love to create a sort of modern retelling of old Greek myths. Greek myths are told in verse, with muses serving as narrators (such as Disney’s Hercules for example). A great narrator for this series would be the original one from the games, the titan Gaia. I’ll be splitting up the story into three distinct seasons to follow the classic three-act structure.

     

    Season 1: The Rise

     

    The first season will focus on the games God of War: Ascension, Chains of Olympus, and the original God of War game. The season starts with the telling of a terrible prophecy. The Father of the Gods, Zeus, learns that he will die at the hands of one of his sons, the marked warrior. We begin the series with the abduction of Kratos’ brother Deimos, and his growth into the famed Spartan Captain. We will see Kratos pledge his allegiance to the God of War, Ares, in exchange for the power to slay his enemies. As Ares’ servant, he went on to conquer anything in his sight. That was until Ares tricked him into killing his own wife and daughter. The ashes of his wife and daughter form a white layer above his skin, marking him with his failure.

    Kratos vows to exact revenge against Ares and pledges allegiance to the Gods of Olympus. During his quest to have his sins forgiven and erased from his mind, he carries out multiple tasks and killing various mythological Greek creatures in the name of Mount Olympus, eventually enacting his revenge on Ares and killing him by using the power within the Pandora’s Box. In the end, even after killing Ares, the memories of killing his wife and child will continue to haunt him for all eternity. Seeing no other alternative, Kratos attempts to end his life, but the Goddess Athena has other plans and grants him a chair as one of the Gods of Olympus, as the brand new God of War.

     

    Season 2: The Betrayal

     

    The second season is based on the God of War: Ghost of Sparta storyline and leads into God of War II. For the first half of Season 2, we’ll focus on Ghost of Sparta, where Kratos finds out that his mother is alive and held prisoner in Atlantis’ Temple of Poseidon. There he uncovers that his brother Deimos is alive and trapped in the Realm of the Dead. Tragically, his mother transforms into an evil creature, which forces him to kill her. Kratos makes his way to free Deimos from his prison. He accomplishes his task, but bad blood between them leads to Deimos attempting to kill his younger brother. Suddenly, Thanatos takes him away and plunges him off the highest cliff in the realm. Kratos manages to save his brother, and they both reconcile to take on the God of Death. They are victorious, but Deimos dies in battle. This final death is the moment when Kratos swears his vengeance upon Olympus. 

    Kratos aids his Spartan army in their conquest of Greece. This act leads the Goddess Athena to plead to Kratos not to go through with this plan, as it will anger the Greek deities. In his rage, Kratos refuses to listen to reason, and he heads to the city of Rhodes. His attack is interrupted by Zeus, who finally makes his debut to confront the Spartan God. He strips Kratos of his powers and kills him using the famed Blade of Olympus, sending him to the underworld once more. Suddenly, our narrator Gaia feels that she cannot allow Kratos’s story to end here and aids him in his quest to defeat Zeus. Gaia revives Kratos and leads him to the Island of Creation, where he must find the Sisters of Fate and travel back in time to stop Zeus before he dies.

    Using the Thread of Fate, he accomplishes his task and claims the Blade of Olympus, but before he can deliver the final blow, Athena casts herself between the two and sacrifices her life. When Kratos asks why she did this, she says she did it to prevent the cycle of fathers killing their sons, revealing that Kratos is indeed the son of Zeus. Wounded, Zeus retreats to Mount Olympus to rally the other gods in an attempt to stop Kratos once and for all. Meanwhile, he once again uses the Thread of Fate to bring the Titans to the present timeline. The season ends the same way God of War II ended. Kratos leads the Titan Army up Mount Olympus to face the gods of Olympus.

     

    Final Season: The War

     

    The final season is essentially ripped straight from God of War III. This season will have the most effects work in it. It kicks off right where the last one ended. Kratos is scaling Mount Olympus to face off against the Gods alongside his army of Titans. During this season, we’ll see Kratos’ pent up rage and anger finally take hold, as he kills the Gods one by one. He’s aided by the Ghost of Athena, who sends him on a quest to find and put out the Flame of Olympus, which is powered by Pandora, whose box he used to kill Ares in the first season. Along the way, he makes his wrath felt across Olympus by killing anyone who stands in his way, both Gods and Titans alike. Kratos’s murderous rampage let him take on Poseidon, Hades, Helios, Perseus, Hercules, Hermes, Cronos, Hephaestus, Hera, and Gaia, who all fall before Kratos finally manages to take on Zeus. Blinded by his rage, he does not realize what plagues he unleashed upon Greece. Kratos finally reaches the Flame of Olympus, and Pandora sacrifices herself to quench the Flame. Then, the final battle begins as father and son take each other on for the fate of the world.

    Kratos manages to win the battle, but Greece is left in ruin by his actions. Upon seeing the end of the world, Kratos has his final encounter with the Ghost of Athena. She asks Kratos to hand her over the power he used to kill Zeus, a weapon that she put in Pandora’s Box along with the Flame of Olympus. Kratos, however, tells her that the box was empty. She realizes that when he opened Pandora’s Box in the first season, he unknowingly released an evil. It infected all the Gods of Olympus. This is why Zeus and the rest of the Gods were out to kill Kratos in the first place. The power he had taken was Hope. She begs him to return the power, so she can rebuild everything. Since Kratos no longer trusts any of the Gods, he stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus, releasing it into the world. Instead of returning it to Athena, he gives it to the rest of the world. The Goddess takes the Blade of Olympus and leaves Kratos to die. Yet, after the credits, his body has strangely vanished, opening up to exploring more stories in the future.

     

    Source: IGN