It turns out my big April Fools joke for 2016 is to write up a bunch of entirely-factual stories for your enjoyment. Ha, I really got you there. Admit it: You were fooled for a second.
Sigh. This week: Doom gets a live-action trailer, Dark Souls gets an ‘80s action trailer, and I try to recover from two weeks of virtual reality. This is (very brief) gaming news for the week of March 28 – April 1.
Doooooooooom
Live-action trailers are really all the rage right now, eh? Ironic that the closer we get to photorealistic graphics, the more trailers we see without any in-game assets. Doom is the latest to adopt the trend with this latest bit of (very violent) filmmaking:
Cover me Porkins
It’s no TIE Fighter or X-Wing, but Rogue Squadron 3D made its way onto Steam this week—another of the classic Star Wars games from the ‘90s. Unfortunately the release seems to be plagued with a fair number of “This game came out twenty years ago and modern systems hate it” problems, but if you’re willing to dig in the forums for workarounds it might be worth your time.
Hoop dreams
I’m still not convinced Rocket League’s teased basketball mode (“Dunk House”) isn’t actually an elaborate April Fools prank, but Psyonix seems committed. They even tacked on a release date: Sometime in April, for all of you Michael Jordan hopefuls. Here’s some music to get you in the mood:
Game-as-service
The Division’s coming up on one month since launch and that means the hordes demand more content. Ubisoft’s giving it to them, starting April 12 with a new free mission called “Falcon Lost.” This is end-game content, and will take you through an underground water treatment facility in hopes of obtaining rare gear. You know the drill.
One more hit
And speaking of games where the masses demand more content, Hitman’s second episode (taking place in Italy) is also officially scheduled for an April release—this time, April 26. So…I guess replay that Paris level a few more dozen times. Or just twiddle your thumbs while you wait.
Fort Zah
Maybe you’ve already heard that Microsoft and Turn 10 are bringing a “piece” of Forza 6 to the PC this year—called Forza 6 Apex. Whatever. The bigger news, as confirmed at Build this week, is that Turn 10 will be bringing all future Forza games to the PC. Hopefully that includes the excellent arcade Forza Horizon series, so I can finally play it at 60 frames per second.
Dancing in the dark
What if Dark Souls came out on VHS in the 80s? What if, indeed…