Finally, the long-awaited sequel to Persona 5 is making its way to the west. Atlus took to Twitter to share a brand new trailer for the action-RPG spin-off featuring everyone’s favorite Phantom Thieves. Instead of the classic RPG-style, this sequel is co-developed by Koei Tecmo, who is well-known for their Dynasty Warriors series. As such, this new entry combines the original’s game style with hack and slash. Unlike Persona 5 Royal, this is not an expansion of the base game but a true sequel that continues the story of the original with a brand new set of villains to face. The game is slated to release worldwide on February 23rd next year.
The story takes place six months after the ending of the original. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts return to investigate mysterious events taking place across Japan. The game has already been available in Japan since February 2020 with the title Persona 5 Scramble. It is crazy to think that the Western release took an entire year, but long-time fans might remember when the mainline games took this long to release outside of Japan. Persona 5 has already had multiple spin-offs, such as Royal expanding the base game and the main characters taking center stage in Persona Q2: New Cinema. I hope we are also building up to an announcement or tease for the sixth installment in the franchise. These spin-offs add content in-between the main series development cycle, but after 5’s success, I hope we do not face another eight years of development.
Tomorrow is the big day. Kate Bishop finally joins Marvel’s Avengers. It has been quite the wait, but we finally get our first DLC that showcases what we can expect from this brand new entry in the Games-as-a-Service market. It’s been a very rough start to get to this very point. The game once was littered with bugs, and many questionable business practices have shed the game in quite a negative light. It was followed by quite the drop in players, especially on Steam. It just recently saw a small increase after the Black Friday sale, but all eyes were on the first real addition to defining the game’s future. Now, as the title has already revealed, I do not believe Kate Bishop will suddenly save the game from its player base loss. However, I do think that it will have an essential role in the game’s future development to get it to where it needs to be.
How will Kate’s addition do that? Well, the whole point of GaaS is that it continues to grow as time moves on. It got revealed that they were planning multiple years that would expand the game with an ongoing narrative and new heroes. Kamala Khan introduces us to this world’s Avengers and the aftermath of A-Day. Once they have taken down M.O.D.O.K., the story has only just begun. In our last minor update, we were introduced to Tachyon Rifts. They were not just a brand new mission type but also teased that something will be affected by a time storm. Our first War Table since the game launched then confirmed that Clint is going to travel through time to face a future version of Hulk, who is known as Maestro. They both face-off in the ruins of what once was Earth.
The original campaign had a more grounded storyline, so the first major DLC expansion to already jump into time travel and multiverse is quite the development. Kate is going to be our introduction to this brand new storyline that will finally get the ball rolling on future additions. The important thing is that future updates come at a good pace to ensure that the issue of repetition is solved. They have also confirmed that they are working on various reworks of systems that still seem a bit unrefined as of now. Kate is just a pebble in comparison to what is to come but an important one. There is also the argument that the character isn’t as popular as, let’s say, Black Panther or Captain Marvel. Yes, the character isn’t as big a name as those that were popularized in the public conscious by Marvel Studios, but she still has been a well-established character in the comics for some time. They also don’t have to get their biggest players out just yet, as even the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built on what were once B or even C-list characters.
Now, the true test will be once they finally release the multiplayer-focused Omega-Threat levels. Next year, we will kick off with the addition of Hawkeye, who will introduce us to brand new environments and is a direct follow-up to complete Kate’s story. Leaks have also teased that Black Panther, who will most likely be the third DLC character. Speaking of, Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix have the perfect opportunity to promote the game with high-profile characters. It would even be the perfect opportunity for a soft launch to get new players into the game. They have a lot of opportunities to build up their audience with each major character release. It’ll take time until we get to that point, but Kate’s release is the moment it finally gets rolling. Her addition is going to be our first taste of what we can expect and also the moment for Crystal Dynamics to build up the momentum they’ve been working for all this time.
Two more days to go until Kate Bishop finally arrives on Marvel’s Avengers. As such, we still get some fun leaks from @mmmmmmmiller that offer us a glimpse of what we can expect from the game’s future. His last leak may have given us a better understanding of who is voicing T’Challa in what may be our third DLC. The day before we even got a look at some new architects that teased the existence of Moon Knight and Namor within the game‘s universe. Miller has now taken to Twitter to share another voice clip featuring Steve Rogers and Kate discussing the search for a member of the Young Avengers. The multiversal traveling America Chavez seems to be missing, and Kate is out to find her.
This reveal is quite curious, as it may hint at other Young Avengers existing as well. We know that Kate was about to join the Avengers officially, but we don’t know much about other teams existing. We are still waiting to see if the X-Men or Fantastic Four already exist in this universe. I am curious how this will develop, as America might become playable at some point or act as an NPC on an Outpost. Her addition makes sense as the Tachyon Rifts are going to break the multiverse.
So, she might be the one to help you travel between different dimensions, such as revisiting the post-apocalyptic world teased in Clint’s storyline. Marvel Rising viewers might also remember that her origin is tied to the Kree, which seems to be the main threat of the game’s first season. So far, it looks like they are not holding back with the various corners of the Marvel universe. Hopefully, this means we’ll get to visit some unique locations in future updates.
All eyes are on Kate Bishop’s release next week that will finally expand Marvel’s Avengers. She will get the ball rolling on future content while teasing the overarching storyline that we can expect for the game’s first season. So far, we know that Clint Barton will join her next year and, hopefully, Black Panther shortly after. we still haven’t officially seen his design or any real information on him, but that never stopped anything from leaking. @mmmmmmmiller offered us some teases of the design and even an audio voice clip. Well, now he revealed some more that has started many wondering who exactly might be playing the king of Wakanda.
So, a lot of this dialogue seems to take place during the missions. “They are getting too close” could hint at a new mission type, where you have to keep enemies from reaching a new area. There is a strange line where it sounds like he mentions “Goku”, but I am unsure who he is referring to in this. There is even a mention of the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives him his powers. So, these are probably just early recordings that were added in advance, so they don’t have a massive update once the character is made available. It is uncertain how far into development he is still, so they might’ve just started recording not too long ago. We have to keep in mind that every voice actor also has to abide by the two-week rule when they travel for recordings and mo-cap.
Now, the big question remains who might be voicing T’Challa. A lot of people online have pointed out that it seems to be Christopher Judge. Many will recognize his voice from God of War‘s Kratos or his time as Magneto in X-Men: Evolution. I was a bit skeptical about it, but they have gotten some big names to join them, such as Ashly Burch as Kate Bishop and Giacomo Gianniotti as Clint Barton. Now, I think the only audio file that gives it away is the third one. The rest sounds a bit off, especially as they seem to be a combination of multiple lines that muddles it a bit. Yet, I also wondered if they may have taken a look at the character’s history in animation and video games.
I tried to compare those that have voiced T’Challa before to see if one came close. I wondered if they brought back Djimon Hounsou, who voiced the character in the Marvel Knights animated series. One of my favorites was James C. Mathis III’s iconic take on Black Panther from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Luckily, he continued to voice the character in Avengers Assemble, but his voice doesn’t match that of the leaked recordings, so it doesn’t look like he is part of Marvel’s Avengers. Hounsou‘s original take on the character was quite distinct and wouldn’t match this one either. Still, especially with that third recording, the voice matches that of Christopher Judge the most. I would love to see Hounsou return to the role, as in some film’s his voice could match the audio files. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement, but it was fun to speculate. For fun, I’ll leave you with this hilarious video of Judge telling dad jokes as Kratos.
Crystal Dynamics is still hard at work on Marvel’s Avengers. We are only a few more days away from the first DLC character being added. Kate Bishop will offer some brand new story content and continue where the Reassemble campaign left off. We even got a special War Table that offered a deep dive into the character and teased her story. Well, that wasn’t all as, after a short Thanksgiving break, the developers returned with a brand new stream to showcase the character in all their glory. Our CD mainstays Phil and Andy were also joined by fellow developers Scott and Nicole, who were able to offer some insight. Of course, a brand new stream also means you’ll get a brand new recap. Now, let’s jump right into all the major reveals and teases.
General Updates
Let’s start with some general updates. Phil revealed that he is the reason for Tony’s “Who you going to call?” line in the game. It was a collaborative effort, as they also worked together on characterization with Marvel.
New Game+ or Campaign Replay, as Phil titles it, is still being worked on, but it is already in the bug testing phase.
Loot is getting a complete overhaul. It will take time, but it is a big priority for the team. We can expect some major changes with future content.
The Omega Threat delays are due to some network issues. The missions are very long, so they want to ensure that multiplayer works as intended.
Their development cycles are getting better, so they are much better at getting timings down. Some of their co-workers have yet to take a break since the entire thing started. A lot of future features are also based on user feedback.
Kate will be available on the start screen and may have some additional music added to the game.
Kate Bishop Gameplay
They worked on Clint and Kate around the same time, which is a given with their archery focus. Clint’s background as Ronin and Kate’s fencing lessons in the comics was the inspiration for her melee combat. Both characters will use a variety of arrow types.
Kate stole the quantum technology from AIM. It is the basis for her abilities. There are sadly no unique status effects, but some moves stack additional quantum damage. It is mainly a visual effect and became a part of Kate’s fiction to create unique abilities around.
Kate is a support-focused character. You can optimize your build to either focus on her arrow abilities or even her blade. Most of her heroics include a special ability that helps your team during battle.
One can see their experience with the Tomb Raider franchise in Kate’s pull of the bowstring. You can quickfire or pull it in for critical damage, which looks to be quite satisfying.
Her support heroic Decoy allows her to spawn a clone who can damage enemies. It acts as a turret, which zones enemies. You can also add an ability to turn it into a quantum bomb to take out multiple enemies. They will be focused on the decoy, so you can support it mid-battle for additional damage.
Quantum Overdrive is a similar ability to Captain America’s Brooklyn Brawler. It gives her infinite intrinsic ability, so you can teleport around the map freely as long as it is active.
Warp Arrow allows you to shoot an arrow for a long distance, which instantly teleports you to that location. They are quite useful for boss fights to avoid larger attacks. There are, however, some limitations to where you can place portals, and enemies can’t enter them. You can activate the warp arrow at any time with a button press, so you are not dependent on hitting an actual surface to activate it.
You can switch your loadout just like Iron Man and Black Widow. Disruptor arrows are great to stack up combos. You can time the bow to get a perfect draw that deals with critical damage. Demolition arrows can attach to targets, which can be activated remotely or with a perfect shot.
The Scattershot can damage multiple enemies from a distance, but you can stack damage if you shoot from close-range.
Kate can hack doors like Iron Man and Black Widow.
Taking AIM Story
Kate was going to become an Avengers before A-Day happened. She sees the Avengers as her family, so she will add a great new dynamic. They teased her interactions with Tony.
When she was young, she decided she wanted to be like Hawkeye and eventually became his protége.
Nicole, one of the game’s writers, teased that she is fun, sarcastic, and confident. Like an older sister to her mentor, as she has it all together. They took a lot of inspiration from Matt Fraction‘s My Life as a Weapon story and her time with the West Coast Avengers.
They teased that a lot of references to Fraction‘s stories are scattered throughout the story and with the skins.
I have to say, my first impressions of Kate were very positive. She looks like a fun character to play. I might end up focusing on a sword build, as that quantum sword looks like a lot of fun. The animations were very fluid, and they put a lot of thought into how she plays. I cannot wait to play her once the DLC is released next Tuesday. I also cannot wait to see how the story will expand and what it may tease for the future. It also was just fun to see the developers finally be able to showcase their first major DLC and having a blast doing it.
Hot of the tails of his run in a galaxy far far away as the rebel pilot Poe Dameron, Oscar Isaac seems to be filling up his post-Star Wars career and covering all bases. Recently it got announced that Isaac would be playing Moon Knight on the upcoming Disney+ show. Not just that, he will also be starring in the new HBO series Scenes From A Marriage alongside Jessica Chastain. Now, we got the news that Isaac has found his new lead role in an upcoming big-budget film. He will star as Solid Snake in the live-action adaptation of Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid.
The film has been in development for a while now. Jordan Voght-Roberts was the first to join the production as director. The film is produced by Avi Arad and overseen by Peter Kang. Derek Connolly wrote the script for the adaptation. It is uncertain if it got a rewrite since. The casting is a huge deal, as Isaac has been a popular fancast of the role, especially after the actor showed his interest in it. Director Voght-Roberts at one point even commissioned a mock-up of what he’d look like as the character from the popular digital artist BossLogic. It isn’t the first time his artwork predicted a future casting.
THIS-MUSING-IS-NOT-NEWS-PSA:
To everyone asking how I feel about Oscar Isaac saying he wants to be Solid Snake.
The full process required to cast an icon hasn’t even started, but..
Ask @Bosslogic where the idea for his brilliant mock up came from.
The film currently has no release date, and it’s unknown when the project will begin production, especially Isaacs‘s packed schedule and commitments. So, it could be a while before we see him pop out from under a box anytime soon. We also don’t know if it will be an adaptation of a specific storyline from the franchise’s long run. There is a good chance the story will adapt Shadow Moses but integrate aspects from future story arcs. Now, the question is will we see the other two of the Les Enfants Terribles project.
Let us start with the good news first. We are getting Kate Bishop next week, which will be our first major addition to the game. It will also give us a feeling of what we can expect from new characters and future story patches. Sadly, their focus on making sure that Kate is as polished as possible we will have to wait a little longer for the multiplayer Omega-Level missions. Crystal Dynamics took to Twitter to reveal that while Kate will release on time, her unique Omega-Level Super Adaptoid mission still needs a little time in the workshop.
While her unique combat and Operation are complete, the Omega-Level version of the Super-Adaptoid Mission and AIM Cloning Labs are going to need a little more time for polish.
Of course, this also confirms that AIM Cloning Labs will still need more time. We’ve been waiting for their first mini-Raid for quite some time, so it is disappointing that it still won’t release. Now, I will say that I am happy that Kate is going to release on time with the brand new content. She does include new missions, perhaps a new warzone type, and, of course, Kate. It isn’t great that we won’t be getting those Raid-type missions right at release, but I will hold CD to that “little more time” aspect of their tweet. At least they didn’t say soon, but I do wish they would give us an actual time window. I hope it still releases before the year ends.
Now, the question is: why is it still being delayed? I believe it is connected to the length of these missions. There were rumors that the AIM Cloning Lab can last up to six hours. Now, imagine if you suddenly lose your connection and cannot rejoin someone? I wouldn’t be surprised if they are still testing out a way to make the multiplayer experience easier for players, especially to avoid any bugs that could hamper one’s run. Keep in mind that this is just speculation on my part. As annoying as the wait is, we still have Kate’s brand new operation Taking AIM coming out early next week, which is going to be an exciting addition.
We are only a few days away from Kate finally releasing. Marvel’s Avengers is still in a bit of a dry spell, so this will hopefully change once our first major addition to the game arrives early next week. Now, data miner @mmmmmmmmiller has started to leak a few snippets that build-up to the release. On the first day, we got a voice clip that will be from our first villain addition, AIM’s Super Adaptoid. Today’s leak is the one that caught my eye, as it seems we’ll be seeing many more iconic items from Marvel history getting added as major artifacts in the future.
Day 3 (2/3) 1: Essence of Ancient Winter 2: Staff of Khonshu
I am currently theorizing that Essence of Ancient Winter is in the Cloning Lab drop table. Just a guess, but an educated one. (continued) pic.twitter.com/8ZWFvCPsYy
So, there are many references hidden here. There is a tease of Hank Pym’s Portal Device, which will come into play during Kate’s DLC. The Lifeline Tablet is an artifact that has its origin in Atlantis, which confirms that Namor and the Atlanteans do exist in this universe. Vishanti Appendix could be connected to the trio of supernatural gods of the same name, who worked alongside Doctor Strange in the comics. The odd one out is the Talisman of Spectacle, which was supposedly part of Avengers‘ 5 Gum promotion.
The Ancient Winter reference might be familiar to those that watched Thor. It even gets referenced in the data files in the game as well. Not just that, we also get the Staff of Khonshu, which means the developers might have Moon Knight in the pipeline at some point. Of course, the inclusion of the artifacts does not confirm he’ll make an appearance anytime soon, but it means he is on Crystal Dynamics list for some time in the future. If they time it right, they could promote the character’s addition once Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series nears its release.
Looks like we have a brand new leak for Fortnite‘s latest season. Just a week ago, it was revealed that our favorite Mandalorian would be joining the latest season once Galactus tried to eat the planet. The Marvel event has come to a major turning point, as everyone faced the Celestial down with an army of Battle Buses. Before his defeat, he did manage to pull out the planet’s core which has thrown everything into chaos. It’s the perfect set-up for a brand new season of the popular Battle Royale game. Now that the new season has started, we are about to get one more legendary addition. @HYPEX, who is a well-known Fortnite leaker, has revealed the first look at Kratos skin for the game.
He looks fantastic and showcases how Fortnite’s aesthetic really works for almost any kind of franchise. I do wonder if we also get variations of his skin that pay tribute to the original trilogy, or they’ll stick with his iconic beard. Funny enough, he leaked it mere minutes after PlayStation prepared an entire audio presentation that teased his upcoming inclusion in the game.
It is uncertain if he might be an exclusive skin for the PlayStation. We could see each console get one exclusive character to join from their respective franchises. I am not sure though if we get Mario with some guns. There is also a good chance that the “Join the Hunt” tagline might be used to include a variety of characters from any kind of medium. Hunt could be a perfect way to add a skin for the Predator. They might just add Alien so everyone can replay the iconic showdown between the two. There is a lot of potentials, so who knows which direction this season might be heading.
Marvel’s Avengers has been facing quite the drought, but we are only one week away from finally getting our hands on the game’s first major DLC. Kate Bishop will hopefully kickstart the game’s expansion, which got delayed due to bugs. Now, we are closing in on the release, which is slated for December 8th. One more week to go until we get our first look at what the future may hold for us. Luckily, the always reliable leaker @mmmmmmmmiller seems to be starting what one can describe as the Seven Days of Kate-mas. As we are building up to the release, he promises that we will get a small leak per day. So, let’s not waste any more time and jump into our first tease.
That robotic voice would automatically make one think of Ultron. Of course, we know that this is most likely the voice of the Super Adaptoid, who will be the main enemy of Kate’s unique single-player campaign. He is a robot designed by AIM that copies the abilities of our favorite heroes. His design is surprisingly comic-accurate, especially with his green glow. I am surprised he has a voice, which sounds surprisingly similar to that of the Roy robots that are vendors in the various outposts. There is a good chance that they were prototypes that would eventually become the Adaptoid and, just maybe, Ultron later down the line. We’ll see what else may be heading our way in the coming days, but it is a nice little tease of what is to come.
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