On Tuesday, Nintendo broadcast a special live-stream at E3 2017, which saw a heavy focus on new games headed to the Switch this year. Among that number was Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a sequel to Monolith Soft’s critically acclaimed Wii RPG, which was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS in April 2015.
When Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was unveiled at an early Nintendo Switch showcase event, we learned that its protagonist was on a quest to find something called Elysium. The opening narration to the new trailer explains that this is the name for a paradise where an entity known as the Architect is thought to have lived among the denizens of the world.
The trailer then dives into some RPG staples: Airships, characters wearing impractical costumes, and aesthetically arresting locales. The original Xenoblade Chronicles was praised for its lush vistas and it seems that the follow-up will be no slouch in that regard.
The clip moved on to a fast-paced selection of scenes seemingly taken from both gameplay and cutscenes. We saw a fair bit of battle mode, which is significantly enhanced by some stunning visual effects, which look set to push Switch hardware to its limits.
We also saw a brief glimpse of protagonist Rex traversing various areas in the game’s overworld, notable for the diverse weather conditions that could be seen in various locations, and the sheer sense of scale on display. The idea that size matters was reinforced later on when we got a peek of an enormous creature that will presumably serve as a boss.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was among the first games to be confirmed for the Switch and it seems that we will not have to wait too long to experience the adventure. While Nintendo stopped short of specifying a release date, the trailer did confirm that the sequel will land during the holidays of 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.