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Zed Games is a podcast that covers gaming news, reviews, community and culture. In this episode, Caroline reviewed Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition which includes both the base game and the expansion pack, Hot Garbage DLC. The team also discussed ChatGPT which is an AI chatbot that can generate human-like responses.

Games are Weird.

https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/03/new-peppa-pig-games-tribute-to-the-queen-has-players-losing-it/

Peppa Pig’s latest video game World Adventures has a bizarre memorial to the departed monarch Queen Lizzy.  Why is the dead queen jumping in muddy puddles with small children? Why is she a human talking to a talking pig? Why is there such an abrupt tonal shift from this to the in memoriam, which includes Peppa Pig herself in the photo? Is Peppa Pig super sad that her BFF The Queen kicked the bucket?  The internet seems baffled by this inclusion.

PAX AUS

https://aus.paxsite.com/en-us/info/news/pax-2023-badges-available-today.html

PAX Australia is the biggest gaming convention in Australia and is happening from the 6th to the 8th of October 2023 in Melbourne and tickets are on sale now!  It’s the 10th anniversary of PAX Aus so if that sounds like something you want to get in on, a limited amount of early bird tickets are available now.

Lance Reddick Passes

And sadly Lance Reddick passed away on March 17 from natural causes at the age of 60.  Known and loved for his acting and video game voicing, appearing in Horizon Zero Dawn, Payday 2, Quantum Break, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, an unreleased Hellboy game and maybe his most well known role, Commander Zavala from Destiny.

And now for the game releases

March 24

Resident Evil 4 Remake- PC, Playstation, Xbox Series X

The Crown of Wu- PC Playstation and Xbox

EA Sports PGA Tour- PC, PS5 Xbox Series X

March 27

9 Years of Shadows- PC

March 28

Crime Boss: Rockay City- PC

Drop – System Breach – PC

Kana Quest- Switch

The Last of Us Part 1- PC

Shattered Heaven – PC

Sifu- Xbox

Simon the Sorcerer – Origins- PC

March 29

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure DLC- PC, Xbox Series X

March 30

Anyaroth: The Queen’s Tyranny – PC, Switch

Dredge – PC, Playstation, Xbox and Switch

Grab your notebook, cheese, wine, and accoutrements as the crew talks news, Zahra gives us the run down on the history of Tetris in the lead up to the movies release, and everyone unloads chatting the worst pet peeves in games.

Suicide Squad isn’t Squadding Just Yet

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be taking a little while longer than originally anticipated, with the May release being pushed back to ‘later this year’. Why? Well, after the release of new gameplay footage just last month, the game has been hit with criticism, even by fans who have been looking forward to the Rocksteady game since it was first revealed in August 2020.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has traditionally villanious characters such as Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerange ganging up to take care of some more… ethically murky missions. It wasn’t stated that the reason for the delay was the criticism, but fans have been warned that it’s unlikely to revamp the game, but rather make some tweaks to hopefully make it more enjoyable for players.

This isn’t the first delay for this game, with the originally early 2022 release being pushed back to May this year.

No More Fortnite

… if you use Windows 7 or 8. Future seasons of Fortnite, the massively popular battle royale, will no longer be natively supported on older operating systems. Live service games, examples including Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Genshin Impact, tend to require a lot of maintenance and constant updates, a task that just isn’t feasible anymore for older operating systems.

This change has been attributed to Epic wanting to ‘grow our technology and expand the game to fulfill our vision of Fortnite’s future’, which prompted Chapter 4 to be launched on Unreal Engine 5.

It is recommended that players upgrade their operating system, however it is possible to stream it via NVIDIA’s GeForce Now cloud service.

Second Life, New (Mobile) Life

Remember Second Life? The web browser game that allowed users to host rooms and spaces that were fully customisable, using online avatars that were also fully customisable. VRChat before VRChat if you will. It’s no secret that Second Life is responsible for relationships, marriages, break ups, thousands of hours of joy and heartbreak. And now it’s coming to mobile, with the life simulator currently in development.

The Last of Us Influence

With the TV series, The Last of Us, based off the video games by Naughty Dog, there is more interest than ever in the universe, especially as the show introduced new elements that didn’t feature in the games. And now it appears that some of those elements will make their way into future games! This of course depends on whether another game in the series will be introduced, but Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog, has found some inspiration in the show, which may introduce some new levels of horror or lore to the universe!

And now for some upcoming games!

March 16

• The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (PSVR 2)
• River Tails: Stronger Together (PC)

March 17

• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch)
• The Guise (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Peppa Pig: World Adventures (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• WWE 2K23 (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

March 21

• Deceive Inc. (PC, PS5, XSX)
• Remnant: From the Ashes (Switch)
• Tchia (PC, PS5, PS4)
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution (PSVR 2)

March 22

• Have a Nice Death (Switch)

In our not so special 666th episode Rani, Paul, and Caroline talk news. Rani flips open the gaming book Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin to regale us with another book review. Followed by the patented DOUBLE review from Paul, who plays mix and match with body parts in Birth, and afterwards mix and match with souls in My Lovely Daughter.

With more scoops than a big bowl of ice cream, here’s this week’s gaming news!

More Sims Than The Sims

During a recent announcement showcase, Paradox Interactive has hinted at a new game called Life By You, which is very much in the style of The Sims. The reason this news is turning heads is that it’s being developed by Rod Humble, the former head of Sims and CEO of Second Life studio Linden Labs, so there’s a lot of excitement about how this could be a real contender for the crown of virtual life simulators. 

However, only a short teaser trailer has been released and there is currently limited information available about the game. A full trailer and further details are expected in the coming weeks.

eShop Shutdown

Everybody loves shopping on the Nintendo eShop, which is especially bad news for 3DS and Wii U owners. Nintendo are shutting down access to this service for these systems on March 27. Apparently the little hamster that powers the server is being retired and taken to a nice farm (SFX: Gunshot). So you have a few short weeks to go on eShop and buy those 3DS games you’ve always wanted. Or just hack the machine and download whatever you want forever. Wait, did I say that bit out loud?

Oh speaking of Wii U, word is floating around the internet that Wii U devices are prone to bricking – or terminally failing to turn on – if they’re not used for extended periods of time. Like, several years worth of time. And let’s be honest, that’s pretty easy to do with the Wii U. So if you’re one of the dozens of Wii U owners out there, maybe check in on it and see how it’s doing?

Cheating’s a drag, man

Battlestate Games, the developers of the tremendously popular war simulator Escape From Tarkov, have done something unusual about people who cheat in their game. Not content with just banning them outright, they’ve released the names of over 6,000 players who they say are using mods to cheat and otherwise make legit players’ lives worse. I’m sure the parents of cooldude69 are just dying from the shame their son has brought upon their family. It’s an interesting use of time from the developer who once claimed that adding female characters to their game would just be too much work.

And now, get your credit cards ready for these upcoming game releases!

March 9
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch]
Tiny Troopers: Global Ops [PC, PS5, XSX, XBO, Switch]
Train Life: A Railway Simulator [Switch]
Accuse [C64] 

March 14
Escape From The Red Planet [PC] 

March 17
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch)

This week Hazel is in control, taking Rani and The Temporarily Returned Tobi on a journey through the musical influence video games had on their lives, while Zahra tells us about the cuddly cat game Calico, and Maylee delivers the freshest of video game news.

Pokémon Day 2023 Announcements

The 27^th of February is Pokémon Day and as always The Pokémon Company treated players to a stream of updates and announcements for all things Pokémon. Here are some of the highlights:

Scarlet & Violet expansions:

One big announcement was the upcoming expansion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. The DLC will split into two parts: The Teal Mask, planned for a fall 2023 release on Nintendo Switch, and The Indigo Disk, planned for a winter 2023 release. The DLC will allow players to explore an entirely new area, the land of Kitakami, and the school of Blueberry Academy. “While this tale is split into two parts, they link together to tell a connected story,” the press release said.

Pokémon Sleep app:

This app was originally announced in 2019 but we’ve heard nothing about it in the years since, until now. Players of Pokémon Sleep will journey to a new island where Professor Neroli studies the nature of Pokémon sleeping habits. Of course, Snorlax will be a key part of this game but you’ll be able to meet and catch many others who you’ll find napping together each morning.

Alongside the app is a new device called the Pokémon Go Plus Plus, similar to the previously released Pokémon Go Plus and Pokéball Plus hardware. We don’t have a date yet, but we know that Pokémon Sleep will be released for Android and iOS devices this winter.

Pokémon Concierge series:

The Pokémon Company and Netflix have teamed up to create Pokémon Concierge, a stop-motion animated series set to premiere on Netflix later this year. It follows the story of a concierge named Haru who works at the Pokémon resort, an uncreatively named resort for Pokémon. Not much else is known yet but the trailer suggests it will be a cute slice of life detour from the typical battling and catching Pokémon formula.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie release date has been brought forward:

A recent update announced that the film, which was set to release on April 7^th has been moved slightly forward to release on April 5^th for Australia, the USA, and 60 other markets around the world. While not the first time the release date has been altered, with it first being 2022, then March, then April, it is hopefully the last.

Playstation State of Play:

Late last week was Sony’s State of Play and we were treated to trailers, updates, and announcements for a range of games. There are more than we can talk about here but some of the highlights were:

There was an announcement trailer for Journey to Foundation. It’s based on Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi epic and coming Fall 2023!

Another announcement was for Synapse, a VR Shooter where you wield telekinetic powers releasing exclusively to PlaystationVR2.

Another game for PlaystationVR2 is The Foglands, a stylised roguelike with western vibes, releasing later this year.

Before your Eyes is coming to VR2 March 10^th.

Goodbye Volcano High has been brewing for some time now and we’ve just got a trailer and release date for June 15^th, 2023.

Finally, we saw a new trailer for Tchia, which is releasing March 21^st, 2023.

​

Upcoming Game Releases

March 3^rd  – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

March 6^th  – Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC for PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch,

March 7^th – The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition for PC, PS5, & Xbox Series X

March 7^th – Little Witch Nobeta for PS4 & Switch.

And that’s all, this week, in gaming news.

This week in Zed Games Zahra is in control with Maylee and Cam as crew, guiding us through the relaxing and interesting world of SEASON: A letter to the future in their review, Cameron tells us all about the Commodore 64 and it’s very vibrant and inventive community who still love this piece of gaming history, and Paul keeps us all up to date with the news.

Tears of the Kingdom artbook leak

If you’re looking forward to the upcoming ‘Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ on May 12^th, let this be a warning for you.  The entire 200+ page artbook has been leaked onto the internet. With game details currently scarce and 3 months left until release spoilers now abound regarding characters that will appear in game and designs. While the artbook doesn’t directly spoil any gameplay elements can certainly be inferred by some of the content.  So be wary of those looking to spoil your sense of   discovery.

We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms. pic.twitter.com/JmO0hzw1BO

— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 21, 2023

Microsoft Spread the COD

Vice President of Microsoft Brad Smith has announced a binding 10 year contract with Nintendo outlying their intent to bring Xbox and Activision games to Nintendo platforms. Specifically, the deal outlines a commitment to release Call of Duty games “the same day as Xbox with full feature and content parity.” How the plan to achieve this is yet to be seen.

Shortly afterwards at a press conference in Brussels Smith also announced that all Xbox games would be coming to the competing cloud gaming service GeForce Now. The moves are part of Microsoft’s strategy to defend their proposed acquisition of Activision to the European Union’s antitrust authorities. The deal is currently under investigation and has been heavily criticised by Sony primarily on the issue of potential Call of Duty exclusivity.

Microsoft is hoping to settle the matter by June this year.

They changed Mario's "WAHOO" in the latest Super Bros. Movie trailer–and it's way better! pic.twitter.com/MQr6Pf6PGy

— André (@AndreSegers) February 19, 2023

Mario movie ‘wahoo’ update

In the most gripping news of the year so far it has been noticed that the reading of “Wahoo” used in the trailer for the upcoming ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ has been updated!  As a controversial choice for the iconic plumber Chris Pratt has a lot to prove and to help sell him in the role we’ve gone from THIS to THIS. The shocking change has rocked our very perception of reality but is it a step in the right direction?  Only time will tell.

Oh and here it is in French

pic.twitter.com/7mH6vEYIRY

— Firaxis Games (@FiraxisGames) February 17, 2023

Firaxis Games loses two

Legendary XCOM and Civilisation studio Firaxis Games has seen the departure of both the studio head Steve Martin after 27 years  and creative director Jake Solomon who was a primary driving force behind the development of Xcom 1, 2, War of the Chosen and the recent  Marvel’s Midnight Suns after 23 years of the company.  Both posted messages announcing their departure on twitter. No reason has been stated for their departure however they appear to have both left the company on good terms.

Game Releases

February 24

Blood Bowl 3 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Company of Heroes 3 (PC), Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe (Switch), Octopath Traveler II (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC)

February 28

Destiny 2: Lightfall (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Scars Above (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Dungeons of Aether (PC)

That’s all this yahoo in gaming woo!