Game News

Ace Attorney director Shu Takumi had some big news this morning for fans who have been waiting to meet Phoenix Wright’s ancestor Ryunosuke Naruhodo. The Great Ace Attorney series is finally making its way to North America in a collection called The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. The collection features both games (2013’s The Great Ace Attorney Adventures and 2017’s The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve) that originally only launched in Japan on the 3DS and mobile devices, and comes with perks like dual Japanese and English audio, three costumes, eight “slice of life” escapades, and a new auto-advancing story mode.

For those not in the know, The Great Ace Attorney series takes fans back in history to the turn of the 20th century during the Meiji Period in Japan and the Victorian era in Britain, and follows college student Ryunosuke Naruhodo as he studies to become a defense attorney and befriends the great “Herlock Sholmes” to help him investigate crime scenes to build his case and piece together clues. Did we mention that Sholmes’ assistant is a child prodigy, and none other than the daughter of Dr. John H. Watson?

The games take you to both Japan and England, and will have you shouting the iconic “Objection!” as you go to trials to defend your clients, facing off against big-wig attorneys like the ruthless Barok van Zieks. As seen in the trailer, you’re still rotating objects to find extra clues and spotting contradictions to deduce the truth. However, the biggest news was a series first: an auto-advancing story mode. This selects evidence on your behalf and allows you to purely focus on the narrative. Not bad if you enjoy just following the story and characters.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles launches on July 27 for PS4, Switch, and PC. As a way to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, Capcom is also releasing the Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection, which has the entire Phoenix Wright trilogy alongside both Great Ace Attorney games. If you purchase ‘From The Vaults” DLC early - it’s also included Turnabout Collection - you get extra goodies, such as art portraits and all-new arrangements

For those interested in the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles' voice actors, we have a list below of who will lend their vocal talents for each leading role:

Ryunosuke Naruhodo: Mark Ota
Susato Mikotoba: Rina Takasaki
Kazuma Asogi: Ben Deery
Herlock Sholmes: Bradley Clarkson
Iris Wilson: Claire Morgan
Barok van Zieks: Robert Vernon

You can watch the announcement above, which has been a long time coming for English-speaking fans who have been begging for the series to get localized. Better yet, we really don’t have to wait long, with it hitting in July. I can’t wait to see how Ryunosuke Naruhodo compares to Phoenix Wright. Being an Ace Attorney is a family affair, after all. For more info, you can check out Capcom blog post here.

Were you expecting The Great Ace Attorney series to reach our shores? Sound off in the comments below!

Published in News

Tuesday, 20 April 2021 15:34

New Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Trailer Promises More Information This Summer

Written by Marcus Stewart

Last summer, developer KT Games as Nacon announced Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, the third entry in the long-dormant racing series. In case you’ve forgotten all about it, or if this is your first time hearing about the series’ revival, a new cinematic trailer helps set the mood for the game while also promising when we’ll learn more about it.

The short but flashy video shows some high-stakes gambling that escalates to a head-to-head race. As the title suggests, the game signals the return of Solar Crown international racing championship from Test Drive Unlimited 2’s story. We still don’t know much about the title other than its description saying it will feature, according to its press release, “dream cars, customization, avatars, competition, open world, casino and style.” We do know that we’ll learn more information sometime this July. In the meantime, check out the slick trailer below.

Click here to watch embedded media

The first Test Drive Unlimited launched in 2007 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC and was noteworthy for its free-roam approach to racing (not unlike the Forza Horizon series) and near-accurate recreation of the Hawaiian island, Oahu. It was followed by Test Drive Unlimited 2 in 2011 which added the Spanish island Ibiza alongside Oahu as well as a more fleshed out narrative. We enjoyed the sequel quite a bit at the time, scoring it an 8.5 out of 10 in our review, which you can read here.

We still don't have a launch window for Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, but it's slated for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

Are you excited to see the return of Test Drive Unlimited after over a decade? What new features do you hope to see and what elements would you like to see make a comeback? Let us know what you think in the comments! In the meantime, check out this feature article by former GI editor Matthew Kato on why Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a cult classic.

Published in News

Tuesday, 20 April 2021 16:23

Microsoft Removes Xbox Live Restriction For Free Xbox Games, Starting Today

Written by Liana Ruppert

Back in January, Microsoft told players that it was removing the Xbox Live requirement to play free games on the Team Green console. Today, that move goes into effect. Now, any game that is free-to-play is actually free-to-play. Previously, it was required to have an active Xbox Live subscription in order to hop into a match, but that restriction is officially a thing of the past.

The Xbox Live Gold team took to the Xbox Wire blog to detail how they are are further improving the player experience on Xbox. Based on feedback, the removal of the Xbox Live requirement starts today, giving players access to more than 50 free-to-play titles that they can dive right into. Below, you can find the full, current list, though Microsoft has confirmed that more will be added as more freebies join the Xbox library.

Xbox free games list

Here's the full list as of today:

3on3 FreeStyle
Aegis Wing
APB Reloaded
Apex Legends
Armored Warfare
Battle Ages
Battle Islands
Battle Islands: Commanders
Bless Unleashed
Brawlhalla
Call of Duty: Warzone
Crackdown
Crackdown 2
Crimson Alliance
Crossout
CRSED: F.O.A.D.
Darwin Project
Dauntless
DC Universe Online
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round: Core Fighters
Dead or Alive 6: Core Fighters
Defiance 2050
Destiny 2
Doritos Crash Course
Dungeon Defenders II
Enlisted
Eternal Card Game
Family Game Night
Fishing Planet
Fortnite
Galaxy Control: Arena
Gems of War
Happy Wars
Harm’s Way
Hawken
Hyper Scape
Killer Instinct
Korgan
Minion Masters
Neverwinter
Outriders (Demo)
Paladins
Path of Exile
Phantasy Star Online 2
Phantom Dust
Pinball FX2
Prominence Poker
Realm Royale
Rec Room
Resident Evil Revelations 2
ROBLOX
Rocket League
Rogue Company
Skyforge
SMITE
Spacelords
Spellbreak
Star Trek Online
Techwars Global Conflict
TERA
The Four Kings Casino and Slots
Too Human
Trove
Vigor
War Thunder
Warface
Warframe
World of Tanks
World of Warships: Legends
Yaris

Fortnite is a big one. While it's super popular to hate on the battle royale game, because that's what the cool kids are doing, the numbers just don't match up to that. Fortnite continues to have one of the biggest player bases in the gaming community, and now non-Xbox Live members can join the fun.

As far as a personal favorite goes, I would be remiss to not encourage readers to check out Warframe (if they haven't already). Warframe, like Bungie's Destiny game, has incredibly satisfying combat mechanics and a way to tailor each person's unique player style. The story is pretty great too, and the game is constantly being updated with new reasons to jump in.

Resident Evil Revelations 2, Spellbreak, and Destiny 2 are also picks that I can't recommend enough, and Call of Duty: Warzone is also included – which is perfect, with season 3 kicking off this week.

[Source: Xbox Wire]

Thoughts on the long-awaited move by Microsoft to remove the Xbox Live requirement for free games? Thoughts on how Team Green is handling this generation overall? Shout 'em out, loud and proud, in the comment section below!

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