Nagamuna is such chill Guy, when Sega killed smilebit he became a freelancer so he could take projects like this one
Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
Really hope this isn't releasing beyond the scope of this timeline, this sounds absolutely wild.
AeroTheZealousOne
Monthly Donor
If they don't take any cues from the soundtrack of
All right!
Wait, quick question. Did Sochi host 2014? Or was it someone different.
Google Stadia Worldwide Launch
Google Stadia Technical Specifications
Google Stadia is a cloud-based gaming service that primarily uses hardware at Google's data centers to wirelessly stream video games to users' devices, whether that be a game console, a phone, a TV, or any number of other Android capable devices. Stadia hardware is also capable of being built into certain devices to allow game downloads without needing to stream gameplay, but Google intends for players to primarily utilize the streaming service. Capable of all the same features OTL's Stadia service is capable of, as well as a few more additional features (Google has had six years' experience with the Nexus by this point, and has incorporated user feedback and data into the Stadia's design, allowing it to be optimized from OTL's service). The Stadia store features its own lineup of Stadia exclusive titles, but also has access to the entire digital library of the Nexus, and those titles are all available for purchase and streaming as well. In addition, the Stadia has a lineup of legacy titles including Xbox, PC, and Android games, with some available for streaming and others available exclusively for download, with new legacy titles added to the streaming service on a weekly basis. This gives the Stadia a massive lineup of games at launch, thousands of Nexus and legacy titles in addition to the Stadia exclusives. As IOTL, the Stadia is heavily integrated with all of Google's digital services, utilizing Okuma for the sharing of videos and for its digital gaming community, with Google also making a deal with Videocean to allow streaming and sharing to that service at the Stadia's launch. Google has been investing in data centers and fiber-optic connectivity for the past four years in the leadup to the Stadia's launch, allowing the company to process an incredible amount of streaming data, optimized for the Stadia's streaming and data requirements and allowing for near seamless streaming to all sorts of devices, including the Stadia's proprietary controller accessories (which, as IOTL, can be connected directly to Google for seamless inputs).
Whereas the Google Nexus hardware was based on smartphone architecture, the Stadia service utilizes powerful PC-based hardware significantly more powerful than OTL's PS5 or Xbox Series X, and ITTL, the Stadia's hardware is even more powerful, topping at around 12 teraflops at launch. As an “eternal platform”, Google can upgrade the Stadia hardware as games require, eliminating the necessity for users to purchase new hardware. However, gamers who elect to download their games rather than stream them can buy devices with Stadia hardware built in. At launch, these devices include a “Stadia Hub” console, which comes in a 1TB SSD variant and a 2TB SSD variant, which cost $499.99 and $599.99 respectively, or a “Stadia capable” laptop or PC.. Users can also purchase special Samsung Stadia TVs, with the Stadia hardware built in, capable of downloading or streaming game content. Stadia TVs also feature a 1TB SSD built in that can be used for downloading games or as a DVR device. These “Stadia capable” devices have built-in slots specifically designed for upgrade cards that can be used to boost the specs of the device if certain future games exceed the launch requirements, though Google doesn't expect that to happen until 2022 or 2023 at the earliest. Though any Android-capable controller, including the Nexus controller, is capable of playing Stadia games, Google has made a special Stadia controller, similar to OTL's Stadia controller, that can be used to play, and one of these is included with Stadia-capable devices as well. In addition, Google has designed a new “Stadia Grip” accessory specifically for Android phones, allowing them to become essentially handheld Stadia consoles. Only these Stadia-specific controllers can use the special Google link wi-fi ability, but as mentioned before, any Android controller, or even a Reality or Virtua controller with some technical finagling, can be used to play Stadia games. Google has also designed a new Stadia VR headset for use with the new generation of games, and is said to be planning “immersive experiences” similar to those found on the Reality or Virtua, with launch title Devoid compatible with the Stadia VR and utilizing it quite aptly.
-
Launch Title Summaries-
(Note: Rather than summarizing every single launch title for the Stadia, we'll be focusing on the titles released at launch that are exclusive to the Nexus/Stadia on either a full or timed basis, a total of nine games. We'll also be covering a tenth title, Benefactors, that's a multiplatform game heavily marketed for the Stadia launch. Afterwards, we'll provide a list of other major multiplatform games coming to the Stadia at launch.)
Devoid
Devoid is an action/adventure/horror/shooter title published by Google for the Nexus and Stadia consoles. It's a sci-fi game in which two scientists discover a portal to a mysterious parallel Earth which has been ravaged by a terrifying swarm of monsters, and if they are to return home and prevent their own world from falling victim, they'll have to find a way to defeat these monsters by any means necessary. Devoid is a Metroidvania-esque title split between the two protagonists, a man named Landen and a woman named Kaia, with Landen as the game's only playable protagonist for the first third of the game, and then in somewhat of a twist, the game switching to Kaia, then returning to Landen, and alternating between them at gradually shorter intervals until the two finally reunite in the game's final chapter. Gameplay can be considered a hybrid of OTL's Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Last Of Us, combining the RPG-like exploration and intuitive creature combat of the former with the crafting and thematic elements of the latter. The parallel Earth is a horrifying nightmare realm that players will need to grow accustomed to, even as they are thrown in the deep end with monsters swarming them. Gameplay takes the form of a third person shooter, with the player able to run, jump, climb, and shoot, along with other context-sensitive actions that are revealed as certain situations take place. Combat itself sees both Landen and Kaia engaged in battle with a variety of the strange alien creatures, ranging from small creatures the size of dogs and monkeys to large creatures the size of skyscrapers, that shake the ground when they walk and are capable of causing incredible damage. Depending on the size and capabilities of the creature, different tactics must be used: some creatures must be trapped, others must be hit in a weak point, while still others can be lured into fights with other monsters that allow for the human protagonists to escape to safety. At first, you'll encounter no humans at all. Later, you encounter humanoid creatures that look and act like humans to some extent, but who react like hostile robots and attack the protagonists. Later, you learn that these seemingly robotic/alien humanoid creatures are just humans from the parallel Earth who have been taken over by some kind of hive mind, though still others are actually just disguised humans who can be communicated with normally. These human encounters are fairly rare, but they go a long way toward unraveling the mystery of what happened to this version of Earth. In addition to its 20+ hour campaign mode, Devoid also boasts online multiplayer, in which players can battle it out in PvP battles across the desolate landscape. The multiplayer is somewhat light on features, but utilizes the excellent shooting and movement mechanics to great effect, and proves to be quite fun (it's best compared to the multiplayer modes featured in OTL's Uncharted titles). Devoid boasts some of the best graphics on the Nexus, with the Nexus Pro version obviously looking better, and the Stadia version looking absolutely incredible, truly next-generation in its graphical detail. Though the game runs smoothest on the Nexus Pro or Stadia, it's absolutely playable on the Nexus, with no slowdown, just lower frame rates and details, but still looking outstanding with few if any glitches, as Google worked hard to optimize it for whatever device the player uses to experience the game. Devoid boasts an eerie, minimalist soundtrack, often going without any music at all, and when it does feature music, it sounds haunting, almost poignant, invoking a sense of loss and dread in the player. The game is fairly light on voice acting, as human interaction is little and far between, but Landen (despite his Gordon Freeman-esque appearance and behavior, he's fully voiced) is voiced by Robbie Daymond, while Kaia is voiced by Mayim Bialik.
Devoid begins with scientists Landen and Kaia performing an unauthorized particle experiment. Landen believes that this experiment is the key to faster-than-light travel, and proves a theory that Kaia has been wanting to test for years but hasn't been able to secure funding. Kaia, though reluctant, aids Landen, and at first, the experiment appears to be a success, but then the two are hit with a particle wave and get a glimpse of a destroyed parallel Earth. Landen shuts the machine down just in time to prevent a fatal exposure to particle radiation, but then, when seemingly all is safe, a hole is opened in space-time, and Kaia is sucked in, despite Landen's best efforts to save her. The portal snaps shut, and Landen despairs, but then risks his own life to re-open the portal and go in after her. He ends up somewhere in a ruined city, with no living creatures in sight until he's attacked by a pack of dog-like beasts that he barely manages to escape. He finds some weaponry and begins to explore, and we as the player learn about this parallel Earth just as Landen does, via archival videos, text documents, news articles, and environmental context scattered throughout, as Landen gradually gets stronger and opens up more of the city to explore. We also get more clues about Kaia's whereabouts, and get tantalizingly close to finding her, only to be denied each time. Finally, it seems that we're about to find Kaia, only for Landen to get into a fight with a massive creature. He defeats the creature, only to be caught up in a strange phenomenon, and just as we're about to see him torn apart, we then switch to Kaia, who has been exploring in the world as long as Landen has, and starts out with a fairly powerful weapon. She's been privy to a different set of information, and has even established contact with some scavengers, disguised humans who are hiding from the creatures swarming above. As Kaia explores, we learn more: human scientific advancement has led to a point where we can interact with the energy that comprises the human soul, but we quickly began to abuse this power, causing humans to lose their souls and become creatures known as the Devoid, while latent soul energy has coalesced into the beasts roaming and destroying the world. There's some kind of intelligence controlling the Devoid, and the scavengers have been seeking out a way to isolate and destroy it, which will stop the rampaging creatures. Kaia finds herself drawn to Landen by a force that the scavengers call a "soul tether", and they tell her that if she follows it, she'll find her way to him. Kaia's journey takes her across a desolate landscape, and we see that she's heading toward the city that Landen has been exploring. After spending a decent amount of time with Kaia, she makes it to the outskirts of the city, only to be captured by a group of humans that she mistakes for mindless Devoid, only to realize that they're working of their own volition. We then see a comatose Landen being cared for by another group of humans, and we learn even more about the world, and that the portal to this parallel Earth was opened with soul energy, which, when exposed to the outside world, takes on a wild, radically powerful form. Landen learns how to take advantage of this to craft powerful new weaponry, and after receiving a clue about Kaia, he rushes to her location, only to come face to face with a man who we recognize as the leader of the group that captured Kaia at the end of her last segment. The man then reveals himself to be a parallel Landen, and the two Landens fight one another, with the parallel Landen trying to absorb the main Landen's soul energy. After a fierce boss battle and cutscene, the two are both attacked by a powerful, worm-like beast that shatters the building they're in and plunges underground, taking both Landens with it and causing us to switch back to Kaia, who has been imprisoned in some kind of underground dungeon, but is able to escape by using a strand of soul energy. She fights her way to the surface, just in time to see the rampaging wormbeast punch a hole in the dimensions and escape to our world, causing massive death and destruction. Kaia is horrified to see this, but before she follows the beast, she senses Landen's soul tether fading, and realizes he's in trouble. As we see her trying to decide what to do, we switch back to Landen, who survived his own run-in with the wormbeast and must now fight a slew of Devoid and small beasts to make it to a device that he uses to create a portal back home. He doesn't sense Kaia, and, assuming she's dead, returns home only to see the city in ruins amidst reports of beasts swarming major cities. After another combat scene, we switch back to Kaia, who reunites with Landen, only for it to be the false Landen who tries to kill her, but after a tense fight cutscene, the parallel Landen stops, and asks Kaia if she recognizes him. Several story revelations later and we learn the truth: the original Landen is from the parallel universe, and the "parallel" universe Landen is actually from the main universe. The experiment was designed to create a portal that would restore the soul energy to the parallel universe by draining some of the soul energy from the main universe, but because soul energy renews itself, it would allow both universes to maintain equilibrium. The monsters were created out of the imbalance between the soul energy of the two universes, and their rampage is simply the act of collecting soul energy to return to their original universe. Kaia is the only difference between the two universes: in the parallel universe, she doesn't exist, and her soul stabilization theory was never tested, causing the destruction of the parallel universe via soul energy destabilization. However, it also turns out that there's not supposed to be two Landens either: there's only supposed to be one, as the original Landen was only supposed to exist in the parallel universe: Landen and Kaia aren't supposed to exist together in the same universe. The final battle consists of two parts: in part one, Kaia has to kill the main universe Landen. In part two, the parallel universe Landen has to protect Kaia and destroy the wormbeast while helping Kaia complete the soul stabilization procedure to allow the main universe to return to normal while also beginning the parallel universe's recovery. After this is accomplished, Kaia and Landen (now a reconciled being with memories from both universes) say their goodbyes, Landen returns to the parallel universe, and Kaia returns to her life as a scientist. She understands that soul energy is still too dangerous to use without risking the cataclysms that swept across the parallel universe, but uses her research to look for a way for humans to use their own soul energy to better the world. Meanwhile, in the parallel universe, Landen and the rest of the survivors, including the former Devoid who had their souls restored to them after the wormbeast was destroyed, set upon the task of restoring their world to its former glory.
Devoid is released on November 16, 2018, the same day that Google Stadia goes live. It's the flagship game for the Stadia service, and as part of promotion for the Stadia, it's available for free streaming to everyone with a membership to the Stadia service (which itself is free for the remainder of 2018). Despite being ostensibly a "free" game for its first six weeks, Devoid still sells millions of Nexus copies, as many people want to own the game outright and don't want to stream it. Between the millions who buy a Nexus copy of the game and the millions who play for free on Stadia, Devoid is enjoyed by well over 10 million people in 2018, making it one of the year's best selling titles and one of the most popular Google games overall. It achieves outstanding critical reviews as well, that praise both the incredible graphics and intuitive gameplay, while the storyline, while slightly convoluted (though it's less confusing if you actually take time to listen to NPC dialogue and check out some of the in-game journals and the like) also earns high praise, with Daymond and Bialik's voice performances also considered outstanding. It's easily the Stadia's biggest launch title, and one of 2018's front-runners for Game of the Year.
Metacritic Score: 94
Netizen X: Hacker Story
Netizen X: Hacker Story is an adventure game taking place after the events of Cyberwar 5, and focusing on Lucy/Netizen X as she resolves to start a new life of sorts, doing good from the shadows rather than commanding a hacker army. This is a much smaller game than the typical Cyberwar, more of a Life Is Strange-esque experience than a full-fledged epic title. It consists mostly of small adventure segments, dialogue trees, and hacking puzzles, and is framed around communications between Netizen X and a young woman nicknamed Cybit, a fellow hacker who befriends and bonds with Netizen X. Cybit (voiced by Amanda Celine Miller) wants to do good like Netizen X, and becomes involved in a conspiracy involving an illegal AI chip and a group of terrorists known as the Derezzed. Netizen X and Cybit have to communicate with and help each other through various perils and dangers as they get to the bottom of the conspiracy together, all the while chatting through only texts and occasional voice chats, never meeting face to face or even seeing each other's faces, as they both know that they could potentially be tracked by their enemies via camera (and both of them have a lot of enemies). Through short adventure/clue-finding segments, puzzle segments, and the occasional shooting/fighting segment, the player guides both young women through the adventure, while also learning more about them both and experiencing their bond as they become closer and closer. In the end, the two are able to foil the conspiracy and save a bunch of innocent people, and the ending finally sees them both meeting in person at a coffee shop (they're both shy dorks and it's very cute and awkward). Netizen X: Hacker Story is released on the Stadia as a timed exclusive (was originally thought to be strictly exclusive at E3, but later confirmed to just be a timed exclusive) on November 16, 2018, though it would eventually be released on the Nexus, Reality, Virtua, and even next-gen handhelds. It's a fun and sweet adventure game, very light-hearted for the Cyberwar series, with some challenging but fun puzzles and excellent voice acting from AJ Michalka (Netizen X) and Amanda Miller (Cybit). It becomes one of the Stadia's most successful launch games, and though it's not free for streaming, its MSRP is $29.99, so that helps it earn a lot of sales.
Metacritic Score: 90
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is an action beat 'em up game, a spinoff of the Batman video games featuring Harley Quinn striking out on her own to pull off the ultimate crime caper. While not quite as obscene and irreverent as OTL's Harley Quinn material (it's a Teen rated game), it's still plenty crazy, and fairly similar in tone to the OTL animated show. After breaking up with the Joker, Harley sets out to prove herself as a criminal mastermind by robbing the Gotham Gold Exchange, something even Joker was never able to do. In order to pull off this crime, she recruits Poison Ivy (who at first only agrees because she wants to wreck the American economy to save the plants, but later she genuinely bonds with Harley Quinn and wants to help her as a friend) and a few other bad girls and guys (but mostly girls), and sets out to put her plan into motion by pulling off a number of smaller crimes around the city, all of which are a small bit of Harley's ultimate plan. She's opposed not only by Batman, but by the Birds of Prey (Renee Montoya, Huntress, Black Canary, and Batgirl), each of whom holds a grudge against Harley for a particular reason. The gameplay is standard beat 'em up fare, though Harley has an array of clever tricks to use on her foes, making fights a bit less repetitive than they are in the Batman games. Lyssa Fielding reprises her role as Harley, with Batman voiced by Troy Baker, Poison Ivy voiced by Grey Delisle, and Renee Montoya voiced by Stephanie Beatriz. Released as a Stadia exclusive (not just a timed exclusive either, Google helped produce this game along with THQ), the game proves to be another of the more popular launch titles on the platform, and since it's a true exclusive, it's included free with membership to Stadia's premium service (though it can also be purchased at full price for those who let their subscription lapse).
Metacritic Score: 78
Tetris 99
Nearly identical to OTL's Tetris battle royale game for the Switch, Tetris 99 is a timed Stadia exclusive that pits up to 99 players in a Tetris battle royale, last one left standing wins. Unlike OTL's game, it does eventually come to other platforms, though it's only offered free on the Stadia premium service (everyone else has to pay 20 bucks for it). Like OTL's game, it also has unique themes for the Stadia, which include a Miraculous Ladybug theme, a Covenant theme, and a Devoid theme (other platforms like the Reality and Virtua will get their own console-exclusive themes).
Metacritic Score: 86
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
An absolutely gorgeous Metroidvania-style platformer, Ori And The Will Of The Wisps is fairly identical in terms of plot and gameplay to its OTL counterpart, with some butterfly-induced differences, but none big enough that OTL players wouldn't recognize it as mostly the same game. One of the most heavily promoted launch games, this, like its predecessor, is exclusive to Google, coming to the Nexus and Stadia, with the Stadia version at the forefront thanks to its stunningly beautiful graphics and incredibly smooth gameplay. Another contender for Game of the Year.
Metacritic Score: 93
Stadia Homestead
The sequel to 2014's Nexus Homestead, this game is developed by Google in conjunction with Paradox Interactive, and, like its predecessor, allows players to build their own forts, defend them from enemies (in both PvE and PvP modes) and visit each other's forts while micro-managing their own. In addition to the requisite graphical improvements, the game also gives players a wider selection of combat units and cosmetic decorations, and generally introduces improvements, enhancements, and polish to the original's gameplay. Stadia Homestead is a welcome sight at the Stadia's launch, and, like many of the other Stadia exclusives, is free to play for subscribers, though its lack of a true generational leap from its predecessor does earn it some slight derision from critics, and it isn't promoted as much as some of the other launch games.
Metacritic Score: 83
Gylt
IOTL, Gylt was the only Stadia exclusive at the system's launch, earning it quite a bit of focus. Here, the game is one of several exclusives, though it retains its unique horror feel and surreal storyline and setting. Like OTL's game, its protagonist is a young girl searching for her missing sister, and the game makes good use of the Stadia's advanced graphics to convey its wide variety of visuals and its melancholic horror. Still, the game is somewhat short compared with other Stadia launch games, and there's definitely not much reason to play it instead of, say, Devoid, unless you're really a huge fan of horror or unless you're hard up for another launch title to play.
Metacritic Score: 67
World Of Warcraft
Of course, the biggest game launching on Stadia, apart from Devoid, is the long-awaited console port of World Of Warcraft, after 14 years of being PC only. It's exclusive to the Stadia on console, and in addition to its unique control scheme that allows players to use the controller, you can also elect for a mouse and keyboard setup, just like on PC. For the entire Stadia trial period (until the end of 2018), you can play the whole game subscription-free, giving players six whole weeks to try out World Of Warcraft, level their characters, and enjoy the full world with all its expansions. The Stadia version has full cross-play with the PC version as well. It's, well, World of Warcraft, and the novelty of having it on console draws a lot of players, many of whom purchase the game despite it being free to play, in anticipation of the end of the six week trial period (after which you have to purchase the game at full price, plus monthly subscription fees, to continue playing). The Stadia launch sees the large surge of new World Of Warcraft players since the 2000s, and the port itself is extremely good, with the Stadia's powerful hardware allowing for smooth, good looking gameplay, and the controller scheme actually working well enough that most console players opt not to use a keyboard and mouse.
Metacritic Score: 85
Guns Ablazin'
A top-down bullet hell shooter with both single player and online multiplayer, Guns Ablazin' is another Stadia exclusive launch title, a brand new IP developed just for the platform. The game operates somewhat like a Diablo title combined with Smash TV, a very fast-paced game with a multitude of different guns and tons of enemies everywhere, and allows you to collect experience and loot to power up your loadout. It's a fun game, but does get a bit repetitive, and with its arcade-style feel, doesn't have much of a story to speak of either.
Metacritic Score: 72
Benefactors
(Authors' Note: The following game summary was given to us by the reader CaseMonster, he provided the information about the game's plot, gameplay, and critical performance, while we added some sales data at the end.)
Benefactors is a single player third person shooter RPG developed by Bioware for Steam, Virtua, and Reality. It serves as a mash of several ideas from OTL’s Kotor, Mass Effect and Anthem. Benefactors takes place on a lush tropical world similar to Anthem’s, known as Illium. Illium is home to three races, each living in their own city protected from the deadly creatures in a unique way, and have gifts given to them by the gods (known as Protheans) who created the world to help them fight off the deadly beasts known as Arcane that roam the area. Each of these gifts includes a way to fly in addition to unique sub abilities and a method of protecting their city from attacks. Leveling and upgrading your gear works similarly to Mass Effect 1, though with a more streamlined interface for your equipment. The playable races consist of:
Quarians: A race strongly resembling humans, though with paler skin, and brighter (almost glowing) eyes, were given exosuits by the Protheans. These exosuits are similar to Quarians suits in Mass Effect, and come equipped with rockets to enable flight, shields which help protect them from damage and a variety of abilities such as flamethrowers, ice grenades, and lightning. These suits take a long time and many rare resources to build, however, and only given to a select number known as Migrants. The Quarian City of Rannoch resembles a Middle Eastern marketplace similar to Anthem's main hub and is protected by a shield generator which the monsters outside are unable to penetrate, also given to them by the Protheans.
Asari: Unlike Mass Effect’s Asari, the ones in Benefactors can be both male and female, resembling their OTL versions. They have a larger variety of different skin colors: Green, red, orange, blue, purple, and white. Asari were given Biotic powers by the Protheans, which function similarly to the ones in Mass Effect. However, while Mass Effect’s Biotics were seldom used for traversal, Asari Biotics in Benefactors are potent enough to enable flight. The Asari city of Thessia resembles an Ancient Greek city with futuristic technology. All Asari have a Biotic amp, however, very few are skilled enough to fly and combat enemies with them, granting them the title of Justicar. The city of Thessia is protected by a machine requiring several dozen normal Asari to operate, creating Biotic shield.
Krogan: Built the same way as Mass Effect's Krogan with one exception: Once they take flight, massive reptilian wings emerge from their armor. Their strength and stamina allow them to fly at speeds matching Quarians exoskeletons and Asari Biotics. Unlike the Quarians and Asari, most Krogan are naturally strong enough to fight these creatures, though most of their forces utilize the massive turrets given to them by the Protheans to repel the creatures outside their walls. These turrets are located on top of Mesoamerican pyramids surrounding their city of Tuchanka. The few who do venture outside are known as Battle Masters, warriors who demonstrate the best of their people. The Krogan were long ago genetically modified by the Protheans which gave them strength and speed at the levels of superheroes.
Quarians have balanced rechargeable shields and health (which is restored with medpacks) with their powers based on exploiting enemy weaknesses, or crafting AI drones and turrets to provide support depending on the player's sub class. Asari have strong barriers (which are functionally the same as shields), but very little health and can be leveled to deal massive damage with offensive Biotics or can utilize Biotics to buff themselves, their weapons/ammo and their allies to provide support. Krogan control slower and have no shields, but massive health, higher than Quarian or Asari individual health and shields combined. They can be leveled to provide greater damage with weapons and melee attacks or to tank attacks.
Benefactors continues Bioware’s tradition utilizing choices to tell a story, though Mass Effect’s dialog wheel has been butterflied in favor of dialog trees similar to Kotor and Dragon Age: Origins. Morality is represented on a three point pyramid by the three races’ beliefs: Quarian ideals of benefiting the common good, Krogan principles of survival at all costs, and Asari ideology of progressivism. The three don’t necessarily conflict, with some choices aligning with two, all three, or none of their ideals. Bioware subverts their typical morality by emphasizing practicality instead. Early player choices also strongly influence later choices, presenting different contexts for when certain choices are right or wrong. However, sticking to one culture’s ideals will most likely result in one of the game’s bad endings, emphasizing more deliberation in choices than Bioware’s past games.
Similar to Dragon Age: Origins’ six origin stories, Benefactors has three origin stories depending which race is chosen:
Quarian characters face a food shortage and venture outside the world on a lead of a lost supply shipment hidden just outside the city. As the player and their brother venture outside, they are ambushed by a group of Arcane, which the player dispatches. The game reveals a Migrant named Rayya crawling out of a nearby bunker, and had taken shelter after her suit malfunctioned. Impressed with the player’s skill, Rayya grants the player training for a mech suit to become a Migrant, becoming their mentor as well. Asari players witness a murder by Illium’s criminal gang, and after a chase segment find themselves cornered on top of a structure, falling off. In a desperation of panic, the Asari’s biotics break the fall. Finding themselves able to fly now, the player Asari immediately applies to be a Justicar and starts Biotic training. Krogan players finish a shift manning a turret when a malfunction is reported. The Krogan fights their way up a pyramid with smaller Arcane attacking (the other turrets keep the larger ones at bay) until they are able to repair it and are promoted to Battle Master.
The prologue and training introduce players to two of the game’s six companions, with one mentor and one fellow student per race:
Rayya- The Quarian mentor encapsulates her culture to a tee, constantly praising the values of working together while criticizing the other races as too individualistic. This combined with some controversial dialog make her seen as a hypocrite and becomes quite an unpopular character, though with a small portion of defenders.
Veetor- A conspiracy nut with the same speech patterns as ME2’s Mordin, Veetor has studied the Protheans for a long time and unpopularly insists they were not the benevolent race all other Quarians assume they are. His motivation is to find proof and recover technological secrets so the Quarians can produce exosuits on a mass scale and take out the Arcane. While a well-liked and funny character due to his speech patterns, he does not receive the same love as Mordin, due to a less interesting backstory and fewer iconic moments.
Benezia- A by the book Asari Justicar mentor who has very little tolerance for characters committing selfish or morally ambiguous actions. Benezia talks to the player more than any other character, with many stories of making tough choices shaping her into who she is today. She is fairly popular, though her provocative design has its share of both fans and detractors.
Geeno- A young male Asari, Geeno is a former criminal gang member who double crossed the wrong people and joined the Justicars to escape that life. Though the Justicars were hesitant to accept him, they could not deny his Biotic skills and assigned him to Benezia to keep a close eye on him. He constantly clashes with other characters early in the game, though the player can be influential on reinforcing or changing his views. By the end, he can denounce his life of crime or create his own black market.
Wrex- Wrex is largely the same snarky Krogan as Mass Effect’s, though without the Genophage he is a lot less cynical and takes on more of a wise old mentor role. He still asks everyone who would win in a fight while wandering the cities and proves quite popular with fans.
Slay- A female Krogan shrouded in mystery, but does not care who she is or where she comes from. She just wants to kill a bunch of Arcane because it’s fun and calls herself Slay because she loves slaying her enemies. After living her life surviving in Illium’s wilds outside the city, she stumbled on Tuchanka one day and proved her worth to become a Battle Master. No one knows where she came from, with the game hinting she could even be created in a Prothean lab. A side quest hints at uncovering the secrets to her origin, only to end with the party finding nothing but a shotgun, much to the player’s disappointment and her delight. She shares many similarities to Mass Effect 2’s Grunt, though much more popular, becoming the breakout character of the game thanks to more memorable lines, feeling more unique as a female character, and her very popular backstory side quest.
The player will finish their training and embark to an area where potential Prothean artifacts may exit. During this mission, the player will stumble on two pairs consisting of the other four party members fighting for their lives against Arcane. The player’s squad will fight with the others, ending with Slay throwing an Arcane into a cliff. This reveals that the cliff is a technological illusion disguising a Prothean structure. The structure scans the seven people, and opens its doors, revealing a mechanical portal inside.
Benezia, Veetor, Rayya, and Wrex are hesitant to go through the portal, though Slay impulsively charges through, prompting Veetor and Geeno to join. Veetor then comes back through saying they won’t believe what’s on the other side, and the player and older companions move through, revealing a wealth of Prothean artifacts. As the seven wander through, the player is hit by a beacon, presenting a vision of what looked like a synthetic Arcane destroying an unknown city. A flash then goes off, obliterating everything in its wake, including the Arcane.
The player appears exhausted, but still functional, explaining the vision. The seven explore the facility, finding a Prothean recording only the player understands explaining “Our species won’t survive…….Benefactors have tools to survive…..Reaper destruction uncertain......” A map of Illium is then projected with dozens of different waypoints. The party deduces that more Prothean artifacts intended for them are located in these areas. Upon their return, Rayya, Wrex, and Benezia each contact their leadership and a deal is made between the three. The group will search for more artifacts and provide cities with Prothean findings in order to eliminate the Arcane once and for all.
From here, the game’s modestly sized sandbox containing the three cities will open, with the player tasked to hunt down Prothean artifacts. While the waypoint locations will remain the same each playthrough, what each contains will vary every new playthrough, so a cache behind a waterfall might lead to a story relay only for it to contain Element Zero research the next time. Smaller waypoints will also contain clues for the story mission locations as to mitigate the aimless wandering. Every time the player finds Prothean technology or data, it can be sent back to any of the three cities, building the city’s relationship with the player and capabilities. The game’s three main quest waypoints will each contain portals to their respective areas.
The player must try to balance how many rewards each city gets, otherwise neglected cities could cut ties with the player, causing their companions from that city to leave as well. Quarians benefit the most from personal firearms and mech suit research, Krogan from heavy weaponry and Asari from anything element zero related. However, playing to each race’s strength is not necessarily the optimal decision, as side missions reveal each society has scientists wanting to expand beyond their people’s specialty. If the player ignores these requests, it will lead to mistrust from opposing cities, citing that the player character’s race gets knowledge of the best Prothean secrets.
Helping to expand other civilizations on their weaknesses (ie, Quarians and Element Zero research) will build trust. Lore and conversations will clue the player in on what to offer, with some findings providing massive breakthroughs and others offering no benefit. However, even at its most optimal, this will give far diminished returns than offering technology playing to each city’s strengths. The player can also negotiate with each society to work together, though this option is extremely difficult to pull off, requiring the player to favor leveling conversation skills and both max character bonds and complete side quests optionally (think if Mass Effect 3’s galactic readiness system required the deliberation of Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission).
The main quest areas are:
Noveria- An icy landscape home to a new subset of Arcane resembling explosive bugs. As the player traverses, Prothean data will reveal that Protheans created the Arcane as bioweapons against Reapers, the synthetic Arcane in the vision. The Reapers are not Arcane, but a much more ancient synthetic race which would wipe out and harvest every advanced civilization every 50,000 years. Protheans created Arcane as a disposable army, before the Reapers used a mind control technique known as indoctrination to seize control of many Arcane and Protheans alike. Most Arcane labs are now destroyed, though there is data on one existing and being self sufficient. Unfortunately its location data is corrupted. The other two areas contain the rest of the data, though their nature would be unknown unless Noveria was completed prior. Additionally, there will be data on how Element Zero was used to create the Arcane, granting a giant boost for Element Zero research. The area ends with a boss fight against a Croenenberg-esque abomination resembling Mothra.
Manaan- An underwater lost city home to secret Prothean tech. Though controls are largely the same, the player will be swimming through the city, and a few gameplay tweaks here (ie, fire moves are useless, but lightning is extremely powerful). It is home to underwater Arcane, including dangerous fish, long necked sea monsters, giant crabs, and squids. This leads to a discovery of a doomsday weapon. This Protheans weapon was successful in destroying the Reapers, but Protheans were too weak to defend against the remaining Arcane after the War and driven to extinction by their own creations. Prothean technology used against Reapers is found here, providing the largest boost to heavy weapon research. The boss is a giant shark kaiju.
Palavan- A ruined city full of skyscrapers that holds valuable mech suit and personal weaponry data. One mech suit still has a deceased Prothean inside, revealing them to be humans and the relays have been transporting the player to Earth, as the characters had assumed they were still on Illium the whole time. Without the Benefactor races to repel Arcane, Earth has succumbed to the creatures. Illium was a research planet for humans to conduct experiments on more primitive races. These experiments gave the Asari their biotic abilities and the Krogan their strength, while Quarians were the native population enslaved as lab assistants. One day, however, humans mysteriously left (revealed to be caused by the Reapers on Noveria). Quarian assistants found human exosuits fit them, took them before freeing the other races, all of which left to rebuild in a different part of Illium. Each race scavenged its own technology before leaving, which are still used to defend their cities. A large amount of advanced exosuits are found here, boosting research. Palavan ends with a boss battle against a giant worm called a Thresher Maw, destroying the entire city in the process.
Each planet's twist is treated differently depending on its time in the story. For instance, if Palavan is visited first, the squad assumes the experiments were preparing the three against the Arcane. If played after only Manaan, it's assumed it was so the Reapers would ignore them. If after Noveria, however, all the pieces come together that humanity abandoned them to save themselves. No matter what the order, the end reveals that their Protheans were not the benevolent gods they thought they were, but cruel imperialists who created the threats all three face to this day. Side quests flesh out how humanity came to be seen as gods, with the races assuming the abilities and technology humanity left behind were gifts against the Arcane, not a a sheer coincidence.
Upon completing these three areas, the player will be keyed in that the first portal the squad went through was the Arcane lab. The player now knows how to access its hidden areas to shut it down and end the Arcane threat for good. Returning to the lab reveals the humans were successful in destroying the Reapers, except for this one lab. This lab only began Arcane production in order to stifle progress from Illium’s inhabitants. In doing so, it would ensure its own safety so it can finish construction of a new Reaper named Harbinger, fueled by processed human bio matter. The Reaper is shown complete and flying to Illium, far more massive and powerful than any Arcane enemy the squad has faced. The squad immediately flees to warn the three cities.
If the player has not fostered trust with all three cities, only their home city will heed their warning. The others will think the threat is a phony distraction to hide a discovery made in the factory so only the player’s people will benefit from it. In this scenario, the player’s city will properly defend against Harbinger and defeat it, but only after his destruction of the other two cities.
If the player balanced what secrets were learned, all three cities heed their warning. However, it is very apparent they are ill equipped to deal with Harbinger. This causes your companions to worry for their people and leave to defend their homes. Your companions will perish in this ending except for Slay and your mentor. It also requires almost every side quest to be completed with tech distributed almost perfectly to keep all the civilizations standing after Harbinger’s attack. It’s even possible for Harbinger to destroy all three, though this is as unlikely as Shepard dying in Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission.
Working together is the only way for both your companions and the cities to survive Harbinger’s attack, though it is also the riskiest as it is very easy for Harbinger to win against this strategy. If any of the three societies back out on a project midway through its research, it will serve to only waste time and have it be ill prepared for the attack. It’s far easier for Harbinger to destroy all three cities in this playthrough, though this ending is still uncommon.
The end has four outcomes: If no cities are intact, Harbinger harvests everyone, ending with a still image of him joined by three more Reapers, implied to be fueled by processed Quarians, Asari, and Krogan. If one city remains, it takes in refugees from the fallen societies, allowing the three to live together but under one unified culture rather than helping the others rebuild to their former glory. If two are left standing, they help the fallen people rebuild. The player character narrates how it will take a long time to rebuild to their former glory and even longer before to match humanity’s greatness (while avoiding its cruelties).
If all three cities are left standing, the three societies work together, rapidly advancing to space travel. The game ends showing a group of Quarians, Krogan, and Asari working together on a colonized planet vastly different from Illium.
Benefactors is received very well by critics and fans alike, with reviews in the low 9s (Metacritic Rating: 92). It’s not the groundbreaking hit Necrocracy was, but the interesting approach to player choice, fun traversal, and colorful party members help it prove despite Gearworld’s massive success, Bioware is still willing and capable to make a great single player RPG. While not a front runner for Game of the Year, Benefactors would at least be nominated on many lists as a popular underdog pick.
Criticisms are largely focused on the controls and combat. While smoother than Mass Effect 2, the controls do not even feel as polished as Mass Effect 3 and below 2018’s standards. Enemy encounters are also largely based on swarming the player rather than fun, interesting AI, which can make the combat feel repetitive. Butterflies mean despite Necrocracy and Gearworld's success Bioware lacks the experience designing engaging action combat from Mass Effect 2 and 3. Regardless, most gamers easily overlook these flaws. The story receives a bit of criticism as well due to its lack of a strong villain: Harbinger is popular and threatening, but his arrival is too late to give the story the impact it needs.
Benefactors proves to be a massive hit at launch, especially on the Google Stadia, where it's heavily promoted as a major third party title. Despite being sold at full price on launch day (as opposed to many of the other major launch games which are offered for free), it becomes the second most highly streamed Stadia game of 2018, falling just short of Devoid but coming in ahead of staples like Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare and Assassin's Creed: Confederation. It also does quite well on the Reality and the Virtua, but its real strength comes on PC, where it's pushed heavily on the Steam platform and would become the best selling PC game of 2018, outselling all console versions combined. Valve would be highly supportive of mods for the PC version of the game, and it would become one of the most modded games on PC, comparable to OTL's Skyrim. It would also get plenty of DLC. Bioware has no plans for a sequel, though fans would clamor and hope for one for years, and if it ever does get a sequel, it will be far beyond the scope of this timeline.
Other major titles available for Stadia at launch include the aforementioned Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare, Assassin's Creed: Confederation, Thrillseekers: All-Stars, Madden NFL 19, NBA Elite 19, Metal Gear Black, Doggerland, Tetris Effect, and Resident Evil: Mansion. All in all, the Stadia would have 35 total games at launch, mostly enhanced versions of current-generation games. This, on top of the enormous library of legacy games (including the entire 800+ game Nexus library), would give the Google Stadia the largest library of launch games ever.
-
November 16, 2018
The Google Stadia service launches worldwide, and is available on a huge amount of Android devices, including the 100 million Nexus consoles in homes across the globe. It launches at a price of $9.99/month, which includes access to a growing Stadia Premium Library (similar to Xbox Game Pass, this service will come to include hundreds of titles at any one time, including every single first party Nexus/Stadia game and a wide variety of third party titles), access to online multiplayer, access to 10 free curated downloads a month (mostly Nexus/legacy titles at first, but over time, would feature more and more Stadia games), and access to the Stadia store. A subscription would be required to purchase Stadia games, but once purchased, games could be streamed or downloaded even if one was no longer subscribed to the Stadia service. The Stadia service would be free until the end of 2018, allowing players a six week window to use the Stadia Premium service, which would allow them to play some of the year's biggest games (including Devoid) absolutely free until the end of the year. The Stadia launch is promoted extensively, both online and on television, as well as print media and visual advertising platforms around the world (far more than the OTL Stadia service was promoted). With over half a billion devices worldwide capable of using Google Stadia, the company already had a massive install base for downloads and streaming, and in the first week that the service was available, more than 30 million people would play Stadia for at least one hour, making it by far the biggest launch ever of a new gaming platform in world history. Google was ready for this, with many, many server stress tests conducted over more than a year, and though there were some mild hiccups, with interrupted streams and downloads reported sporadically, and some angry customers here and there, for the most part the launch went quite smoothly. In addition to the 30 million+ who would use the Stadia streaming services, more than one million "Stadia Capable" devices would also be purchased during launch week. A surprising number of these were Samsung Stadia televisions, consequentially making the Samsung Stadia the fastest selling model of television in history.
Here are the top 20 most played Stadia titles during the initial launch week period (with such a heavy focus on streaming, traditional software sales aren't nearly as useful in determining the popularity of a given game):
1. Devoid
2. Benefactors
3. Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare
4. Assassin's Creed: Confederation
5. World Of Warcraft
6. Doggerland
7. Madden NFL 19
8. Covenant Squadron
9. Netizen X: Hacker Story
10. Tetris 99
11. Cyberwar 5
12. NBA Elite 19
13. Far Cry 4
14. Harley Quinn
15. Metal Gear Black
16. Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
17. Resident Evil: Mansion
18. Stadia Homestead
19. Thrillseekers: All-Stars
20. Gylt
-
*Christina Grimmie and Austin Watson are standing next to a massive flatscreen TV.*
Christina: Hello again, and welcome back to GameTV, our Stadia launch special, and we're back with an exclusive demonstration of what has to be the best TV ever made for gaming, the Samsung Stadia. This right here is the 85-inch model, and it is ginormous.
Austin: It's absolutely ginormous, and believe it or not, there is a Google Stadia built right into this thing.
Christina: That's right, if you can see the back... *she goes around to show off the bulge in the back of the TV, which, despite having some really advanced gaming tech inside, really isn't much bigger than the typical bulge in the back of the average flatscreen* this is where all the game console technology is, and that is indeed a next-gen game console inside there, completely invisible but it's in there and you can download one terabyte of games on it, as there's also a solid-state drive built right in.
Austin: Let's keep looking at the back, because there are a bunch of different ports back here... you have five, count 'em, five HDMI ports, and since the Stadia's already built in, you don't have to hook up a game console, but you can.
Christina: That's right, you can hook up the Reality Neo and Virtua S in fact, and both of them look great on this screen by the way, and of course you can also hook up your cable box, or even... *holds up the Ultra Nintendo Mini* This awesome little mini Ultra Nintendo can hook right in as well.
Austin: And, you know, it feels kind of dirty hooking up another company's game console to the Stadia TV, doesn't it? Kind of like you're cheating on Google with other game companies.
Christina: Well, fortunately Google and I have an open relationship.
Austin: *laughing as Christina begins hooking up the Reality Neo, Virtua S, Ultra Nintendo Mini, and Xbox Mini to the back of the Samsung Stadia TV* We're about to have a gaming orgy with this TV, I think!
Christina: *laughing as well* It even has the old-school component cable hookups, so... *she also plugs in a Super Nintendo CD to the old school components* Now, the important thing for retro consoles, and this is really awesome... this TV has virtually zero latency.
Austin: That's right, you know, when you're retro gaming, you kinda have to have a CRT because of the input lag and other things, but not here. You can plug in an old school console and you'll be just fine, the Stadia, believe it or not, it can actually adjust to whatever you've got hooked up... this is really a cool TV.
Christina: It's the ultimate gamer TV.
*A short while later, everything is hooked up, and the hosts are now explaining the various features and menu screens.*
Austin: So right when you turn this thing on, you've got the option to launch right into Stadia. We're not going to do that right away...
Christina: Awww.... *she looks impatient*
Austin: Just wait a couple minutes!
Christina: it's right there!
Austin: And you can also use the button on the remote control to go into Stadia as well.
Christina: The remote has a little screen on it, you can actually pick what game you want on the screen while you're watching TV.
Austin: You can do it with any Android phone too, any Android phone can control this TV.
Christina: And on the menu you've got all your inputs right here.
*They finally get into a Stadia game, Devoid, and it looks stunning on the TV, full 4K and custom graphics settings for individual Stadia games programmed in.*
Christina: So you can of course fully program your own graphics settings, but the Stadia TV knows what game you're playing and it'll adjust the settings to the recommended graphics settings for each individual game, which is, I think, the most awesome thing ever. You've got your HDR of course, and look at that ray tracing, absolutely incredible!
Austin: Yeah, I've always had trouble with some TVs getting them to display the right settings, but the Stadia TV does it for you, saves a ton of work, and of course with those lightning fast load times you can get right into your game.
*A couple of other Stadia games are shown off, then we see the Reality Neo being played.*
Austin: Unfortunately, the Stadia won't automatically adjust game-by-game for other consoles, but it does have a really nice default gaming setting, and Reality games work really well with it. I'm playing Squad Four Apocalypse right now, and it looks really, really good.
*We then see the Xbox Mini being played. Though it's not an HD console, the TV and HDMI do a good job providing the best possible graphics for the Mini's suite of games, and though the games themselves are in 480p or progressive scan, they still look great on the Stadia, as good as retro games get on a flatscreen, with vibrant colors and outstanding motion.*
Austin: Normally with old school Xbox games, you'd play on a CRT, but here, I think the Stadia TV shows them perfectly. In fact, I think they look a little better than normal.
Christina: It's a matter of preference, but the Stadia TV absolutely does show off all the great graphics of these original Xbox games, and there's actually a setting that the TV will adjust to specifically for the Xbox Mini. But now, let's try out some retro games.
*First, Squad Four Eclipse is played on the SNES-CD. Despite the game's low resolution, the Stadia does a great job of displaying the game, better than any other flatscreen TV, and good enough so as to be a matter of preference versus a CRT rather than the CRT being strictly better.*
Christina: Retro games still look awesome on this TV, and again, as you can see, no input lag, I am absolutely kicking ass on a later level of the game.
*We then see A Link To The Past, and again, the game looks and plays just fine, no worse than on a CRT, and in some respects better thanks to the Stadia TV's excellent color profile.*
Austin: Christina, you're having more fun with this Zelda game than you had with Devoid.
Christina: Well, yeah, it's classic Zelda!
Austin: Can't argue with that. Let me play!
Christina: Wait your turn!
-from the November 15, 2018 episode of GameTV
Google Stadia is a cloud-based gaming service that primarily uses hardware at Google's data centers to wirelessly stream video games to users' devices, whether that be a game console, a phone, a TV, or any number of other Android capable devices. Stadia hardware is also capable of being built into certain devices to allow game downloads without needing to stream gameplay, but Google intends for players to primarily utilize the streaming service. Capable of all the same features OTL's Stadia service is capable of, as well as a few more additional features (Google has had six years' experience with the Nexus by this point, and has incorporated user feedback and data into the Stadia's design, allowing it to be optimized from OTL's service). The Stadia store features its own lineup of Stadia exclusive titles, but also has access to the entire digital library of the Nexus, and those titles are all available for purchase and streaming as well. In addition, the Stadia has a lineup of legacy titles including Xbox, PC, and Android games, with some available for streaming and others available exclusively for download, with new legacy titles added to the streaming service on a weekly basis. This gives the Stadia a massive lineup of games at launch, thousands of Nexus and legacy titles in addition to the Stadia exclusives. As IOTL, the Stadia is heavily integrated with all of Google's digital services, utilizing Okuma for the sharing of videos and for its digital gaming community, with Google also making a deal with Videocean to allow streaming and sharing to that service at the Stadia's launch. Google has been investing in data centers and fiber-optic connectivity for the past four years in the leadup to the Stadia's launch, allowing the company to process an incredible amount of streaming data, optimized for the Stadia's streaming and data requirements and allowing for near seamless streaming to all sorts of devices, including the Stadia's proprietary controller accessories (which, as IOTL, can be connected directly to Google for seamless inputs).
Whereas the Google Nexus hardware was based on smartphone architecture, the Stadia service utilizes powerful PC-based hardware significantly more powerful than OTL's PS5 or Xbox Series X, and ITTL, the Stadia's hardware is even more powerful, topping at around 12 teraflops at launch. As an “eternal platform”, Google can upgrade the Stadia hardware as games require, eliminating the necessity for users to purchase new hardware. However, gamers who elect to download their games rather than stream them can buy devices with Stadia hardware built in. At launch, these devices include a “Stadia Hub” console, which comes in a 1TB SSD variant and a 2TB SSD variant, which cost $499.99 and $599.99 respectively, or a “Stadia capable” laptop or PC.. Users can also purchase special Samsung Stadia TVs, with the Stadia hardware built in, capable of downloading or streaming game content. Stadia TVs also feature a 1TB SSD built in that can be used for downloading games or as a DVR device. These “Stadia capable” devices have built-in slots specifically designed for upgrade cards that can be used to boost the specs of the device if certain future games exceed the launch requirements, though Google doesn't expect that to happen until 2022 or 2023 at the earliest. Though any Android-capable controller, including the Nexus controller, is capable of playing Stadia games, Google has made a special Stadia controller, similar to OTL's Stadia controller, that can be used to play, and one of these is included with Stadia-capable devices as well. In addition, Google has designed a new “Stadia Grip” accessory specifically for Android phones, allowing them to become essentially handheld Stadia consoles. Only these Stadia-specific controllers can use the special Google link wi-fi ability, but as mentioned before, any Android controller, or even a Reality or Virtua controller with some technical finagling, can be used to play Stadia games. Google has also designed a new Stadia VR headset for use with the new generation of games, and is said to be planning “immersive experiences” similar to those found on the Reality or Virtua, with launch title Devoid compatible with the Stadia VR and utilizing it quite aptly.
-
Launch Title Summaries-
(Note: Rather than summarizing every single launch title for the Stadia, we'll be focusing on the titles released at launch that are exclusive to the Nexus/Stadia on either a full or timed basis, a total of nine games. We'll also be covering a tenth title, Benefactors, that's a multiplatform game heavily marketed for the Stadia launch. Afterwards, we'll provide a list of other major multiplatform games coming to the Stadia at launch.)
Devoid
Devoid is an action/adventure/horror/shooter title published by Google for the Nexus and Stadia consoles. It's a sci-fi game in which two scientists discover a portal to a mysterious parallel Earth which has been ravaged by a terrifying swarm of monsters, and if they are to return home and prevent their own world from falling victim, they'll have to find a way to defeat these monsters by any means necessary. Devoid is a Metroidvania-esque title split between the two protagonists, a man named Landen and a woman named Kaia, with Landen as the game's only playable protagonist for the first third of the game, and then in somewhat of a twist, the game switching to Kaia, then returning to Landen, and alternating between them at gradually shorter intervals until the two finally reunite in the game's final chapter. Gameplay can be considered a hybrid of OTL's Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Last Of Us, combining the RPG-like exploration and intuitive creature combat of the former with the crafting and thematic elements of the latter. The parallel Earth is a horrifying nightmare realm that players will need to grow accustomed to, even as they are thrown in the deep end with monsters swarming them. Gameplay takes the form of a third person shooter, with the player able to run, jump, climb, and shoot, along with other context-sensitive actions that are revealed as certain situations take place. Combat itself sees both Landen and Kaia engaged in battle with a variety of the strange alien creatures, ranging from small creatures the size of dogs and monkeys to large creatures the size of skyscrapers, that shake the ground when they walk and are capable of causing incredible damage. Depending on the size and capabilities of the creature, different tactics must be used: some creatures must be trapped, others must be hit in a weak point, while still others can be lured into fights with other monsters that allow for the human protagonists to escape to safety. At first, you'll encounter no humans at all. Later, you encounter humanoid creatures that look and act like humans to some extent, but who react like hostile robots and attack the protagonists. Later, you learn that these seemingly robotic/alien humanoid creatures are just humans from the parallel Earth who have been taken over by some kind of hive mind, though still others are actually just disguised humans who can be communicated with normally. These human encounters are fairly rare, but they go a long way toward unraveling the mystery of what happened to this version of Earth. In addition to its 20+ hour campaign mode, Devoid also boasts online multiplayer, in which players can battle it out in PvP battles across the desolate landscape. The multiplayer is somewhat light on features, but utilizes the excellent shooting and movement mechanics to great effect, and proves to be quite fun (it's best compared to the multiplayer modes featured in OTL's Uncharted titles). Devoid boasts some of the best graphics on the Nexus, with the Nexus Pro version obviously looking better, and the Stadia version looking absolutely incredible, truly next-generation in its graphical detail. Though the game runs smoothest on the Nexus Pro or Stadia, it's absolutely playable on the Nexus, with no slowdown, just lower frame rates and details, but still looking outstanding with few if any glitches, as Google worked hard to optimize it for whatever device the player uses to experience the game. Devoid boasts an eerie, minimalist soundtrack, often going without any music at all, and when it does feature music, it sounds haunting, almost poignant, invoking a sense of loss and dread in the player. The game is fairly light on voice acting, as human interaction is little and far between, but Landen (despite his Gordon Freeman-esque appearance and behavior, he's fully voiced) is voiced by Robbie Daymond, while Kaia is voiced by Mayim Bialik.
Devoid begins with scientists Landen and Kaia performing an unauthorized particle experiment. Landen believes that this experiment is the key to faster-than-light travel, and proves a theory that Kaia has been wanting to test for years but hasn't been able to secure funding. Kaia, though reluctant, aids Landen, and at first, the experiment appears to be a success, but then the two are hit with a particle wave and get a glimpse of a destroyed parallel Earth. Landen shuts the machine down just in time to prevent a fatal exposure to particle radiation, but then, when seemingly all is safe, a hole is opened in space-time, and Kaia is sucked in, despite Landen's best efforts to save her. The portal snaps shut, and Landen despairs, but then risks his own life to re-open the portal and go in after her. He ends up somewhere in a ruined city, with no living creatures in sight until he's attacked by a pack of dog-like beasts that he barely manages to escape. He finds some weaponry and begins to explore, and we as the player learn about this parallel Earth just as Landen does, via archival videos, text documents, news articles, and environmental context scattered throughout, as Landen gradually gets stronger and opens up more of the city to explore. We also get more clues about Kaia's whereabouts, and get tantalizingly close to finding her, only to be denied each time. Finally, it seems that we're about to find Kaia, only for Landen to get into a fight with a massive creature. He defeats the creature, only to be caught up in a strange phenomenon, and just as we're about to see him torn apart, we then switch to Kaia, who has been exploring in the world as long as Landen has, and starts out with a fairly powerful weapon. She's been privy to a different set of information, and has even established contact with some scavengers, disguised humans who are hiding from the creatures swarming above. As Kaia explores, we learn more: human scientific advancement has led to a point where we can interact with the energy that comprises the human soul, but we quickly began to abuse this power, causing humans to lose their souls and become creatures known as the Devoid, while latent soul energy has coalesced into the beasts roaming and destroying the world. There's some kind of intelligence controlling the Devoid, and the scavengers have been seeking out a way to isolate and destroy it, which will stop the rampaging creatures. Kaia finds herself drawn to Landen by a force that the scavengers call a "soul tether", and they tell her that if she follows it, she'll find her way to him. Kaia's journey takes her across a desolate landscape, and we see that she's heading toward the city that Landen has been exploring. After spending a decent amount of time with Kaia, she makes it to the outskirts of the city, only to be captured by a group of humans that she mistakes for mindless Devoid, only to realize that they're working of their own volition. We then see a comatose Landen being cared for by another group of humans, and we learn even more about the world, and that the portal to this parallel Earth was opened with soul energy, which, when exposed to the outside world, takes on a wild, radically powerful form. Landen learns how to take advantage of this to craft powerful new weaponry, and after receiving a clue about Kaia, he rushes to her location, only to come face to face with a man who we recognize as the leader of the group that captured Kaia at the end of her last segment. The man then reveals himself to be a parallel Landen, and the two Landens fight one another, with the parallel Landen trying to absorb the main Landen's soul energy. After a fierce boss battle and cutscene, the two are both attacked by a powerful, worm-like beast that shatters the building they're in and plunges underground, taking both Landens with it and causing us to switch back to Kaia, who has been imprisoned in some kind of underground dungeon, but is able to escape by using a strand of soul energy. She fights her way to the surface, just in time to see the rampaging wormbeast punch a hole in the dimensions and escape to our world, causing massive death and destruction. Kaia is horrified to see this, but before she follows the beast, she senses Landen's soul tether fading, and realizes he's in trouble. As we see her trying to decide what to do, we switch back to Landen, who survived his own run-in with the wormbeast and must now fight a slew of Devoid and small beasts to make it to a device that he uses to create a portal back home. He doesn't sense Kaia, and, assuming she's dead, returns home only to see the city in ruins amidst reports of beasts swarming major cities. After another combat scene, we switch back to Kaia, who reunites with Landen, only for it to be the false Landen who tries to kill her, but after a tense fight cutscene, the parallel Landen stops, and asks Kaia if she recognizes him. Several story revelations later and we learn the truth: the original Landen is from the parallel universe, and the "parallel" universe Landen is actually from the main universe. The experiment was designed to create a portal that would restore the soul energy to the parallel universe by draining some of the soul energy from the main universe, but because soul energy renews itself, it would allow both universes to maintain equilibrium. The monsters were created out of the imbalance between the soul energy of the two universes, and their rampage is simply the act of collecting soul energy to return to their original universe. Kaia is the only difference between the two universes: in the parallel universe, she doesn't exist, and her soul stabilization theory was never tested, causing the destruction of the parallel universe via soul energy destabilization. However, it also turns out that there's not supposed to be two Landens either: there's only supposed to be one, as the original Landen was only supposed to exist in the parallel universe: Landen and Kaia aren't supposed to exist together in the same universe. The final battle consists of two parts: in part one, Kaia has to kill the main universe Landen. In part two, the parallel universe Landen has to protect Kaia and destroy the wormbeast while helping Kaia complete the soul stabilization procedure to allow the main universe to return to normal while also beginning the parallel universe's recovery. After this is accomplished, Kaia and Landen (now a reconciled being with memories from both universes) say their goodbyes, Landen returns to the parallel universe, and Kaia returns to her life as a scientist. She understands that soul energy is still too dangerous to use without risking the cataclysms that swept across the parallel universe, but uses her research to look for a way for humans to use their own soul energy to better the world. Meanwhile, in the parallel universe, Landen and the rest of the survivors, including the former Devoid who had their souls restored to them after the wormbeast was destroyed, set upon the task of restoring their world to its former glory.
Devoid is released on November 16, 2018, the same day that Google Stadia goes live. It's the flagship game for the Stadia service, and as part of promotion for the Stadia, it's available for free streaming to everyone with a membership to the Stadia service (which itself is free for the remainder of 2018). Despite being ostensibly a "free" game for its first six weeks, Devoid still sells millions of Nexus copies, as many people want to own the game outright and don't want to stream it. Between the millions who buy a Nexus copy of the game and the millions who play for free on Stadia, Devoid is enjoyed by well over 10 million people in 2018, making it one of the year's best selling titles and one of the most popular Google games overall. It achieves outstanding critical reviews as well, that praise both the incredible graphics and intuitive gameplay, while the storyline, while slightly convoluted (though it's less confusing if you actually take time to listen to NPC dialogue and check out some of the in-game journals and the like) also earns high praise, with Daymond and Bialik's voice performances also considered outstanding. It's easily the Stadia's biggest launch title, and one of 2018's front-runners for Game of the Year.
Metacritic Score: 94
Netizen X: Hacker Story
Netizen X: Hacker Story is an adventure game taking place after the events of Cyberwar 5, and focusing on Lucy/Netizen X as she resolves to start a new life of sorts, doing good from the shadows rather than commanding a hacker army. This is a much smaller game than the typical Cyberwar, more of a Life Is Strange-esque experience than a full-fledged epic title. It consists mostly of small adventure segments, dialogue trees, and hacking puzzles, and is framed around communications between Netizen X and a young woman nicknamed Cybit, a fellow hacker who befriends and bonds with Netizen X. Cybit (voiced by Amanda Celine Miller) wants to do good like Netizen X, and becomes involved in a conspiracy involving an illegal AI chip and a group of terrorists known as the Derezzed. Netizen X and Cybit have to communicate with and help each other through various perils and dangers as they get to the bottom of the conspiracy together, all the while chatting through only texts and occasional voice chats, never meeting face to face or even seeing each other's faces, as they both know that they could potentially be tracked by their enemies via camera (and both of them have a lot of enemies). Through short adventure/clue-finding segments, puzzle segments, and the occasional shooting/fighting segment, the player guides both young women through the adventure, while also learning more about them both and experiencing their bond as they become closer and closer. In the end, the two are able to foil the conspiracy and save a bunch of innocent people, and the ending finally sees them both meeting in person at a coffee shop (they're both shy dorks and it's very cute and awkward). Netizen X: Hacker Story is released on the Stadia as a timed exclusive (was originally thought to be strictly exclusive at E3, but later confirmed to just be a timed exclusive) on November 16, 2018, though it would eventually be released on the Nexus, Reality, Virtua, and even next-gen handhelds. It's a fun and sweet adventure game, very light-hearted for the Cyberwar series, with some challenging but fun puzzles and excellent voice acting from AJ Michalka (Netizen X) and Amanda Miller (Cybit). It becomes one of the Stadia's most successful launch games, and though it's not free for streaming, its MSRP is $29.99, so that helps it earn a lot of sales.
Metacritic Score: 90
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is an action beat 'em up game, a spinoff of the Batman video games featuring Harley Quinn striking out on her own to pull off the ultimate crime caper. While not quite as obscene and irreverent as OTL's Harley Quinn material (it's a Teen rated game), it's still plenty crazy, and fairly similar in tone to the OTL animated show. After breaking up with the Joker, Harley sets out to prove herself as a criminal mastermind by robbing the Gotham Gold Exchange, something even Joker was never able to do. In order to pull off this crime, she recruits Poison Ivy (who at first only agrees because she wants to wreck the American economy to save the plants, but later she genuinely bonds with Harley Quinn and wants to help her as a friend) and a few other bad girls and guys (but mostly girls), and sets out to put her plan into motion by pulling off a number of smaller crimes around the city, all of which are a small bit of Harley's ultimate plan. She's opposed not only by Batman, but by the Birds of Prey (Renee Montoya, Huntress, Black Canary, and Batgirl), each of whom holds a grudge against Harley for a particular reason. The gameplay is standard beat 'em up fare, though Harley has an array of clever tricks to use on her foes, making fights a bit less repetitive than they are in the Batman games. Lyssa Fielding reprises her role as Harley, with Batman voiced by Troy Baker, Poison Ivy voiced by Grey Delisle, and Renee Montoya voiced by Stephanie Beatriz. Released as a Stadia exclusive (not just a timed exclusive either, Google helped produce this game along with THQ), the game proves to be another of the more popular launch titles on the platform, and since it's a true exclusive, it's included free with membership to Stadia's premium service (though it can also be purchased at full price for those who let their subscription lapse).
Metacritic Score: 78
Tetris 99
Nearly identical to OTL's Tetris battle royale game for the Switch, Tetris 99 is a timed Stadia exclusive that pits up to 99 players in a Tetris battle royale, last one left standing wins. Unlike OTL's game, it does eventually come to other platforms, though it's only offered free on the Stadia premium service (everyone else has to pay 20 bucks for it). Like OTL's game, it also has unique themes for the Stadia, which include a Miraculous Ladybug theme, a Covenant theme, and a Devoid theme (other platforms like the Reality and Virtua will get their own console-exclusive themes).
Metacritic Score: 86
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
An absolutely gorgeous Metroidvania-style platformer, Ori And The Will Of The Wisps is fairly identical in terms of plot and gameplay to its OTL counterpart, with some butterfly-induced differences, but none big enough that OTL players wouldn't recognize it as mostly the same game. One of the most heavily promoted launch games, this, like its predecessor, is exclusive to Google, coming to the Nexus and Stadia, with the Stadia version at the forefront thanks to its stunningly beautiful graphics and incredibly smooth gameplay. Another contender for Game of the Year.
Metacritic Score: 93
Stadia Homestead
The sequel to 2014's Nexus Homestead, this game is developed by Google in conjunction with Paradox Interactive, and, like its predecessor, allows players to build their own forts, defend them from enemies (in both PvE and PvP modes) and visit each other's forts while micro-managing their own. In addition to the requisite graphical improvements, the game also gives players a wider selection of combat units and cosmetic decorations, and generally introduces improvements, enhancements, and polish to the original's gameplay. Stadia Homestead is a welcome sight at the Stadia's launch, and, like many of the other Stadia exclusives, is free to play for subscribers, though its lack of a true generational leap from its predecessor does earn it some slight derision from critics, and it isn't promoted as much as some of the other launch games.
Metacritic Score: 83
Gylt
IOTL, Gylt was the only Stadia exclusive at the system's launch, earning it quite a bit of focus. Here, the game is one of several exclusives, though it retains its unique horror feel and surreal storyline and setting. Like OTL's game, its protagonist is a young girl searching for her missing sister, and the game makes good use of the Stadia's advanced graphics to convey its wide variety of visuals and its melancholic horror. Still, the game is somewhat short compared with other Stadia launch games, and there's definitely not much reason to play it instead of, say, Devoid, unless you're really a huge fan of horror or unless you're hard up for another launch title to play.
Metacritic Score: 67
World Of Warcraft
Of course, the biggest game launching on Stadia, apart from Devoid, is the long-awaited console port of World Of Warcraft, after 14 years of being PC only. It's exclusive to the Stadia on console, and in addition to its unique control scheme that allows players to use the controller, you can also elect for a mouse and keyboard setup, just like on PC. For the entire Stadia trial period (until the end of 2018), you can play the whole game subscription-free, giving players six whole weeks to try out World Of Warcraft, level their characters, and enjoy the full world with all its expansions. The Stadia version has full cross-play with the PC version as well. It's, well, World of Warcraft, and the novelty of having it on console draws a lot of players, many of whom purchase the game despite it being free to play, in anticipation of the end of the six week trial period (after which you have to purchase the game at full price, plus monthly subscription fees, to continue playing). The Stadia launch sees the large surge of new World Of Warcraft players since the 2000s, and the port itself is extremely good, with the Stadia's powerful hardware allowing for smooth, good looking gameplay, and the controller scheme actually working well enough that most console players opt not to use a keyboard and mouse.
Metacritic Score: 85
Guns Ablazin'
A top-down bullet hell shooter with both single player and online multiplayer, Guns Ablazin' is another Stadia exclusive launch title, a brand new IP developed just for the platform. The game operates somewhat like a Diablo title combined with Smash TV, a very fast-paced game with a multitude of different guns and tons of enemies everywhere, and allows you to collect experience and loot to power up your loadout. It's a fun game, but does get a bit repetitive, and with its arcade-style feel, doesn't have much of a story to speak of either.
Metacritic Score: 72
Benefactors
(Authors' Note: The following game summary was given to us by the reader CaseMonster, he provided the information about the game's plot, gameplay, and critical performance, while we added some sales data at the end.)
Benefactors is a single player third person shooter RPG developed by Bioware for Steam, Virtua, and Reality. It serves as a mash of several ideas from OTL’s Kotor, Mass Effect and Anthem. Benefactors takes place on a lush tropical world similar to Anthem’s, known as Illium. Illium is home to three races, each living in their own city protected from the deadly creatures in a unique way, and have gifts given to them by the gods (known as Protheans) who created the world to help them fight off the deadly beasts known as Arcane that roam the area. Each of these gifts includes a way to fly in addition to unique sub abilities and a method of protecting their city from attacks. Leveling and upgrading your gear works similarly to Mass Effect 1, though with a more streamlined interface for your equipment. The playable races consist of:
Quarians: A race strongly resembling humans, though with paler skin, and brighter (almost glowing) eyes, were given exosuits by the Protheans. These exosuits are similar to Quarians suits in Mass Effect, and come equipped with rockets to enable flight, shields which help protect them from damage and a variety of abilities such as flamethrowers, ice grenades, and lightning. These suits take a long time and many rare resources to build, however, and only given to a select number known as Migrants. The Quarian City of Rannoch resembles a Middle Eastern marketplace similar to Anthem's main hub and is protected by a shield generator which the monsters outside are unable to penetrate, also given to them by the Protheans.
Asari: Unlike Mass Effect’s Asari, the ones in Benefactors can be both male and female, resembling their OTL versions. They have a larger variety of different skin colors: Green, red, orange, blue, purple, and white. Asari were given Biotic powers by the Protheans, which function similarly to the ones in Mass Effect. However, while Mass Effect’s Biotics were seldom used for traversal, Asari Biotics in Benefactors are potent enough to enable flight. The Asari city of Thessia resembles an Ancient Greek city with futuristic technology. All Asari have a Biotic amp, however, very few are skilled enough to fly and combat enemies with them, granting them the title of Justicar. The city of Thessia is protected by a machine requiring several dozen normal Asari to operate, creating Biotic shield.
Krogan: Built the same way as Mass Effect's Krogan with one exception: Once they take flight, massive reptilian wings emerge from their armor. Their strength and stamina allow them to fly at speeds matching Quarians exoskeletons and Asari Biotics. Unlike the Quarians and Asari, most Krogan are naturally strong enough to fight these creatures, though most of their forces utilize the massive turrets given to them by the Protheans to repel the creatures outside their walls. These turrets are located on top of Mesoamerican pyramids surrounding their city of Tuchanka. The few who do venture outside are known as Battle Masters, warriors who demonstrate the best of their people. The Krogan were long ago genetically modified by the Protheans which gave them strength and speed at the levels of superheroes.
Quarians have balanced rechargeable shields and health (which is restored with medpacks) with their powers based on exploiting enemy weaknesses, or crafting AI drones and turrets to provide support depending on the player's sub class. Asari have strong barriers (which are functionally the same as shields), but very little health and can be leveled to deal massive damage with offensive Biotics or can utilize Biotics to buff themselves, their weapons/ammo and their allies to provide support. Krogan control slower and have no shields, but massive health, higher than Quarian or Asari individual health and shields combined. They can be leveled to provide greater damage with weapons and melee attacks or to tank attacks.
Benefactors continues Bioware’s tradition utilizing choices to tell a story, though Mass Effect’s dialog wheel has been butterflied in favor of dialog trees similar to Kotor and Dragon Age: Origins. Morality is represented on a three point pyramid by the three races’ beliefs: Quarian ideals of benefiting the common good, Krogan principles of survival at all costs, and Asari ideology of progressivism. The three don’t necessarily conflict, with some choices aligning with two, all three, or none of their ideals. Bioware subverts their typical morality by emphasizing practicality instead. Early player choices also strongly influence later choices, presenting different contexts for when certain choices are right or wrong. However, sticking to one culture’s ideals will most likely result in one of the game’s bad endings, emphasizing more deliberation in choices than Bioware’s past games.
Similar to Dragon Age: Origins’ six origin stories, Benefactors has three origin stories depending which race is chosen:
Quarian characters face a food shortage and venture outside the world on a lead of a lost supply shipment hidden just outside the city. As the player and their brother venture outside, they are ambushed by a group of Arcane, which the player dispatches. The game reveals a Migrant named Rayya crawling out of a nearby bunker, and had taken shelter after her suit malfunctioned. Impressed with the player’s skill, Rayya grants the player training for a mech suit to become a Migrant, becoming their mentor as well. Asari players witness a murder by Illium’s criminal gang, and after a chase segment find themselves cornered on top of a structure, falling off. In a desperation of panic, the Asari’s biotics break the fall. Finding themselves able to fly now, the player Asari immediately applies to be a Justicar and starts Biotic training. Krogan players finish a shift manning a turret when a malfunction is reported. The Krogan fights their way up a pyramid with smaller Arcane attacking (the other turrets keep the larger ones at bay) until they are able to repair it and are promoted to Battle Master.
The prologue and training introduce players to two of the game’s six companions, with one mentor and one fellow student per race:
Rayya- The Quarian mentor encapsulates her culture to a tee, constantly praising the values of working together while criticizing the other races as too individualistic. This combined with some controversial dialog make her seen as a hypocrite and becomes quite an unpopular character, though with a small portion of defenders.
Veetor- A conspiracy nut with the same speech patterns as ME2’s Mordin, Veetor has studied the Protheans for a long time and unpopularly insists they were not the benevolent race all other Quarians assume they are. His motivation is to find proof and recover technological secrets so the Quarians can produce exosuits on a mass scale and take out the Arcane. While a well-liked and funny character due to his speech patterns, he does not receive the same love as Mordin, due to a less interesting backstory and fewer iconic moments.
Benezia- A by the book Asari Justicar mentor who has very little tolerance for characters committing selfish or morally ambiguous actions. Benezia talks to the player more than any other character, with many stories of making tough choices shaping her into who she is today. She is fairly popular, though her provocative design has its share of both fans and detractors.
Geeno- A young male Asari, Geeno is a former criminal gang member who double crossed the wrong people and joined the Justicars to escape that life. Though the Justicars were hesitant to accept him, they could not deny his Biotic skills and assigned him to Benezia to keep a close eye on him. He constantly clashes with other characters early in the game, though the player can be influential on reinforcing or changing his views. By the end, he can denounce his life of crime or create his own black market.
Wrex- Wrex is largely the same snarky Krogan as Mass Effect’s, though without the Genophage he is a lot less cynical and takes on more of a wise old mentor role. He still asks everyone who would win in a fight while wandering the cities and proves quite popular with fans.
Slay- A female Krogan shrouded in mystery, but does not care who she is or where she comes from. She just wants to kill a bunch of Arcane because it’s fun and calls herself Slay because she loves slaying her enemies. After living her life surviving in Illium’s wilds outside the city, she stumbled on Tuchanka one day and proved her worth to become a Battle Master. No one knows where she came from, with the game hinting she could even be created in a Prothean lab. A side quest hints at uncovering the secrets to her origin, only to end with the party finding nothing but a shotgun, much to the player’s disappointment and her delight. She shares many similarities to Mass Effect 2’s Grunt, though much more popular, becoming the breakout character of the game thanks to more memorable lines, feeling more unique as a female character, and her very popular backstory side quest.
The player will finish their training and embark to an area where potential Prothean artifacts may exit. During this mission, the player will stumble on two pairs consisting of the other four party members fighting for their lives against Arcane. The player’s squad will fight with the others, ending with Slay throwing an Arcane into a cliff. This reveals that the cliff is a technological illusion disguising a Prothean structure. The structure scans the seven people, and opens its doors, revealing a mechanical portal inside.
Benezia, Veetor, Rayya, and Wrex are hesitant to go through the portal, though Slay impulsively charges through, prompting Veetor and Geeno to join. Veetor then comes back through saying they won’t believe what’s on the other side, and the player and older companions move through, revealing a wealth of Prothean artifacts. As the seven wander through, the player is hit by a beacon, presenting a vision of what looked like a synthetic Arcane destroying an unknown city. A flash then goes off, obliterating everything in its wake, including the Arcane.
The player appears exhausted, but still functional, explaining the vision. The seven explore the facility, finding a Prothean recording only the player understands explaining “Our species won’t survive…….Benefactors have tools to survive…..Reaper destruction uncertain......” A map of Illium is then projected with dozens of different waypoints. The party deduces that more Prothean artifacts intended for them are located in these areas. Upon their return, Rayya, Wrex, and Benezia each contact their leadership and a deal is made between the three. The group will search for more artifacts and provide cities with Prothean findings in order to eliminate the Arcane once and for all.
From here, the game’s modestly sized sandbox containing the three cities will open, with the player tasked to hunt down Prothean artifacts. While the waypoint locations will remain the same each playthrough, what each contains will vary every new playthrough, so a cache behind a waterfall might lead to a story relay only for it to contain Element Zero research the next time. Smaller waypoints will also contain clues for the story mission locations as to mitigate the aimless wandering. Every time the player finds Prothean technology or data, it can be sent back to any of the three cities, building the city’s relationship with the player and capabilities. The game’s three main quest waypoints will each contain portals to their respective areas.
The player must try to balance how many rewards each city gets, otherwise neglected cities could cut ties with the player, causing their companions from that city to leave as well. Quarians benefit the most from personal firearms and mech suit research, Krogan from heavy weaponry and Asari from anything element zero related. However, playing to each race’s strength is not necessarily the optimal decision, as side missions reveal each society has scientists wanting to expand beyond their people’s specialty. If the player ignores these requests, it will lead to mistrust from opposing cities, citing that the player character’s race gets knowledge of the best Prothean secrets.
Helping to expand other civilizations on their weaknesses (ie, Quarians and Element Zero research) will build trust. Lore and conversations will clue the player in on what to offer, with some findings providing massive breakthroughs and others offering no benefit. However, even at its most optimal, this will give far diminished returns than offering technology playing to each city’s strengths. The player can also negotiate with each society to work together, though this option is extremely difficult to pull off, requiring the player to favor leveling conversation skills and both max character bonds and complete side quests optionally (think if Mass Effect 3’s galactic readiness system required the deliberation of Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission).
The main quest areas are:
Noveria- An icy landscape home to a new subset of Arcane resembling explosive bugs. As the player traverses, Prothean data will reveal that Protheans created the Arcane as bioweapons against Reapers, the synthetic Arcane in the vision. The Reapers are not Arcane, but a much more ancient synthetic race which would wipe out and harvest every advanced civilization every 50,000 years. Protheans created Arcane as a disposable army, before the Reapers used a mind control technique known as indoctrination to seize control of many Arcane and Protheans alike. Most Arcane labs are now destroyed, though there is data on one existing and being self sufficient. Unfortunately its location data is corrupted. The other two areas contain the rest of the data, though their nature would be unknown unless Noveria was completed prior. Additionally, there will be data on how Element Zero was used to create the Arcane, granting a giant boost for Element Zero research. The area ends with a boss fight against a Croenenberg-esque abomination resembling Mothra.
Manaan- An underwater lost city home to secret Prothean tech. Though controls are largely the same, the player will be swimming through the city, and a few gameplay tweaks here (ie, fire moves are useless, but lightning is extremely powerful). It is home to underwater Arcane, including dangerous fish, long necked sea monsters, giant crabs, and squids. This leads to a discovery of a doomsday weapon. This Protheans weapon was successful in destroying the Reapers, but Protheans were too weak to defend against the remaining Arcane after the War and driven to extinction by their own creations. Prothean technology used against Reapers is found here, providing the largest boost to heavy weapon research. The boss is a giant shark kaiju.
Palavan- A ruined city full of skyscrapers that holds valuable mech suit and personal weaponry data. One mech suit still has a deceased Prothean inside, revealing them to be humans and the relays have been transporting the player to Earth, as the characters had assumed they were still on Illium the whole time. Without the Benefactor races to repel Arcane, Earth has succumbed to the creatures. Illium was a research planet for humans to conduct experiments on more primitive races. These experiments gave the Asari their biotic abilities and the Krogan their strength, while Quarians were the native population enslaved as lab assistants. One day, however, humans mysteriously left (revealed to be caused by the Reapers on Noveria). Quarian assistants found human exosuits fit them, took them before freeing the other races, all of which left to rebuild in a different part of Illium. Each race scavenged its own technology before leaving, which are still used to defend their cities. A large amount of advanced exosuits are found here, boosting research. Palavan ends with a boss battle against a giant worm called a Thresher Maw, destroying the entire city in the process.
Each planet's twist is treated differently depending on its time in the story. For instance, if Palavan is visited first, the squad assumes the experiments were preparing the three against the Arcane. If played after only Manaan, it's assumed it was so the Reapers would ignore them. If after Noveria, however, all the pieces come together that humanity abandoned them to save themselves. No matter what the order, the end reveals that their Protheans were not the benevolent gods they thought they were, but cruel imperialists who created the threats all three face to this day. Side quests flesh out how humanity came to be seen as gods, with the races assuming the abilities and technology humanity left behind were gifts against the Arcane, not a a sheer coincidence.
Upon completing these three areas, the player will be keyed in that the first portal the squad went through was the Arcane lab. The player now knows how to access its hidden areas to shut it down and end the Arcane threat for good. Returning to the lab reveals the humans were successful in destroying the Reapers, except for this one lab. This lab only began Arcane production in order to stifle progress from Illium’s inhabitants. In doing so, it would ensure its own safety so it can finish construction of a new Reaper named Harbinger, fueled by processed human bio matter. The Reaper is shown complete and flying to Illium, far more massive and powerful than any Arcane enemy the squad has faced. The squad immediately flees to warn the three cities.
If the player has not fostered trust with all three cities, only their home city will heed their warning. The others will think the threat is a phony distraction to hide a discovery made in the factory so only the player’s people will benefit from it. In this scenario, the player’s city will properly defend against Harbinger and defeat it, but only after his destruction of the other two cities.
If the player balanced what secrets were learned, all three cities heed their warning. However, it is very apparent they are ill equipped to deal with Harbinger. This causes your companions to worry for their people and leave to defend their homes. Your companions will perish in this ending except for Slay and your mentor. It also requires almost every side quest to be completed with tech distributed almost perfectly to keep all the civilizations standing after Harbinger’s attack. It’s even possible for Harbinger to destroy all three, though this is as unlikely as Shepard dying in Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission.
Working together is the only way for both your companions and the cities to survive Harbinger’s attack, though it is also the riskiest as it is very easy for Harbinger to win against this strategy. If any of the three societies back out on a project midway through its research, it will serve to only waste time and have it be ill prepared for the attack. It’s far easier for Harbinger to destroy all three cities in this playthrough, though this ending is still uncommon.
The end has four outcomes: If no cities are intact, Harbinger harvests everyone, ending with a still image of him joined by three more Reapers, implied to be fueled by processed Quarians, Asari, and Krogan. If one city remains, it takes in refugees from the fallen societies, allowing the three to live together but under one unified culture rather than helping the others rebuild to their former glory. If two are left standing, they help the fallen people rebuild. The player character narrates how it will take a long time to rebuild to their former glory and even longer before to match humanity’s greatness (while avoiding its cruelties).
If all three cities are left standing, the three societies work together, rapidly advancing to space travel. The game ends showing a group of Quarians, Krogan, and Asari working together on a colonized planet vastly different from Illium.
Benefactors is received very well by critics and fans alike, with reviews in the low 9s (Metacritic Rating: 92). It’s not the groundbreaking hit Necrocracy was, but the interesting approach to player choice, fun traversal, and colorful party members help it prove despite Gearworld’s massive success, Bioware is still willing and capable to make a great single player RPG. While not a front runner for Game of the Year, Benefactors would at least be nominated on many lists as a popular underdog pick.
Criticisms are largely focused on the controls and combat. While smoother than Mass Effect 2, the controls do not even feel as polished as Mass Effect 3 and below 2018’s standards. Enemy encounters are also largely based on swarming the player rather than fun, interesting AI, which can make the combat feel repetitive. Butterflies mean despite Necrocracy and Gearworld's success Bioware lacks the experience designing engaging action combat from Mass Effect 2 and 3. Regardless, most gamers easily overlook these flaws. The story receives a bit of criticism as well due to its lack of a strong villain: Harbinger is popular and threatening, but his arrival is too late to give the story the impact it needs.
Benefactors proves to be a massive hit at launch, especially on the Google Stadia, where it's heavily promoted as a major third party title. Despite being sold at full price on launch day (as opposed to many of the other major launch games which are offered for free), it becomes the second most highly streamed Stadia game of 2018, falling just short of Devoid but coming in ahead of staples like Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare and Assassin's Creed: Confederation. It also does quite well on the Reality and the Virtua, but its real strength comes on PC, where it's pushed heavily on the Steam platform and would become the best selling PC game of 2018, outselling all console versions combined. Valve would be highly supportive of mods for the PC version of the game, and it would become one of the most modded games on PC, comparable to OTL's Skyrim. It would also get plenty of DLC. Bioware has no plans for a sequel, though fans would clamor and hope for one for years, and if it ever does get a sequel, it will be far beyond the scope of this timeline.
Other major titles available for Stadia at launch include the aforementioned Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare, Assassin's Creed: Confederation, Thrillseekers: All-Stars, Madden NFL 19, NBA Elite 19, Metal Gear Black, Doggerland, Tetris Effect, and Resident Evil: Mansion. All in all, the Stadia would have 35 total games at launch, mostly enhanced versions of current-generation games. This, on top of the enormous library of legacy games (including the entire 800+ game Nexus library), would give the Google Stadia the largest library of launch games ever.
-
November 16, 2018
The Google Stadia service launches worldwide, and is available on a huge amount of Android devices, including the 100 million Nexus consoles in homes across the globe. It launches at a price of $9.99/month, which includes access to a growing Stadia Premium Library (similar to Xbox Game Pass, this service will come to include hundreds of titles at any one time, including every single first party Nexus/Stadia game and a wide variety of third party titles), access to online multiplayer, access to 10 free curated downloads a month (mostly Nexus/legacy titles at first, but over time, would feature more and more Stadia games), and access to the Stadia store. A subscription would be required to purchase Stadia games, but once purchased, games could be streamed or downloaded even if one was no longer subscribed to the Stadia service. The Stadia service would be free until the end of 2018, allowing players a six week window to use the Stadia Premium service, which would allow them to play some of the year's biggest games (including Devoid) absolutely free until the end of the year. The Stadia launch is promoted extensively, both online and on television, as well as print media and visual advertising platforms around the world (far more than the OTL Stadia service was promoted). With over half a billion devices worldwide capable of using Google Stadia, the company already had a massive install base for downloads and streaming, and in the first week that the service was available, more than 30 million people would play Stadia for at least one hour, making it by far the biggest launch ever of a new gaming platform in world history. Google was ready for this, with many, many server stress tests conducted over more than a year, and though there were some mild hiccups, with interrupted streams and downloads reported sporadically, and some angry customers here and there, for the most part the launch went quite smoothly. In addition to the 30 million+ who would use the Stadia streaming services, more than one million "Stadia Capable" devices would also be purchased during launch week. A surprising number of these were Samsung Stadia televisions, consequentially making the Samsung Stadia the fastest selling model of television in history.
Here are the top 20 most played Stadia titles during the initial launch week period (with such a heavy focus on streaming, traditional software sales aren't nearly as useful in determining the popularity of a given game):
1. Devoid
2. Benefactors
3. Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare
4. Assassin's Creed: Confederation
5. World Of Warcraft
6. Doggerland
7. Madden NFL 19
8. Covenant Squadron
9. Netizen X: Hacker Story
10. Tetris 99
11. Cyberwar 5
12. NBA Elite 19
13. Far Cry 4
14. Harley Quinn
15. Metal Gear Black
16. Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
17. Resident Evil: Mansion
18. Stadia Homestead
19. Thrillseekers: All-Stars
20. Gylt
-
*Christina Grimmie and Austin Watson are standing next to a massive flatscreen TV.*
Christina: Hello again, and welcome back to GameTV, our Stadia launch special, and we're back with an exclusive demonstration of what has to be the best TV ever made for gaming, the Samsung Stadia. This right here is the 85-inch model, and it is ginormous.
Austin: It's absolutely ginormous, and believe it or not, there is a Google Stadia built right into this thing.
Christina: That's right, if you can see the back... *she goes around to show off the bulge in the back of the TV, which, despite having some really advanced gaming tech inside, really isn't much bigger than the typical bulge in the back of the average flatscreen* this is where all the game console technology is, and that is indeed a next-gen game console inside there, completely invisible but it's in there and you can download one terabyte of games on it, as there's also a solid-state drive built right in.
Austin: Let's keep looking at the back, because there are a bunch of different ports back here... you have five, count 'em, five HDMI ports, and since the Stadia's already built in, you don't have to hook up a game console, but you can.
Christina: That's right, you can hook up the Reality Neo and Virtua S in fact, and both of them look great on this screen by the way, and of course you can also hook up your cable box, or even... *holds up the Ultra Nintendo Mini* This awesome little mini Ultra Nintendo can hook right in as well.
Austin: And, you know, it feels kind of dirty hooking up another company's game console to the Stadia TV, doesn't it? Kind of like you're cheating on Google with other game companies.
Christina: Well, fortunately Google and I have an open relationship.
Austin: *laughing as Christina begins hooking up the Reality Neo, Virtua S, Ultra Nintendo Mini, and Xbox Mini to the back of the Samsung Stadia TV* We're about to have a gaming orgy with this TV, I think!
Christina: *laughing as well* It even has the old-school component cable hookups, so... *she also plugs in a Super Nintendo CD to the old school components* Now, the important thing for retro consoles, and this is really awesome... this TV has virtually zero latency.
Austin: That's right, you know, when you're retro gaming, you kinda have to have a CRT because of the input lag and other things, but not here. You can plug in an old school console and you'll be just fine, the Stadia, believe it or not, it can actually adjust to whatever you've got hooked up... this is really a cool TV.
Christina: It's the ultimate gamer TV.
*A short while later, everything is hooked up, and the hosts are now explaining the various features and menu screens.*
Austin: So right when you turn this thing on, you've got the option to launch right into Stadia. We're not going to do that right away...
Christina: Awww.... *she looks impatient*
Austin: Just wait a couple minutes!
Christina: it's right there!
Austin: And you can also use the button on the remote control to go into Stadia as well.
Christina: The remote has a little screen on it, you can actually pick what game you want on the screen while you're watching TV.
Austin: You can do it with any Android phone too, any Android phone can control this TV.
Christina: And on the menu you've got all your inputs right here.
*They finally get into a Stadia game, Devoid, and it looks stunning on the TV, full 4K and custom graphics settings for individual Stadia games programmed in.*
Christina: So you can of course fully program your own graphics settings, but the Stadia TV knows what game you're playing and it'll adjust the settings to the recommended graphics settings for each individual game, which is, I think, the most awesome thing ever. You've got your HDR of course, and look at that ray tracing, absolutely incredible!
Austin: Yeah, I've always had trouble with some TVs getting them to display the right settings, but the Stadia TV does it for you, saves a ton of work, and of course with those lightning fast load times you can get right into your game.
*A couple of other Stadia games are shown off, then we see the Reality Neo being played.*
Austin: Unfortunately, the Stadia won't automatically adjust game-by-game for other consoles, but it does have a really nice default gaming setting, and Reality games work really well with it. I'm playing Squad Four Apocalypse right now, and it looks really, really good.
*We then see the Xbox Mini being played. Though it's not an HD console, the TV and HDMI do a good job providing the best possible graphics for the Mini's suite of games, and though the games themselves are in 480p or progressive scan, they still look great on the Stadia, as good as retro games get on a flatscreen, with vibrant colors and outstanding motion.*
Austin: Normally with old school Xbox games, you'd play on a CRT, but here, I think the Stadia TV shows them perfectly. In fact, I think they look a little better than normal.
Christina: It's a matter of preference, but the Stadia TV absolutely does show off all the great graphics of these original Xbox games, and there's actually a setting that the TV will adjust to specifically for the Xbox Mini. But now, let's try out some retro games.
*First, Squad Four Eclipse is played on the SNES-CD. Despite the game's low resolution, the Stadia does a great job of displaying the game, better than any other flatscreen TV, and good enough so as to be a matter of preference versus a CRT rather than the CRT being strictly better.*
Christina: Retro games still look awesome on this TV, and again, as you can see, no input lag, I am absolutely kicking ass on a later level of the game.
*We then see A Link To The Past, and again, the game looks and plays just fine, no worse than on a CRT, and in some respects better thanks to the Stadia TV's excellent color profile.*
Austin: Christina, you're having more fun with this Zelda game than you had with Devoid.
Christina: Well, yeah, it's classic Zelda!
Austin: Can't argue with that. Let me play!
Christina: Wait your turn!
-from the November 15, 2018 episode of GameTV
You know it’s a good launch when even I could see myself giving this a shot. Google’s making a lot of smart moves with Stadia, just they’re still their own typical Google ITTL.
Also happy with how Benefactors turned out. Now we have an answer to people asking what happened to Mass Effect too.
Also happy with how Benefactors turned out. Now we have an answer to people asking what happened to Mass Effect too.
Note 1: Stadia's been done a lot better here than in OTL.
Note 2: Glad to see some Mini consoles come into play.
Note 3: Can't believe we're almost at the end. 2018's just about done, and then only a few years until 2021!
November 2018 - Elsweyr I'd Rather Be
Katie Couric: Good evening, America, and welcome to NBC's live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections. Every seat in the House and a third of the seats in the Senate will be up for grabs tonight, as will numerous governorships and state legislatures, and this election will determine the political direction of the country for the next two years. There you see we have our map of the House, 236 Democrats, 198 Republicans, and one independent, and there you have the Senate, 55 Democrats, 43 Republicans, 1 Independent, Bernie Sanders, and 1 Libertarian, that would be Penn Jillette who will be departing from the Senate in January and that is one of the most hotly contested Senate races of the night in Nevada, we'll be keeping a close eye on that one. With me tonight is our Lester Holt, along with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, and our NBC political correspondent Richard Chan, and then of course we have Tim Russert who will be giving his analysis as the night goes on and who will also be updating the numbers. And I actually do want to start with Tim, Tim, going into tonight what do you see as the crucial issues that voters based their decisions on at the polls today?
Tim Russert: Thank you, Katie, it's really good to be here again. And I'll say this, tonight's election really is a referendum on the first two years of the Kennedy presidency, but also with the Supreme Court looming large over the proceedings, with two seats on the bench potentially hinging on who has control of the Senate, I'm sure that got a lot of people to the polls as well. I will say this, the economy has been strong, according to the numbers and according to recent polls. Consumer spending is up big time this year, and that's due in part to last year's public option health care bill, which over 20 million Americans have signed on to so far. People who've been able to save money on their health insurance, people who've been able to take a better job because they didn't have to worry about their employer health care plan, those people have been spending that money and they may well vote their pocketbooks tonight. Inflation has ticked up, but not at the rate many economists feared, and that could be good for Democrats in those key swing states. However, the potential Supreme Court vacancies, with Kozinski almost certain to step down or be subjected to impeachment proceedings, and Anthony Kennedy still heavily rumored to be retiring in the next two years, that could influence socially conservative voters. The one thing I will say is that if this Kozinski news had come out BEFORE the primaries, it may have helped Republicans a bit more in the general election. As it stands now, many of the Republicans running tonight are more of the fiscally conservative variety, they'd been running against Kennedy's spending, and most of them beat the social firebrands in their primary races. That could come back to bite Republicans tonight, we'll see. It does not look like the Republicans have any chance of retaking either the House or the Senate, based on the polling data, but you know I love politics and anything can happen.
-from NBC's live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections on November 6, 2018 at 7:02 PM EST
John Dickerson: And we have another update from that close Senate race in Indiana, where rock legend turned politician John Mellencamp is running in a tight race against the incumbent Mike Pence, who was elected back in 2012. Pence won easily in 2012, but he's in a dogfight here in his re-election bid, right now he is leading that race with just over 51 percent of the vote, but many votes have yet to come in from Marion County, and that's where Mellencamp is expected to do very well, so we'll be watching this one all night. Right now, Republicans are expected to gain a seat in Montana, Troy Downing is expected to win over John Tester, but Democrats have also gained a seat, that is the seat in Texas, where Sema Hernandez is leading over David Dewhurst. That's a bit of an upset, Hernandez got a massive push from the Hispanic vote and was the beneficiary of a massive push from celebrity supporters such as the popular singer Selena who performed a concert in support of her campaign, and she is winning with 53 percent of the vote right now. A lot of people in Texas benefited heavily from the public option bill, and that is playing a big role in Hernandez's win down there as well. I'd like to get some more outside analysis of these races, and this time we've got someone from the younger generation here tonight, Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, political journalist for the online news website Cressida Lane. Thank you for being here tonight.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Thank you, it's my pleasure.
Dickerson: And of course tonight your district has already been decided, Joe Crowley will be returning to his seat for another term after soundly beating his Republican opponent, no surprises there.
Ocasio-Cortez: I'm glad he won tonight, congratulations are in order, though many younger Americans like myself would have liked to see someone more economically progressive in that district, but, I think, give it time.
Dickerson: And that's one of the things I wanted to talk about, because, as you were telling me before, many of the progressives in the Democratic party don't think that President Kennedy's public option healthcare law goes far enough, many want single payer. Do you think that's depressing turnout among young people?
Ocasio-Cortez: Well, it is a midterm, so turnout is always going to be a bit depressed, but yes, especially in districts like New York's 14th that are already pretty much a sure thing, a lot of people I know are staying home.
Dickerson: What about in the swing districts?
Ocasio-Cortez: I think, you know, in those big important Senate races, like the one in Nevada, the one in Indiana, the one in Texas, which, again, congratulations to Sema Hernandez, I was extremely happy to see her win tonight and she's going to be an excellent Senator. Um, I think in the big important races, young people who by the way are very politically savvy, they'll show up to vote. Then again, when your only choice is between, say, Mike Pence and John Cougar Mellencamp... that's not a very exciting election. I guess if you live in Indiana though, your elections aren't very exciting.
Dickerson: Even if it could potentially mean the difference between a supermajority and two years of filibustering?
Ocasio-Cortez: I think a lot of young people are looking forward to 2020, to the primaries in the House and Senate to put more progressives out there and pressure President Kennedy from the left so we can get single-payer health care. Right now, in 2018, the writing is on the wall. The Democrats are going to hold the House and the Senate, we know they will, it's a done deal at this point. Turnout was actually pretty good in the races that mattered, but I don't think a whole lot is going to change this year and I think a lot of people my age thought the same thing.
-from CBS News' live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, at 9:27 PM EST
Anderson Cooper: And we now have a big projection to make for our last toss-up Senate race of the night, and that is the big race in Nevada being contested for the seat that Penn Jillette will be retiring from. And we can call that election for the Democratic candidate, Kate Marshall, who defeated Mark Amodei with 42 percent of the vote to Amodei's 41 percent, with 98 percent of the vote in we can finally feel confident about making a call in that race. That will give Democrats control of 57 seats in the Senate and Republicans 42, with Bernie Sanders presumably caucusing with the Democrats to give them a 58-42 advantage. That's the second close win for Democrats in the last 30 minutes, after we were able to call Indiana's Senate race for John Mellencamp, the rock star from a small town who will be going to Washington in January. That race in Nevada, somewhat tricky to call because the Libertarian candidate Tim Hagen had been doing really well, Penn Jillette endorsed him and he was polling as high as 30 percent at one point, but slipping to 16 percent tonight and I think perhaps taking away just enough of Amodei's support to throw that election to Marshall. And Deborah, that will give President Kennedy, I think, a green light to proceed with his agenda over the next two years, wouldn't you say?
Deborah Roberts: At this point, yes, with Democrats gaining what looks to be three seats in the House, three or four depending on that race in Georgia, absolutely. He avoids the midterm slump that so many presidents have endured in their first term in office, and even though his majority in the House won't be overwhelming, and even though he won't have a supermajority in the Senate, he has to imagine at this point that his agenda has proven quite popular with the American people.
Cooper: Enjoying, I think, a first term much like the last president, Jon Huntsman Jr. enjoyed.
Roberts: Both of them, charismatic presidents, both of them fairly moderate, obviously still on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but doing just enough to please their base while also appealing to independents.
Cooper: Do you think these last few presidents we've had, Gore, Huntsman, Kennedy now, all fairly moderate, all seeing themselves as unifiers, do you think that's maybe ameliorated some of the political polarization in this country, or is it still there?
Roberts: It's absolutely still there. Congress is more polarized than ever, Democrats and Republicans rarely voting across the aisle, but I don't think there's quite so much fiery rhetoric as maybe there would be if we'd had presidents that were more to the left or to the right. I think politics in this country is still a contact sport, but people tend to favor moderates in their own parties rather than the extreme candidates on either side, and that's led to what we have now which is an era of very centrist politics for the most part with these occasional lurches to the left or to the right, mostly on the economic side of things. Congress is still divided, but President Kennedy will have I think the closest thing he's had to a mandate in the first two years of his term, and we'll see what happens in terms of the Supreme Court when, assuming Alex Kozinski is done and I believe he is, when President Kennedy tries to fill that seat and flip the Court back to the left. There was a bit of a fight back in 2010 when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and President Huntsman replaced her with Justice Mahoney, let's see what happens with this upcoming court battle.
-from ABC News' live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, at 11:31 PM EST
-
(Major SPOILERS for Thrillseekers: All-Stars in the rest of this article! You have been warned!)
With All-Stars needing to serve as a conclusion for "Generation 1" of the franchise, it performs that task quite nicely, giving all the series' major characters their time in the spotlight. The story mode of Thrillseekers: All-Stars is split into 12 "episodes", each one focused on a different character from the franchise. Alex, Marina, Kirsten, Stacy, Vivian, and Elissa all get their own episode, of course, as well as popular side characters Rachel, Emma, Amberlin, Marie, Syrene, and Marceline. The 12 episodes can be completed in any order, similar to the scenarios in some of the SaGa games, and when all 12 are completed, it opens up a final, 13th chapter, in which the six original Thrillseekers compete in one final competition together and cement the legacy of Thrillseekers, Inc. before entering into their adult careers. The individual episodes have some fun callbacks to past games, and even though chapters focus on individual characters, the other characters frequently show up and play major roles in them. Alex and Stacy show up in each other's storylines (and yes, they are engaged in the game and say "I love you" almost way too much, but it's still adorable), Marina hangs out with all of her friends as well as a couple of ex-boyfriends, Kirsten and Marie play major roles in each other's episodes, and we finally get to see Kirsten surpass Marie as a snowboarder, which is followed up by one of the most heartwarming sibling related moments in the series... a moment topped by the moment that Vivian and Marceline share together in Marceline's chapter, after Marceline, now an excellent extreme sports athlete in her own right, passes up the Olympics in favor of going into law school like her sister... and then into politics, planning to run for Congress the election immediately after she turns 25 (Vivian's squeal of pride and delight afterwards is brilliantly acted by Cristina Milizia, who, in this game, has finally acclimated to the role that Brittany Saldita originated so brilliantly). Syrene's story is bittersweet, and comes with an air of finality: she is dying, and she wants Elissa to know how much she loves her, even though she knows Elissa is already dating (and on the verge of proposing to) Steven. Elissa handles Syrene's admission with grace and compassion, and for most players of the series, there won't be a dry eye amongst them. The 13th episode is also a fitting tribute to the main crew and a love letter to the players, with all six main girls and many of their friends and loved ones getting their moment to shine. The end credits are interspersed with scenes of the characters and what they do in the next few years after the events of the game. Set to "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit, it's another tear-jerker, and highlights include Alex and Stacy's wedding (and their honeymoon, in which they become the first two people to climb K2 in the winter, because of course they do), Marina turning Thrillseekers Inc. into a billion dollar company while taking potential business partners on extreme surfing trips, Vivian becoming a powerful corporate lawyer while still fighting for the little guy, Elissa taking troubled teens on extreme sports excursions, and Kirsten starring in a hit geology-themed webshow. We also get some teases of the upcoming Thrillseekers: Generation Z, showing off some Thrillseekers merch in our new protagonist Izzy's room, and a thumbnail for one of Zoe's videos next to Kirsten's. The credits wait until the upbeat song ends to show Syrene's funeral, with Elissa giving the eulogy as her husband Steven comforts her. The post-credits scene is one final look at Alex and Stacy's home life after several years of wedded bliss, more in love than ever. As a game, Thrillseekers: All-Stars is a solid 8/10 (see what we gave it in our review video HERE). There's tons of content, though it's clear some sports were favored more than others, and by now, the series' once groundbreaking physics engine is a bit of a dinosaur, though we've been promised major upgrades and a more focused approach for Generation Z. As for wrapping up the story of the original six girls? It's brilliant, and should please every fan of the series (except Syrene fans, who will be crying into their energy drinks). It wraps pretty much everything up in a neat little bow, while leaving the door open for plenty of future adventures. Now all that's left is to pass the torch to a new generation of Thrillseekers. We'll see you next year, girls.
-from the IGN.com article "Thrillseekers All-Stars Weaves A Brilliant Final Chapter (SPOILERS!)", posted on November 28, 2018
-
Stadia Launch Drives Nexus Sales On Massive Black Friday
The video game industry enjoyed one of its biggest Black Fridays in years, despite the lack of a new physical game console (and rumors of a new generation coming as early as next year), driven instead by huge discounts on current hardware and a bevy of major software titles on sale. Deals could be found even on brand new games, with Assassin's Creed: Confederation and Thrillseekers: All-Stars available for $30 at Walmart and Best Buy, and Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare on sale for $40 at Walmart. The base model Reality and Virtua could both be had for $199, with the Reality Neo and Virtua S available for $299 along with pack-in titles. Meanwhile, the Google Nexus was being practically given away at retailers: a brand new Nexus Pro would set you back only $149 at most major retailers, while the base model Nexus was being sold for $49, comparable in price to a Google Home Hub or a Chromecast Pro. Both models of the Nexus were flying off shelves, with retailers happily touting the console's compatibility with the Google Stadia service and the availability of a variety of free games including the brand new Devoid (which was also selling at retailers for $40 for the Nexus version of the game). According to early NPD sales figures, the Google Nexus may have in fact outsold both the Reality and Virtua (which were also selling extremely well). If true, this would be an astonishing feat, one without precedent in the game industry: a console outselling both its current-generation competitors despite having been recently supplanted by its successor platform. The Ultra Nintendo nearly managed the feat during 2003's Black Friday, outselling the Katana and achieving a decent fraction of the Xbox's sales that year, but the Nexus, if the figures hold, will have actually sold more units than either the Reality or the Virtua during the Black Friday weekend. Stadia user numbers also jumped, and it's reported that more people were logged into the Stadia service on Black Friday than at any time during its launch week: a server-melting 30 million users. Similar to the launch period, some slight problems were reported with the Stadia's service over the past few days, but those hiccups have mostly been ironed out, and by Sunday afternoon, complaints of server overload had dropped below the baseline level. Though 2018 has been an excellent year for video game software overall, with sales up more than 25 percent over last year, the quality of the games themselves isn't the only factor: the consumer economy has seen significant improvements, with unemployment numbers dropping and consumer spending increasing by double digits, no doubt contributing to more disposable income in the hands of gamers.
-from an article on Gamespot, posted on November 26, 2018
-
Game Spotlight: The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr
The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr is an open-world action RPG developed by Bethesda for the Nintendo Reality, Apple Virtua, and Google's Nexus console and Stadia platform. After disappointing sales and critical reviews for 2011's The Elder Scrolls V: Kynarth, Bethesda went back to the drawing board for Elsweyr, creating a more action-packed and fast-paced game, including a total revamp of melee combat and much more creative and interactive enemy designs. The result was an Elder Scrolls game that had the familiar feel of the series, but which plays nothing like any of the OTL games. The game no longer has a first person mode by default, though it does have an optional first person view, and will eventually make first person VR mode available via a free update. The third person default view allowed developers to make melee combat much more fast paced, with more dynamic dodges, blocks, slashes, and counters, taking some inspiration from Squad Four Betrayal with enemy AI and reactions. Damage numbers have been added as well, giving players a lot more insight on how their attacks and those of their enemies are playing out. As far as the game's world, it's home to the catlike Khajiit race, and the game sort of expects you to play as a Khajiit, though you can be one of many different races, including human. Elsweyr is more PvE focused than any previous game in the series, with wildlife and even plants that want to kill you, and of course there are lots of hostile sentient races and monsters as well. Elsweyr's environs are somewhat similar to how they appear in OTL's The Elder Scrolls Online (which was butterflied away by the disappointing results of Kynarth, as the studio instead focused all its resources on Elder Scrolls VI), though things have been spiced up a bit, with more rainforest/jungle areas and elevation changes. The result is a wild land that matches the game's wild pace, but also with lots of civilization, plenty of towns and cities that blend in with the natural environment, such as an Ewok-like treetop town that serves as one of the game's major trade hubs. In addition to the updated gameplay and world design, Elsweyr boasts the best graphics in the series to date, with gorgeous detailed landscapes and animations, looking easily better than OTL's Skyrim (as it's a game intended for eighth gen consoles, and looks even better on the Stadia, a true next gen look for that version of the game). It boasts a soundtrack by Trevor Morris (Jeremy Soule was originally contracted to score the game, but was dropped after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced in 2015 ITTL, mirroring OTL's allegations against him, he would also be accused of sexual assault during the #SpeakOut movement, though this was after he'd already been replaced for Elsweyr). It also boasts a strong voice cast, with J.K. Simmons as the Mane, the leader of the Khajiit government, and other voice actors including Courtney Ford, Elizabeth Maxwell, Matthew Mercer, Matthew Rhys, and Della Saba playing significant characters. The plot focuses around a civil war between Anequina and Pelletine, the two halves of Elsweyr, with the former wanting to remain allied with the Thalmor, and the latter wanting to break away. Pelletine's armies are led by the great Khajiit warrior Hakash (voiced by Matthew Mercer) who eventually comes to be known as the Champion of Namira, a warrior secretly aligned with the Daedric Prince of rot and decay, who seeks to reclaim Elsweyr through the violence of war. Hakash's rebellion begins to expel the Thalmor from Elsweyr, but also causes the first signs of ruin throughout the land. The protagonist can choose to align with Anequina or Pelletine, with Anequina representing a more straightforward path (protecting Elsweyr from the dangerous rebels) and Pelletine representing a more dynamic path (protect the soul of the rebellion from the decay wrought by Namira). Either way, saving Elsweyr will require venturing throughout the land and purifying the shrines of the daughters of Fadomai, while also uniting all the realm under the banner of unity or rebellion. The protagonist gains a power from each shrine, enabling them eventually to rival Hakash, who becomes a powerful Daedric warrior no matter what path the protagonist takes. The game's finale sees the protagonist and Hakash engage in ritualistic combat aided by the power of the gods to determine Elsweyr's ultimate fate.
The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr is released on November 16, 2018, and is an immediate critical and commercial hit, scoring a 91 on Metacritic and becoming one of the best selling games of the holiday season. Though it doesn't reach the popularity or legacy of OTL's Skyrim, it's certainly better than Kynarth and rivals Morrowind and Oblivion for the title of the series' best game. It gives Bethesda a much needed financial boost and resurrects the Elder Scrolls series in the eyes of many. It would, like Skyrim, be ported to a number of consoles after its release, including the eventual next-generation successors of the Reality and Virtua.
-
Other Significant Titles For November 2018:
Mystic 3: The conclusion to Naughty Dog's epic trilogy of motion-capture adventure titles, Mystic 3 concludes the story of Luma, Lake, and the Oridae, and the battle for the next age of the Earth. It also focuses heavily on two new characters, Kala and her human prisoner/companion Jack, who serve to parallel Luma and Lake's story, and show how the Oridae and the remaining humans may yet forge their future. As the first game in the trilogy to be released on the Reality, it features absolutely stunning graphics, pushing the console to its limits with amazing animation and backgrounds, and fully showing what six years of effort can create. The game, like its predecessors, is a bittersweet chronicle of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and features a number of deaths along the way (including Keta), though Luma, Lake, Kala, and Jack ultimately survive a number of close calls, and all four of them are integral to forging a new future for Earth in which the remaining Oridae and humans live together in peace, rebuilding a new society with Oridae magic and human technology. There's a flash-forward to a future with a new hybrid race of Oridae/humans living amongst both humans and Oridae, and a new world more beautiful than anything those who fought the war could ever imagine (imagine the look of Avatar's Pandora with the technology and society of Star Trek), showing the first Oridae and hybrids to go into space. It's a happy ending, and a very much earned one. The game is a major success both critically and commercially, a Game of the Year contender and one of 2018's best selling games. As of the end of 2018, Naughty Dog is already working on a brand new AAA title utilizing motion capture, and though it will be first previewed at E3 2020, its release will be well beyond the scope of this timeline.
F-Zero XR: The Reality's other major holiday title is F-Zero XR, a futuristic racing title for the console that features dozens of cars and tracks and blisteringly fast racing. Though the game is somewhat easy to get into, and includes extensive (and optional) tutorials, hardcore racing fans will DEFINITELY find plenty to love here, with the difficulty steadily ramping up to the series' trademark expert-level challenges and modes. It also features a full campaign/adventure mode continuing from the events of FIRESTORM, and though the campaign lasts at least 10 hours and has a massive amount of content, most hardcore gamers consider it a tutorial for the slew of challenges available in the game's other modes. Easily one of the year's best games and one of the best racers of its generation, it doesn't quite sell as much as Mystic 3, but it gets close, and would eventually surpass it in sales after 2018.
Donkey Kong City: A new Donkey Kong platformer title comes to the Nintendo Connect, and it features 3-D gameplay, somewhat like OTL's Super Mario 3D Land/World. There's precedent for this ITTL, as the Battletoads crossover played out somewhat similarly, but this is more of a pure platformer than an action title, and features lots of tricky jumps and a wide variety of levels, both mandatory and optional. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Dixie Kong are joined by Luna Kong from Donkey Kong Krew as the four playable characters, and though each has their own small differences and quirks, there's no challenge in the game that you can't beat with all four Kongs. It's a fun, if somewhat simple platformer, and scores good reviews and sales, though it's not a blockbuster.
Blood And Victoire: This spiritual successor to The Twilight Of Doctor Adler is another mystery/adventure game taking place in Victorian England and featuring somewhat of a bleak setting. Its protagonist, Angie, comes home to a nightmare, with her son brutally murdered and her daughter having been seemingly abducted. Angie is forced to confront her own troubled past and delve deep into the city's underworld, where she eventually learns the tragic secret her daughter has been keeping from her, which led her to murder her young brother. Angie is ultimately forced to take her own daughter's life in one of the most heartbreakingly tragic scenes to ever appear in a video game, after which she gathers up what little strength she has left, picks up her life, and moves to a quiet country town where she hopes to use what she learned to keep anyone else from suffering her children's fate. The game receives excellent reviews, Katharine Kingsley's performance as Angie is particularly lauded, and the game makes back its fairly small budget quite easily, leading to an eventual third game from the studio.
Neutralizer Omega: The long awaited sequel to Neutralizer Alpha, featuring Luisa from the previous title as the new protagonist, heading up Strike Force Omega on a dangerous series of missions to battle a rogue Strike Force that has run afoul of its original country and has taken on the task of mercenary work. Though this game is a fun graphical showcase for the Virtua's VR capabilities, the game has numerous problems with gameplay and glitches, and has been plagued by problems and production delays. Ultimately, reviews are only mediocre, and sales are extremely disappointing, with most Virtua owners opting for games like Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare instead. The series would make a comeback on the Virtua's eventual successor.
Endotherm Evolution: An exclusive platformer for the Gemini, this game is the latest in the Endotherm series, and once again sees the transforming creature venture through a variety of environments in search of his abducted friend. It's a solid 3D platformer, and despite a much slower pace, gets compared, somewhat unfavorably, to Donkey Kong City. Despite being very graphically impressive, it's also somewhat outdated and doesn't do enough to expand the core concept of the series.
Deus Ex: The Coded Mystery: This full-featured handheld RPG for the Gemini is ridiculously ambitious considering the hardware, not only one of the best games in the series, but one of the best Gemini titles overall. The game's cyber detective protagonist, who you get to customize at the start of the game but who is fully voiced (with Roger Craig Smith voicing male versions of the character, and Nika Futterman voicing female versions of the character), must hunt down a lethal hacker with similar powers and abilities. Along the way, there's an incredible amount of freedom to participate in all kinds of side missions that directly affect how characters interact with your own. It can't be stressed enough how deep and complex and impressive looking the game is, essentially functioning like OTL's Human Revolution or Mankind Divided, but on a handheld. Reviews for the game are outstanding, sales are very very good for a Gemini title, and the game functions somewhat as a sendoff to the Gemini itself, with Apple's focus already diverting away from the Gemini to future mobile titles.
Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare: Taking inspiration from the Nazi Zombies side modes on previous Call Of Duty games, this game features a full-fledged zombie apocalypse, set in the modern day, in which world militaries are the only thing standing between mankind and annihilation. Somewhat similar to World War Z, a zombie plague has ravaged mankind, leaving a vast portion of the human race dead, many more zombified, and survivors huddling in remaining safe zones as the horde approaches. You play primarily as an American soldier, Ralph Waskett (voiced by Jack Black, though it's a bit more serious than his usual comedic performances, while still allowing for some comic relief lines), tasked with leading a squadron into cities to clean out zombies and also take out any hostile humans trying to play warlord. The action also follows zombie apocalypses in other countries, and you spend some time as British, Japanese, and Russian soldiers for some missions. The game receives the best critical reception and sales for a Call Of Duty title in years, and competes with Doggerland for the #1 overall game of the year in terms of sales.
Tim Russert: Thank you, Katie, it's really good to be here again. And I'll say this, tonight's election really is a referendum on the first two years of the Kennedy presidency, but also with the Supreme Court looming large over the proceedings, with two seats on the bench potentially hinging on who has control of the Senate, I'm sure that got a lot of people to the polls as well. I will say this, the economy has been strong, according to the numbers and according to recent polls. Consumer spending is up big time this year, and that's due in part to last year's public option health care bill, which over 20 million Americans have signed on to so far. People who've been able to save money on their health insurance, people who've been able to take a better job because they didn't have to worry about their employer health care plan, those people have been spending that money and they may well vote their pocketbooks tonight. Inflation has ticked up, but not at the rate many economists feared, and that could be good for Democrats in those key swing states. However, the potential Supreme Court vacancies, with Kozinski almost certain to step down or be subjected to impeachment proceedings, and Anthony Kennedy still heavily rumored to be retiring in the next two years, that could influence socially conservative voters. The one thing I will say is that if this Kozinski news had come out BEFORE the primaries, it may have helped Republicans a bit more in the general election. As it stands now, many of the Republicans running tonight are more of the fiscally conservative variety, they'd been running against Kennedy's spending, and most of them beat the social firebrands in their primary races. That could come back to bite Republicans tonight, we'll see. It does not look like the Republicans have any chance of retaking either the House or the Senate, based on the polling data, but you know I love politics and anything can happen.
-from NBC's live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections on November 6, 2018 at 7:02 PM EST
John Dickerson: And we have another update from that close Senate race in Indiana, where rock legend turned politician John Mellencamp is running in a tight race against the incumbent Mike Pence, who was elected back in 2012. Pence won easily in 2012, but he's in a dogfight here in his re-election bid, right now he is leading that race with just over 51 percent of the vote, but many votes have yet to come in from Marion County, and that's where Mellencamp is expected to do very well, so we'll be watching this one all night. Right now, Republicans are expected to gain a seat in Montana, Troy Downing is expected to win over John Tester, but Democrats have also gained a seat, that is the seat in Texas, where Sema Hernandez is leading over David Dewhurst. That's a bit of an upset, Hernandez got a massive push from the Hispanic vote and was the beneficiary of a massive push from celebrity supporters such as the popular singer Selena who performed a concert in support of her campaign, and she is winning with 53 percent of the vote right now. A lot of people in Texas benefited heavily from the public option bill, and that is playing a big role in Hernandez's win down there as well. I'd like to get some more outside analysis of these races, and this time we've got someone from the younger generation here tonight, Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, political journalist for the online news website Cressida Lane. Thank you for being here tonight.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Thank you, it's my pleasure.
Dickerson: And of course tonight your district has already been decided, Joe Crowley will be returning to his seat for another term after soundly beating his Republican opponent, no surprises there.
Ocasio-Cortez: I'm glad he won tonight, congratulations are in order, though many younger Americans like myself would have liked to see someone more economically progressive in that district, but, I think, give it time.
Dickerson: And that's one of the things I wanted to talk about, because, as you were telling me before, many of the progressives in the Democratic party don't think that President Kennedy's public option healthcare law goes far enough, many want single payer. Do you think that's depressing turnout among young people?
Ocasio-Cortez: Well, it is a midterm, so turnout is always going to be a bit depressed, but yes, especially in districts like New York's 14th that are already pretty much a sure thing, a lot of people I know are staying home.
Dickerson: What about in the swing districts?
Ocasio-Cortez: I think, you know, in those big important Senate races, like the one in Nevada, the one in Indiana, the one in Texas, which, again, congratulations to Sema Hernandez, I was extremely happy to see her win tonight and she's going to be an excellent Senator. Um, I think in the big important races, young people who by the way are very politically savvy, they'll show up to vote. Then again, when your only choice is between, say, Mike Pence and John Cougar Mellencamp... that's not a very exciting election. I guess if you live in Indiana though, your elections aren't very exciting.
Dickerson: Even if it could potentially mean the difference between a supermajority and two years of filibustering?
Ocasio-Cortez: I think a lot of young people are looking forward to 2020, to the primaries in the House and Senate to put more progressives out there and pressure President Kennedy from the left so we can get single-payer health care. Right now, in 2018, the writing is on the wall. The Democrats are going to hold the House and the Senate, we know they will, it's a done deal at this point. Turnout was actually pretty good in the races that mattered, but I don't think a whole lot is going to change this year and I think a lot of people my age thought the same thing.
-from CBS News' live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, at 9:27 PM EST
Anderson Cooper: And we now have a big projection to make for our last toss-up Senate race of the night, and that is the big race in Nevada being contested for the seat that Penn Jillette will be retiring from. And we can call that election for the Democratic candidate, Kate Marshall, who defeated Mark Amodei with 42 percent of the vote to Amodei's 41 percent, with 98 percent of the vote in we can finally feel confident about making a call in that race. That will give Democrats control of 57 seats in the Senate and Republicans 42, with Bernie Sanders presumably caucusing with the Democrats to give them a 58-42 advantage. That's the second close win for Democrats in the last 30 minutes, after we were able to call Indiana's Senate race for John Mellencamp, the rock star from a small town who will be going to Washington in January. That race in Nevada, somewhat tricky to call because the Libertarian candidate Tim Hagen had been doing really well, Penn Jillette endorsed him and he was polling as high as 30 percent at one point, but slipping to 16 percent tonight and I think perhaps taking away just enough of Amodei's support to throw that election to Marshall. And Deborah, that will give President Kennedy, I think, a green light to proceed with his agenda over the next two years, wouldn't you say?
Deborah Roberts: At this point, yes, with Democrats gaining what looks to be three seats in the House, three or four depending on that race in Georgia, absolutely. He avoids the midterm slump that so many presidents have endured in their first term in office, and even though his majority in the House won't be overwhelming, and even though he won't have a supermajority in the Senate, he has to imagine at this point that his agenda has proven quite popular with the American people.
Cooper: Enjoying, I think, a first term much like the last president, Jon Huntsman Jr. enjoyed.
Roberts: Both of them, charismatic presidents, both of them fairly moderate, obviously still on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but doing just enough to please their base while also appealing to independents.
Cooper: Do you think these last few presidents we've had, Gore, Huntsman, Kennedy now, all fairly moderate, all seeing themselves as unifiers, do you think that's maybe ameliorated some of the political polarization in this country, or is it still there?
Roberts: It's absolutely still there. Congress is more polarized than ever, Democrats and Republicans rarely voting across the aisle, but I don't think there's quite so much fiery rhetoric as maybe there would be if we'd had presidents that were more to the left or to the right. I think politics in this country is still a contact sport, but people tend to favor moderates in their own parties rather than the extreme candidates on either side, and that's led to what we have now which is an era of very centrist politics for the most part with these occasional lurches to the left or to the right, mostly on the economic side of things. Congress is still divided, but President Kennedy will have I think the closest thing he's had to a mandate in the first two years of his term, and we'll see what happens in terms of the Supreme Court when, assuming Alex Kozinski is done and I believe he is, when President Kennedy tries to fill that seat and flip the Court back to the left. There was a bit of a fight back in 2010 when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and President Huntsman replaced her with Justice Mahoney, let's see what happens with this upcoming court battle.
-from ABC News' live coverage of the 2018 midterm elections, at 11:31 PM EST
-
(Major SPOILERS for Thrillseekers: All-Stars in the rest of this article! You have been warned!)
With All-Stars needing to serve as a conclusion for "Generation 1" of the franchise, it performs that task quite nicely, giving all the series' major characters their time in the spotlight. The story mode of Thrillseekers: All-Stars is split into 12 "episodes", each one focused on a different character from the franchise. Alex, Marina, Kirsten, Stacy, Vivian, and Elissa all get their own episode, of course, as well as popular side characters Rachel, Emma, Amberlin, Marie, Syrene, and Marceline. The 12 episodes can be completed in any order, similar to the scenarios in some of the SaGa games, and when all 12 are completed, it opens up a final, 13th chapter, in which the six original Thrillseekers compete in one final competition together and cement the legacy of Thrillseekers, Inc. before entering into their adult careers. The individual episodes have some fun callbacks to past games, and even though chapters focus on individual characters, the other characters frequently show up and play major roles in them. Alex and Stacy show up in each other's storylines (and yes, they are engaged in the game and say "I love you" almost way too much, but it's still adorable), Marina hangs out with all of her friends as well as a couple of ex-boyfriends, Kirsten and Marie play major roles in each other's episodes, and we finally get to see Kirsten surpass Marie as a snowboarder, which is followed up by one of the most heartwarming sibling related moments in the series... a moment topped by the moment that Vivian and Marceline share together in Marceline's chapter, after Marceline, now an excellent extreme sports athlete in her own right, passes up the Olympics in favor of going into law school like her sister... and then into politics, planning to run for Congress the election immediately after she turns 25 (Vivian's squeal of pride and delight afterwards is brilliantly acted by Cristina Milizia, who, in this game, has finally acclimated to the role that Brittany Saldita originated so brilliantly). Syrene's story is bittersweet, and comes with an air of finality: she is dying, and she wants Elissa to know how much she loves her, even though she knows Elissa is already dating (and on the verge of proposing to) Steven. Elissa handles Syrene's admission with grace and compassion, and for most players of the series, there won't be a dry eye amongst them. The 13th episode is also a fitting tribute to the main crew and a love letter to the players, with all six main girls and many of their friends and loved ones getting their moment to shine. The end credits are interspersed with scenes of the characters and what they do in the next few years after the events of the game. Set to "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit, it's another tear-jerker, and highlights include Alex and Stacy's wedding (and their honeymoon, in which they become the first two people to climb K2 in the winter, because of course they do), Marina turning Thrillseekers Inc. into a billion dollar company while taking potential business partners on extreme surfing trips, Vivian becoming a powerful corporate lawyer while still fighting for the little guy, Elissa taking troubled teens on extreme sports excursions, and Kirsten starring in a hit geology-themed webshow. We also get some teases of the upcoming Thrillseekers: Generation Z, showing off some Thrillseekers merch in our new protagonist Izzy's room, and a thumbnail for one of Zoe's videos next to Kirsten's. The credits wait until the upbeat song ends to show Syrene's funeral, with Elissa giving the eulogy as her husband Steven comforts her. The post-credits scene is one final look at Alex and Stacy's home life after several years of wedded bliss, more in love than ever. As a game, Thrillseekers: All-Stars is a solid 8/10 (see what we gave it in our review video HERE). There's tons of content, though it's clear some sports were favored more than others, and by now, the series' once groundbreaking physics engine is a bit of a dinosaur, though we've been promised major upgrades and a more focused approach for Generation Z. As for wrapping up the story of the original six girls? It's brilliant, and should please every fan of the series (except Syrene fans, who will be crying into their energy drinks). It wraps pretty much everything up in a neat little bow, while leaving the door open for plenty of future adventures. Now all that's left is to pass the torch to a new generation of Thrillseekers. We'll see you next year, girls.
-from the IGN.com article "Thrillseekers All-Stars Weaves A Brilliant Final Chapter (SPOILERS!)", posted on November 28, 2018
-
Stadia Launch Drives Nexus Sales On Massive Black Friday
The video game industry enjoyed one of its biggest Black Fridays in years, despite the lack of a new physical game console (and rumors of a new generation coming as early as next year), driven instead by huge discounts on current hardware and a bevy of major software titles on sale. Deals could be found even on brand new games, with Assassin's Creed: Confederation and Thrillseekers: All-Stars available for $30 at Walmart and Best Buy, and Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare on sale for $40 at Walmart. The base model Reality and Virtua could both be had for $199, with the Reality Neo and Virtua S available for $299 along with pack-in titles. Meanwhile, the Google Nexus was being practically given away at retailers: a brand new Nexus Pro would set you back only $149 at most major retailers, while the base model Nexus was being sold for $49, comparable in price to a Google Home Hub or a Chromecast Pro. Both models of the Nexus were flying off shelves, with retailers happily touting the console's compatibility with the Google Stadia service and the availability of a variety of free games including the brand new Devoid (which was also selling at retailers for $40 for the Nexus version of the game). According to early NPD sales figures, the Google Nexus may have in fact outsold both the Reality and Virtua (which were also selling extremely well). If true, this would be an astonishing feat, one without precedent in the game industry: a console outselling both its current-generation competitors despite having been recently supplanted by its successor platform. The Ultra Nintendo nearly managed the feat during 2003's Black Friday, outselling the Katana and achieving a decent fraction of the Xbox's sales that year, but the Nexus, if the figures hold, will have actually sold more units than either the Reality or the Virtua during the Black Friday weekend. Stadia user numbers also jumped, and it's reported that more people were logged into the Stadia service on Black Friday than at any time during its launch week: a server-melting 30 million users. Similar to the launch period, some slight problems were reported with the Stadia's service over the past few days, but those hiccups have mostly been ironed out, and by Sunday afternoon, complaints of server overload had dropped below the baseline level. Though 2018 has been an excellent year for video game software overall, with sales up more than 25 percent over last year, the quality of the games themselves isn't the only factor: the consumer economy has seen significant improvements, with unemployment numbers dropping and consumer spending increasing by double digits, no doubt contributing to more disposable income in the hands of gamers.
-from an article on Gamespot, posted on November 26, 2018
-
Game Spotlight: The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr
The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr is an open-world action RPG developed by Bethesda for the Nintendo Reality, Apple Virtua, and Google's Nexus console and Stadia platform. After disappointing sales and critical reviews for 2011's The Elder Scrolls V: Kynarth, Bethesda went back to the drawing board for Elsweyr, creating a more action-packed and fast-paced game, including a total revamp of melee combat and much more creative and interactive enemy designs. The result was an Elder Scrolls game that had the familiar feel of the series, but which plays nothing like any of the OTL games. The game no longer has a first person mode by default, though it does have an optional first person view, and will eventually make first person VR mode available via a free update. The third person default view allowed developers to make melee combat much more fast paced, with more dynamic dodges, blocks, slashes, and counters, taking some inspiration from Squad Four Betrayal with enemy AI and reactions. Damage numbers have been added as well, giving players a lot more insight on how their attacks and those of their enemies are playing out. As far as the game's world, it's home to the catlike Khajiit race, and the game sort of expects you to play as a Khajiit, though you can be one of many different races, including human. Elsweyr is more PvE focused than any previous game in the series, with wildlife and even plants that want to kill you, and of course there are lots of hostile sentient races and monsters as well. Elsweyr's environs are somewhat similar to how they appear in OTL's The Elder Scrolls Online (which was butterflied away by the disappointing results of Kynarth, as the studio instead focused all its resources on Elder Scrolls VI), though things have been spiced up a bit, with more rainforest/jungle areas and elevation changes. The result is a wild land that matches the game's wild pace, but also with lots of civilization, plenty of towns and cities that blend in with the natural environment, such as an Ewok-like treetop town that serves as one of the game's major trade hubs. In addition to the updated gameplay and world design, Elsweyr boasts the best graphics in the series to date, with gorgeous detailed landscapes and animations, looking easily better than OTL's Skyrim (as it's a game intended for eighth gen consoles, and looks even better on the Stadia, a true next gen look for that version of the game). It boasts a soundtrack by Trevor Morris (Jeremy Soule was originally contracted to score the game, but was dropped after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced in 2015 ITTL, mirroring OTL's allegations against him, he would also be accused of sexual assault during the #SpeakOut movement, though this was after he'd already been replaced for Elsweyr). It also boasts a strong voice cast, with J.K. Simmons as the Mane, the leader of the Khajiit government, and other voice actors including Courtney Ford, Elizabeth Maxwell, Matthew Mercer, Matthew Rhys, and Della Saba playing significant characters. The plot focuses around a civil war between Anequina and Pelletine, the two halves of Elsweyr, with the former wanting to remain allied with the Thalmor, and the latter wanting to break away. Pelletine's armies are led by the great Khajiit warrior Hakash (voiced by Matthew Mercer) who eventually comes to be known as the Champion of Namira, a warrior secretly aligned with the Daedric Prince of rot and decay, who seeks to reclaim Elsweyr through the violence of war. Hakash's rebellion begins to expel the Thalmor from Elsweyr, but also causes the first signs of ruin throughout the land. The protagonist can choose to align with Anequina or Pelletine, with Anequina representing a more straightforward path (protecting Elsweyr from the dangerous rebels) and Pelletine representing a more dynamic path (protect the soul of the rebellion from the decay wrought by Namira). Either way, saving Elsweyr will require venturing throughout the land and purifying the shrines of the daughters of Fadomai, while also uniting all the realm under the banner of unity or rebellion. The protagonist gains a power from each shrine, enabling them eventually to rival Hakash, who becomes a powerful Daedric warrior no matter what path the protagonist takes. The game's finale sees the protagonist and Hakash engage in ritualistic combat aided by the power of the gods to determine Elsweyr's ultimate fate.
The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr is released on November 16, 2018, and is an immediate critical and commercial hit, scoring a 91 on Metacritic and becoming one of the best selling games of the holiday season. Though it doesn't reach the popularity or legacy of OTL's Skyrim, it's certainly better than Kynarth and rivals Morrowind and Oblivion for the title of the series' best game. It gives Bethesda a much needed financial boost and resurrects the Elder Scrolls series in the eyes of many. It would, like Skyrim, be ported to a number of consoles after its release, including the eventual next-generation successors of the Reality and Virtua.
-
Other Significant Titles For November 2018:
Mystic 3: The conclusion to Naughty Dog's epic trilogy of motion-capture adventure titles, Mystic 3 concludes the story of Luma, Lake, and the Oridae, and the battle for the next age of the Earth. It also focuses heavily on two new characters, Kala and her human prisoner/companion Jack, who serve to parallel Luma and Lake's story, and show how the Oridae and the remaining humans may yet forge their future. As the first game in the trilogy to be released on the Reality, it features absolutely stunning graphics, pushing the console to its limits with amazing animation and backgrounds, and fully showing what six years of effort can create. The game, like its predecessors, is a bittersweet chronicle of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and features a number of deaths along the way (including Keta), though Luma, Lake, Kala, and Jack ultimately survive a number of close calls, and all four of them are integral to forging a new future for Earth in which the remaining Oridae and humans live together in peace, rebuilding a new society with Oridae magic and human technology. There's a flash-forward to a future with a new hybrid race of Oridae/humans living amongst both humans and Oridae, and a new world more beautiful than anything those who fought the war could ever imagine (imagine the look of Avatar's Pandora with the technology and society of Star Trek), showing the first Oridae and hybrids to go into space. It's a happy ending, and a very much earned one. The game is a major success both critically and commercially, a Game of the Year contender and one of 2018's best selling games. As of the end of 2018, Naughty Dog is already working on a brand new AAA title utilizing motion capture, and though it will be first previewed at E3 2020, its release will be well beyond the scope of this timeline.
F-Zero XR: The Reality's other major holiday title is F-Zero XR, a futuristic racing title for the console that features dozens of cars and tracks and blisteringly fast racing. Though the game is somewhat easy to get into, and includes extensive (and optional) tutorials, hardcore racing fans will DEFINITELY find plenty to love here, with the difficulty steadily ramping up to the series' trademark expert-level challenges and modes. It also features a full campaign/adventure mode continuing from the events of FIRESTORM, and though the campaign lasts at least 10 hours and has a massive amount of content, most hardcore gamers consider it a tutorial for the slew of challenges available in the game's other modes. Easily one of the year's best games and one of the best racers of its generation, it doesn't quite sell as much as Mystic 3, but it gets close, and would eventually surpass it in sales after 2018.
Donkey Kong City: A new Donkey Kong platformer title comes to the Nintendo Connect, and it features 3-D gameplay, somewhat like OTL's Super Mario 3D Land/World. There's precedent for this ITTL, as the Battletoads crossover played out somewhat similarly, but this is more of a pure platformer than an action title, and features lots of tricky jumps and a wide variety of levels, both mandatory and optional. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Dixie Kong are joined by Luna Kong from Donkey Kong Krew as the four playable characters, and though each has their own small differences and quirks, there's no challenge in the game that you can't beat with all four Kongs. It's a fun, if somewhat simple platformer, and scores good reviews and sales, though it's not a blockbuster.
Blood And Victoire: This spiritual successor to The Twilight Of Doctor Adler is another mystery/adventure game taking place in Victorian England and featuring somewhat of a bleak setting. Its protagonist, Angie, comes home to a nightmare, with her son brutally murdered and her daughter having been seemingly abducted. Angie is forced to confront her own troubled past and delve deep into the city's underworld, where she eventually learns the tragic secret her daughter has been keeping from her, which led her to murder her young brother. Angie is ultimately forced to take her own daughter's life in one of the most heartbreakingly tragic scenes to ever appear in a video game, after which she gathers up what little strength she has left, picks up her life, and moves to a quiet country town where she hopes to use what she learned to keep anyone else from suffering her children's fate. The game receives excellent reviews, Katharine Kingsley's performance as Angie is particularly lauded, and the game makes back its fairly small budget quite easily, leading to an eventual third game from the studio.
Neutralizer Omega: The long awaited sequel to Neutralizer Alpha, featuring Luisa from the previous title as the new protagonist, heading up Strike Force Omega on a dangerous series of missions to battle a rogue Strike Force that has run afoul of its original country and has taken on the task of mercenary work. Though this game is a fun graphical showcase for the Virtua's VR capabilities, the game has numerous problems with gameplay and glitches, and has been plagued by problems and production delays. Ultimately, reviews are only mediocre, and sales are extremely disappointing, with most Virtua owners opting for games like Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare instead. The series would make a comeback on the Virtua's eventual successor.
Endotherm Evolution: An exclusive platformer for the Gemini, this game is the latest in the Endotherm series, and once again sees the transforming creature venture through a variety of environments in search of his abducted friend. It's a solid 3D platformer, and despite a much slower pace, gets compared, somewhat unfavorably, to Donkey Kong City. Despite being very graphically impressive, it's also somewhat outdated and doesn't do enough to expand the core concept of the series.
Deus Ex: The Coded Mystery: This full-featured handheld RPG for the Gemini is ridiculously ambitious considering the hardware, not only one of the best games in the series, but one of the best Gemini titles overall. The game's cyber detective protagonist, who you get to customize at the start of the game but who is fully voiced (with Roger Craig Smith voicing male versions of the character, and Nika Futterman voicing female versions of the character), must hunt down a lethal hacker with similar powers and abilities. Along the way, there's an incredible amount of freedom to participate in all kinds of side missions that directly affect how characters interact with your own. It can't be stressed enough how deep and complex and impressive looking the game is, essentially functioning like OTL's Human Revolution or Mankind Divided, but on a handheld. Reviews for the game are outstanding, sales are very very good for a Gemini title, and the game functions somewhat as a sendoff to the Gemini itself, with Apple's focus already diverting away from the Gemini to future mobile titles.
Call Of Duty: Undead Warfare: Taking inspiration from the Nazi Zombies side modes on previous Call Of Duty games, this game features a full-fledged zombie apocalypse, set in the modern day, in which world militaries are the only thing standing between mankind and annihilation. Somewhat similar to World War Z, a zombie plague has ravaged mankind, leaving a vast portion of the human race dead, many more zombified, and survivors huddling in remaining safe zones as the horde approaches. You play primarily as an American soldier, Ralph Waskett (voiced by Jack Black, though it's a bit more serious than his usual comedic performances, while still allowing for some comic relief lines), tasked with leading a squadron into cities to clean out zombies and also take out any hostile humans trying to play warlord. The action also follows zombie apocalypses in other countries, and you spend some time as British, Japanese, and Russian soldiers for some missions. The game receives the best critical reception and sales for a Call Of Duty title in years, and competes with Doggerland for the #1 overall game of the year in terms of sales.
