Ross @ FG: This week on The Finger Guns Podcast the whole gang get together to talk everything Nintendo have revealed this week for their Super Mario 35th Anniversary celebrations and there’s an awful lot to get into.
We’re excited about 3D All Stars but confused as to why we only have until next March to buy it? There’s plenty to get through.
Elsewhere we stick to Nintendo for all of our topics this week and discuss our classic Nintendo memories including sticky tape, flicking your wrist in bed and a very cool underground den near the worlds biggest Asda. Ah, Nintendo.
Finally we switch(!) things up by predicting where Nintendo are taking their handheld hybrid in the next couple of years and if they have a big gun to compete with the biggest next-gen Christmas war in years.
The review embargo for Hellblade 2 appears to lift on the same date as the launch of the game, just an hour before it's available.
That's not a good sign.
Review codes have been sent out as of 8 hours ago (according to Tom Henderson on X) so at least they aren't withholding those... But you'd think with confidence they'd want positive reviews to get buzz going online the weekend before release.
... But if they're expecting mid reviews, yeah sure lift that embargo when most people are asleep.
Zero marketing and embargo lifts when the game launches?
No confidence from team Xbox.
Digital Foundry : Bethesda's Starfield was generally a well-regarded RPG, but the game's 30fps target on consoles was the subject of some controversy. The game's massive scope arguably justified that 30fps refresh rate, with only high-end PCs capable of hitting 60fps and higher, but now Bethesda has changed course and opened the floodgates on Xbox Series X consoles following significant optimisation work. Players can now independently select performance and visuals modes at arbitrary frame-rates. How exactly do these new combinations fare, and is 60fps really a possibility after it was explicitly ruled out before?
An inside look at Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft's ambitious open world Japan where your every move is affected by weather, season, and lighting systems.