News by Lindsay M., Matt C., and Matt S.
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Introducing the third Catherine
By Lindsay M., News Editor
Remember Catherine, the action-puzzle game from days yonder? Originally released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, the game follows a man cheating on his fiancée Katherine with a woman named Catherine. The man, Vincent, is suffering from nightmares as a result. That’s the least of what he deserves, in my opinion. Anyway, Atlus has announced a remake of the title. Catherine: Full Body is coming for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. Today’s issue of Weekly Famitsu had the first look.
I’m not sure if “remake” is the proper term. It’s a revamp of the original title, collaborated on by Atlus and Studio Zero, that includes a third Catherine named Rin. By introducing a single new character, new storylines can be introduced for the other two Catherines. Other things that are new? Endings, episodes, anime movies, sexy events, online battles, and cross-save support. Phew!
Studio Zero is led by Katsura Hashino, Persona 5’s director. For those who missed out on Catherine the first time around, Full Body is a prime opportunity to enjoy the title. For those who did Olay, Full Body presents so much new content it’s easily worth playing “again.”
Hand of Fate 2 gets even better with new DLC stuff
By Matt S., Editor-In-Chief
One of our favourite games of 2017 was a humble Aussie game; Hand of Fate 2. A mixture of action, RPG, card game and choose-your-own-adventure narrative, it’s one of those rare games that is truly, genuinely unique. And now it’s getting even better with some new DLC.
The DLC adds to the end game; upon completing the final encounter in Hand of Fate 2, you’ll unlock the enigmatic The Dealer as a companion; a spellcaster that helps boost your luck (and results) in mini-games. That won’t make much sense to people who haven’t yet played the game, but The Dealer is a big deal for fans of Hands of Fate 2, so this DLC should go down a treat.
It should be out right now on PC, Mac, and Linux, and will be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018.
There’s a fourth Trails of Cold Steel game heading to Japanese PS4s within a year
By Matt C., Contributor
Just in case three 60+ hour JRPGs isn’t enough, Nihon Falcom’s announced a fourth game in the Trails of Cold Steel series (or Sen no Kiseki series, as it’s known in Japan). In an investor briefing this week, the company announced that Sen no Kiseki IV would be coming to PlayStation 4 in fall of 2018. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that no worldwide release is planned yet, given that we’re still waiting on Trails of Cold Steel III to be announced for the West.
Sen no Kiseki IV is subtitled “The End of Saga”, and according to Nihon Falcom president Kondō Toshihiro, it willll be the last game in this Legend of Heroes sub-series. “We have diligently worked hard to make sure that this ends,” said Kondō in response to the suggestion that the internet would get very angry if this wasn’t a conclusion.
This announcement makes three Sen no Kiseki games heading to Japanese PS4s next year, with ports of the first two games – originally released on PS3 and Vita – due for release in March and April, respectively. There’s no word on a Western release of any of these, but with the growing worldwide popularity of The Legend of Heroes (and Nihon Falcom in general), we have to assume that one of the big localisation outfits will pick up the rights eventually.
Taito and Degica are collaborating on something… this is going to be special
By Matt S., Editor-In-Chief
Space Invaders is one of my favourite games of all time. To this day I actually spend hours per month playing it on my arcade table; it’s part of my morning routine to have a coffee and blast away at some invaders.
So I was incredibly excited to see Degica Games announce that it’s working with Taito – the veteran developer that birthed Space Invaders into the world 40 years ago – on something special. There’s absolutely no details on it, just a stylish teaser website, but there’s nothing more to it. Degica is promising more details in 2018.
Is it a straight port? Is it some kind of remaster? Is it a collection of various Space Invader releases over the years? Who knows, but it’s certainly something to look forward to in the new year!
