Month: July 2019

Super Mario Maker 2 tops the UK physical sales chart for the week ending June 29, according to sales monitor Chart-Track. The platforming game debuts at No.1 in a busy week for new releases.

Nintendo’s latest Switch exclusive beats competition from Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, which slips to No.2, and the newly released F1 2019 at No.3 and Judgment at No.4. Two more new releases manage a top 40 finish: The Sinking City debuts at No.12, while Car Mechanic Simulator takes its pit stop at No.23.

Super Mario Maker 2 has received critical acclaim, including an 8/10 from GameSpot. “What I’ve played so far has proven, once again, that the Mario series is worth all the admiration it gets, and Mario Maker 2 is an excellent tool for picking it apart by pushing its enemies, mechanisms, and Mario, to their limit,” wrote critic Peter Brown in our Super Mario Maker 2 review-in-progress. “I’ve yet to make a stage of my own that I think is worthy of sending out to other players, but I’m committed to getting there. Whether exploring the full potential of a single element or throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, I’ve got the itch to join the creator’s club. And thankfully, even if you aren’t an instant success (like me), Mario Maker 2 makes the learning process intuitive and enjoyable.”

You can see more reviews of this week’s new games below. You can also read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

Reviews

Top 10 UK Games Chart

1. Super Mario Maker 2
2. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
3. F1 2019
4. Judgment
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
9. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
10. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The latest box office report is in, and Disney’s Toy Story 4 was again the best-performing movie of the weekend in the United States and Canada. It made $57.9 million over the Friday-Sunday period, falling 52 percent from its opening-weekend haul of $118 million last weekend.

Toy Story 4 has now made $236.9 million in the US/Canada so far. Globally, Toy Story 4 has now made $496.5 million. All of the box office numbers come from Entertainment Weekly.

In other news, Annabelle Comes Home landed at No. 2 with $20.4 million. It’s the worst-performing Conjuring universe movie to date; and that includes the earlier Annabelle movies that opened in the US and Canada to $37.1 million and $35 million respectively.

Another notable premiere was the re-release of Avengers: Endgame. It made $5.5 million, and combined with more money from overseas, its total box office stands at $2.76 billion. It’s about $27 million behind Avatar ($2.78 billion) for the all-time record, and box office insiders believe Endgame may never beat Avatar, at least not right away.

Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, which is a movie about a world where The Beatles do not exist, made $17 million for its opening weekend. John Wick 3 stayed in the charts, too, landing at No. 10 with $3.2 million.

June 28-30 US/Canada Box Office

All numbers from Entertainment Weekly

1. Toy Story 4 — $57.9 million
2. Annabelle Comes Home — $20.4 million
3. Yesterday — $17 million
4. Aladdin — $9.3 million
5. Secret Life of Pets 2 — $7.1 million
6. Men In Black: International — $6.6 million
7. Avengers: Endgame — $5.5 million
8. Child’s Play — $4.3 million
9. Rocketman — $3.9 million
10. John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum — $3.2 million

New footage of Bond 25 has emerged from London. Released June 30 by the official James Bond Twitter account, a video shows Daniel Craig driving the lovely Aston Martin V8 through London’s Whitehall road. The Aston Martin V8 was first seen in a James Bond movie all the way back in 1987 with The Living Daylights.

Another piece of media released by the producers shows a suave-looking, sunglasses-wearing Craig strolling through London. The producers noted that Craig, director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) and the crew filmed in various London locations on June 30.

This appears to be one of the first instances of Bond 25 filming after Craig injured his ankle so badly he needed surgery and later, time off, to recover. These new images and video follow the first footage released that shows Bond in Jamaica.

Oscar winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) was initially tapped to direct Bond 25, but he dropped out due to “creative differences.”Cary Fukunaga replaced Boyle before the film was delayed first from October 2019 to February 2020 and then again to April 3, 2020.

In addition to Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Lea Seydoux will all reprise their roles for the 25th James Bond movie. Jeffrey Wright and Ben Whishaw also return, while Rami Malek has joined the movie as the villain.

Bond 25’s story begins with Bond out of active service and enjoying himself in Jamaica. Of course this tranquility does not last.

“His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help,” reads a line from the description. “The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.”

In June, a controlled explosion on-set went wrong, and one person was injured.

The first of the Halo: Reach PC betas began this weekend, and it took no time at all for people to do what people do. Tyler Davis of developer 343 Industries announced on Twitter that the first beta test, or “flight” in the Halo parlance, was “illegally distributed online” just after release.

Those who download or play the “illegal” copy of the game could have their accounts banned, while they might also be blocked from future beta tests.

According to Davis, this type of illegal activity is no surprise to 343.

“We knew this was something that likely would happen with our early flights,” he said. “We are prepared for how to handle it on our ends and this is just more so a reminder warning to people that if they circumvent it there are consequences.”

The first Halo: Reach PC beta began on June 28 and is scheduled to end on July 1. Another element of controversy surrounding the beta is that some people believe 343 gave preferential treatment to streamers or content creators in regards to access to the beta. This is not true, Davis said. Five out of six people granted access to the beta were chosen based on their PC hardware configurations, Davis said. The rest were content creators or “close friends” of 343 including professional gamers who have worked with Microsoft in the past. The terms of the Halo: Reach PC beta test state that footage cannot be streamed online.

Over time, 343 will expand the Halo: Reach for PC beta tests to include more people and provide access to different parts of the game. “We see the excitement and eagerness from the community to participate in these flights, and we hear you,” 343 said in a blog post. “Just know that we are going to continue to invite more over time and get as many people in and providing feedback as possible but it’s going to take some time so please hang in there.

The next beta test for Halo: Reach on PC will be released … at some point. “As stated many times before, it’s ready when it’s ready,” 343 said.

There will be beta tests for Halo: Reach on Xbox One as well, but there is no word on when they might begin. In all cases, you need to sign up for the Halo Insiders program for a shot at getting in.

Halo: Reach is coming to PC through The Master Chief Collection, which will be available on Steam and Windows. It’ll likely be a very long time before each title is released, as 343 is planning these betas for each title, spanning Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and finally Halo 4. Each game will be sold individually, while Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Xbox One or PC can get them all as they’re released at no extra cost.

Microsoft will also offer pre-release beta tests for Halo Infinite on Xbox and PC, but there is no word yet when they will begin.

July is knocking at the door, and the new month is bringing big Nintendo Switch exclusives like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. There are also multi-platform adventures to be had, like the gun-toting Wolfenstein: Youngblood and the introspective Sea of Solitude. This episode of New Releases would also be remiss if it didn’t mention the latest Final Fantasy 14 expansion, Shadowbringers.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers — July 2

Available on: PS4, PC

The beloved MMO’s third expansion is bringing a ton of new content to the realm, including nine new dungeons and two new raids, one of which is themed after another fan favorite, Nier Automata. You can explore those with two new races, the tiger-like Hrothgar and the bunny-eared Viera. With two new races also come two new jobs: the Gunbreaker and the Dancer.

More Coverage:

Sea of Solitude — July 5

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

The latest in the EA Originals line of indie titles, Sea of Solitude has a lot going on under the surface. It’s an adventure game, sure, but it also deals with themes of mental illness, exemplified by protagonist Kay transforming into a monster. It’s a mix of platforming and deep introspection.

More Coverage:

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order — July 19

Available on: Switch

The latest in the Ultimate Alliance line is set in a totally different universe, but it still lets you slam bad guys as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. As the name implies, you’ll be going up against Thanos and his Black Order to save the world. Post-launch, you can join the fight with additional DLC heroes from Marvel Knights and the X-Men.

More Coverage:

Fire Emblem: Three Houses — July 26

Available on: Switch

Ultimate Alliance 3 isn’t the only Switch exclusive coming this month. Fire Emblem: Three Houses mixes up combat by putting more emphasis on combat arts versus the traditional weapon triangle. When you’re not on the battlefield, you’ll be teaching students from one of the titular houses, choosing the best weapons and classes for them.

More Coverage:

Wolfenstein: Youngblood — July 26

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

It’s always a good time to shoot down the Nazi threat, and July is bringing us a new story starring the twin daughters of Wolfenstein hero BJ Blazkowicz. BJ is lost in Paris, so his girls join up with the French Resistance in an effort to track him down. And yes, the whole thing is playable in co-op, with two players taking control of the twins.

More Coverage:

July is totally stuffed with video games. The month opens with Stranger Things 3: The Game on the 4th and Attack on Titan 2 on the 5th. Next week, New Releases will tackle Dragon Quest Builders 2 coming west and the debut of Dr. Mario World.