Weekly Recap #412 June 26th – Ninjala Hits Switch, Curious Crossovers, and Pokemon gets a MOBA!?!

JamesBl0nde recaps the MMO gaming news for the week of June 26, 2020! Transcript and Timestamps follow.

Amazon shows off combat and crafting for New World, Blizzard brings another Overwatch Character to Heroes of the storm, Smite has a crazy cool crossover with Avatar, and apparently there’s a new Pokemon Moba for mobile and switch?

Whats up guys! JamesBl0nde here with the weekly recap for gaming news and announcements for the week of June 26th 2020. 

Unfortunate Spaceman Free to Play Release: 0:19

And its going to be a packed recap this week in the wake of what would have been E3 coming to a close so Let’s get started with some new and upcoming game announcements that came out these past two weeks! First off is the release of Unfortunate Spaceman, described as a “multiplayer game about space-based murder in space!” No but seriously, this is a new free to play game that features solo, co-op, and multiplayer in a hunt style game where one of the players in the match is the Monster. It’s off to a really positive start so go download it on Steam and check it out.

Ninjala Launches on Switch: 0:59

Another new game taking off this week – but on the Switch – is Ninjala. This free to play game is going all out, trying to create a colorful world with lots of lore and even its own anime. It’s all about finding the mightiest ninja, although all the battlers are kids – or adults changed into kids after eating gum? I don’t know about that, but it does have an 8 player battle royale, a team versus mode, and a story mode. Looks pretty interesting.

Blankos Block Party: 1:29

Meanwhile another colorful new game announced was Mythical’s debut free to play MMO, Blankos Block Party. In this game, the characters are collectable vinyl toys, and it’s designed to be like a virtual online block party. It’s full of obstacle courses, challenges, and many multiplayer activities, along with the ability to create your own world and customize your own character. Reminds me a bit of Trove without the whole voxel thing. We’ll have to see how it turns out when more is revealed.

Pokemon UNITE Reveal: 2:01

And finally for new free games… this week also brought with it the surprise announcement of Pokemon Unite, an upcoming free to start MOBA for Switch and mobile. Yeah you heard that right: Pokemon and MOBA in the same sentence. There isn’t much to know about this other than it’s a 5v5 battle where trainers work together to catch, level, and evolve pokemon and that it’s being co-developed with Tencent. It’s a unique idea for sure but not everyone’s happy about it. Let us know what you think in the comments.

CrossfireX Open Beta Announced: 2:35

Moving on to some other upcoming games, CrossFireX – the free to play Xbox spin-up of the original CrossFire FPS – is holding a free open beta this weekend from June 25th through June 28th. While it’ll lose some of the nuances of PC play, it may open up a whole new market and meta for classic FPS games on the Xbox. If you like the old school FPS model or just have fond memories of CrossFire on PC, you might want to give this a go.

New World: Combat, Crafting: 3:03

Meanwhile Amazon Game Studios has shown off its combat and crafting system for New World. Combat in the game is designed to be skill-based and utilizes all sorts of character and siege weapons – we’re pretty sure we saw a flame thrower and a gatling gun. Crafting looks like it also has some nice depth to it, and a sense of infinite progression rather than limited level cap growth. If you want to hear more of the details make sure to check out the links in the description below.

Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 4: 3:30

Shifting to updates for games already out, let’s kick off with the announcement of Phantasy Star Online’s next major update, Episode 4. Scheduled to come out this August, Episode 4 takes players back to Earth in its expansive storyline. It will also introduce the Battle Arena, Crafting, and raise the level cap to 80. PSO2 aims to have all six episodes released by the end of the year, putting it on an even level with the original Japanese version.

Heroes of the Storm: Mei Spotlight: 3:55

Over in Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard is introducing another new playable hero: Mei from Overwatch. Bringing a chilling set of skills to the Nexus, Mei is classified as a versatile tank. Her strengths are in crowd control, mobility, and survivability – though she’s poor at siege and burst damage. Mei is live now in Heroes of the Storm, alongside a new Nexus Anomaly and the start of the Nexomania II event.

World of Tanks Metal Wars Event Trailer: 4:20

And Wargaming is kicking off its Metal Wars event for World of Tanks this coming Monday, June 29. This two week global map event is available for all clans, and each battle will be played in a 15v15 in Tier 10 vehicles. During the event players can use the Workshop to build one Premium vehicle of their choice. Players and clans alike can earn fame points during this event to spend on additional rewards. If it’s your thing make sure to get ready for it to kick off next week.

Fortnite Chapter 2- Season 3 Splashdown: 4:51

Meanwhile Fortnite has kicked off Chapter 2, Season 3 – nicknamed Splashdown. Players will find the map flooded with water, sharks, and new marauders to defend against. You can even craft your own umbrella through challenges and the battle pass. Speaking of the Battle Pass – there’s even an Aquaman outfit to unlock. Love it or hate it you can at least admit that Fortnite tries to keep changing things up and keep it interesting.

Blade & Soul: Divine Break Trailer: 5:21

Blade and Soul also released a new update this week. Called “Divine Break” the update introduces the next chapter of the game’s epic story line, sending players into the depths of the Divine Realm. It also features the third specialization for Force Masters, granting them the way of Lightning. There’s also new cosmetic items and rewards for a few events ongoing in the next month.

Apex Legends Lost Treasures Collection Event: 5:44

Not to be left out, Apex Legends has kicked off a new Lost Treasures event this week. The limited time mode “Armed and Dangerous Evolved” is snipers, shotguns, and evo armor only. A new item, the Mobile Respawn beacon, lets you revive your fallen teammates on the field. A whole collection of 24 exclusive items awaits dedicated Legends.

Planetside 2: Return to Glory: 6:06

Planetside 2 is also trying to stay in action with the release of a brand new vehicle: the Colossus Heavy Tank. This bulky vehicle is a 5-seated combat platform with an activatable shield. It’s also capable of transforming into the Skylance Battery, an ultra-powerful ground-to-air vehicle that has a beam so powerful it can pass through vehicles. The update has also introduced Facility Modules, boosts that can be deployed by Outfits to grant region-wide benefits.

Vigor Season 4: Warlords: 6:39

Vigor has kicked off its fourth season, Warlords. The Warlords are Outlanders who have scavenged their weapons from previous conflicts, including two light machine guns and the Bugle F1 assault rifle. The season also introduces the Elimination mode, a five versus five team mode that drops the win to the team that either eliminates the other team or captures an objective. This is the first time Vigor is venturing into team based modes, so if it’s something you’re interested in, make sure to try it out and give the team feedback.

Legends of Runeterra: Season of Fortune: 7:08

The Season of Fortune has kicked off in Legends of Runeterra with update 1.4. The season includes a new mode, the Gauntlet, a limited-time mode available only Friday through Monday and featuring unique deckbuilding rules. The game’s master tier has also changed to rank based on LP instead of by MMR, hoping to make the ranking process clearer and less punishing on a single loss. Of course there’s also a bunch of changes and tweaks to keep the game balanced.

Ylands Update 1.3: Watery Water: 7:38

In other news, Ylands has launched its 1.3 update, titled very simply “Watery Water.” As you might have guessed, the main feature added with this update is all focused on water – from underwater exploration and resources to the ability to edit and shape water. The update also adds new animals to ride, from wolves to warthogs.

Warface: Operation Blackwood: 8:01

Meanwhile Warface has launched its Blackwood update on PC. Operation Blackwood offers players the chance to do special missions on the enemy side of the war, through special story missions, a new open location, challenging mechanics, and more. A new Blackwood Base map also arrives for Storm mode, plus new Blackwood themed weapons and much more.

World of Warships x Warhammer 40K OST Trailer: 8:23

And World of Warships is getting another interesting crossover… this time with Warhammer 40k! This special event bundle includes Tier 8 ships Ragnarok and Ignis Purgatio, Commanders Justinian Lyons XIII and Arthas Roqthar the Cold, plus plenty of special flags, patches, camos, and more. Fight for the Emperor or spill blood for the Blood God in a special series of combat missions for your chance to earn some of these rewards, but know that you can only choose one side.

SMITE: Avatar Battle Pass Revealed: 8:53

Another curious crossover to show up – is coming to SMITE. Next month, a new Battle Pass will unlock special crossover skins featuring characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Aang will become a skin for Merlin, while Zuko will become a skin for Susano and Korra and her pet Naga will become a skin for Skadi. There will also be an unlockable ward skins and an emote. This is a pretty unique crossover but it looks like the team behind SMITE has gone all-in to make it shine.

Bless Unleashed: The Saurin Deception: 9:26

Finally, Bless Unleashed has released its newest update, the Saurin Deception. This continues the storyline of Gideon and the Faceless, pitting players against the Saurin along the way. The update includes over 150 new quests, new unique class skills, new dungeons, new field bosses, and other major changes. This updates’ live now on Xbox One waiting for you to dive in.

Conqueror’s Blade Season IV: Blood of the Empire: 9:49

And in Conqueror’s Blade, Season IV: Blood of the Empire has been announced. This season focuses its theme around the Ottoman Empire and the history and culture of Turkey. It will introduce two new maps designed specifically for siege and field battles, and the battle pass will include over 100 levels of rewards, including season-exclusive cosmetics, Turkish-themed weapon skins, and more. You can look forward to this update arriving in July.

But with that being said, that’s about it for all the major news and announcements for this week. Be sure to stay safe, and keep your families healthy! Like always you can find more information on the news topics, linked in the description below, feel free to discuss the news or even more news in the comments below and don’t forget to like, subscribe, wash your hands a bunch, hit that little bell icon to get notifications and of course share this video! But until next time guys that’s going to be it for me… I’m JamesBl0nde… see ya out there gamers!