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Remember in Terminator 2 when Sarah Conner has that dream of visiting a playground and sees a younger version of herself playing with her son John. And it’s all lovely and fun until a giant nuclear explosion engulfs everyone in fire and all of Sarah Conner’s skin explodes while she’s holding the fence? Yeah, well that’s what July felt like. Yorkshire experienced it’s first “tropical night” ever. Some schools and businesses closed for a couple of days due to the heat and everyone was advised to stay home if possible. It got so hot that I had no choice but to eat two tubs of Ben & Jerrys - damn you climate change!
Anyway, you don’t care about my terrible eating habits or the world being destroyed do you? Of course not, you want your monthly dose of gaming news. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here is some Video Game News from July 2022.
I’m currently playing: On PlayStation4 (nope, I still haven’t managed to get a PS5) I’ve gone back to Two Point Hospital as a warm-up for Two Point Campus. While on the Switch I’ve been dabbling with Live A Live and I’ve finally got around to playing Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga!
I’m currently hyped for: The Callisto Protocol and Call of Duty Modern Warfare II on PlayStation4. While on Switch Turtles The Cowabunga Collection is on my wish list.
New Games
July gave us F1 22, AI The Somnium FIles: nirvanA Initiative, Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, The Quest for Excalibur, Zorro: The Chronicles and the highly-anticipated Live A Live. And to top things off Switch owners have finally got their grubby little mitts on Xenoblade Chronicles 3!
“But what does August have in store” I hear you scream, well dial it back a bit and I’ll tell you. The 9th sees NBA 2K23 hit PlayStation4, PlayStation5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch, will it be a slam-dunk or... something negative that happens in Basketball - sorry, I only have three sport references. Two Point Campus also comes out on PlayStation4 and Switch on the same day. The 12th sees the release of Fishing North Atlantic on both PlayStations. The 19th brings with it Madden NFL 23 on PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and Bugsnax on the Switch.
The physical release of MadiSon hits the Switch on the 22nd for all your horror needs. While the 23rd sees the release of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader on all platforms. The Saints Row reboot comes out the same day on PlayStation4 and Xbox Series X/S. Soul Hackers 2 comes out on the Sony and Microsoft consoles on the 26th. And to round things off on the 30th we have F1 Managers 22 and Arcadegeddon coming out on PlayStation5, PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Announcements
In Video Game News world, we've found out there will be two World Cups for FIFA 23. EA is squeezing every last drop out of its final FIFA-titled game and will include two officially-licensed World Cups. EA confirmed FIFA 23 includes World Cup Qatar 2022, which kicks off (see what I did there) this November, and the Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, which starts in July 2023.
It’s unknown what form the World Cups will take in-game. Although a World Cup-specific mode alongside online features is likely. FIFA 18 got a free World Cup Russia update that added all the qualified teams, stadiums and a World Cup FUT mode.
EA also confirmed FIFA 23 features women’s clubs for the first time in the series. It has officially licensed the Women’s Super League - the highest league of women’s football in England. And Division 1 Féminine, the highest division of women’s football in France. The FIFA 23 Ultimate Edition has Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and PSG’s Kylian Mbappé on the cover. The inclusion of Kerr, who plays for Chelsea and Australia’s women’s teams, marks the first time a female FIFA cover athlete is included on an internationally-released version of EA Sports’ long-running football game.
Death is coming quickly in The Sims 4, after update adds ageing glitch. The death of a sim can be an emotional time. But, if they have lived a good, long life, it can be a chance for reflection and celebration of their time on Earth.
However, a new glitch was surfaced in a recent update for The Sims 4, and it’s making a Sims life flyby at an alarming rate. Elderly sims drop dead well before their time, children are rapidly becoming teens, teens becoming adults and so on. The glitch happens when players visit create-a-sim (CAS), or during the loading screens. Even enabling “Long Lifespan” can’t delay the marching of time. The Sims 4 quality designer SimGuruNick has assured the community that EA is looking into the issue. In the meantime, recommends that players use a new save file and disable Long Lifespan as a temporary measure.
The Pokémon Centre returns to London in August. After three years, the Pokémon Centre pop-up store will be returning to London in August. The last pop-up in the UK was helf from 19th October to 15th November in 2019 at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush location.
This year, the pop-up will be held alongside the Pokémon World Championships at ExCeL London from 17th to 21st August. The Pokémon World Championships is an invite-only esports event but the store will be open for anyone to attend. The previous pop-up at Shepherd’s Bush proved hugely popular, with some reporting a six-hour wait to get in. Purchase limits were introduced just a week after the pop-up opened to combat “unprecedented demand”. But stock of the exclusive bowler hat Pikachu plush toys still sold out before the store’s final week.
This time, the store will only be open for four days promising “exclusive merch, photo opportunities, themed areas, advance timeslot reservations and a virtual queuing system for walk-ups”. Information on how to make advance reservations will be announced soon.
And That’s That
So, what game releases are you most looking forward this month? Let us know on the Zatu socials if this Video Game News interested you, and I’ll see you next time. Seriously, I watch you while you read this.