Leading up to the launch of the highly anticipated 3DS game, Nintendo has unleashed a couple of new Metroid: Samus Returns trailers that show Samus in action. The first is a TV commercial with the tagline “Summoning All Heroes.” The second, at more than four minutes long, explores some of the new gameplay elements and additions to the game.
A remake of the original Game Boy classic Metroid II: Return of Samus, the new game features 3-D graphic enhancements and a vibrant color palette. It’s still the side-scrolling blaster you remember though, with numerous items to collect and new areas to explore. It should play great on the 3DS, with the map continuously available for reference on the lower screen. There’s even a limited-edition Metroid 3DS XL console available featuring the armored space mercenary ready for action on the front.
In addition to the legendary bounty hunter’s familiar arsenal such as the Morph Ball and Space Jump, Samus now has a melee counter ability and free aim with her blaster. She also has access to some new “Aeion” abilities, which are powered by a separate energy meter that replenishes over time.
Samus Returns also has Amiibo support, with the figures unlocking bonuses like extra Aeion energy and a gallery of original Metroid artwork, as well as a more challenging “Fusion” difficulty level after beating the game. Some fans, however, aren’t so happy that the most challenging difficulty can only be accessed by purchasing the Amiibo figure.
The packaging for the Special Edition of the game includes a novel feature – you can flip the packaging to display the original cover art for Metroid II: Return of Samus from 1991. The Special Edition also includes the game soundtrack on CD.
Nintendo has promised that the adventures of Samus Aran won’t end here. As revealed at E3 2017, a brand-new Metroid game for the Nintendo Switch is in development, but won’t see the light of day until 2018.
Metroid: Samus Returns will be available for the Nintendo 3DS on September 15, 2017.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.