Odds are a lot of you reading this probably didn't expect much, if anything, from the announced Nintendo Direct to be among the biggest stories of the week. Turns out there was actually a lot to be excited about, from Mario + Rabbids, to the curious case of the missing Ms. Pac-Man.
Elsewhere this week, Amazon has made some big casting decisions for its Fallout show, and we might have John Cena to thank for Metroid Dread. More on that and much more in this week's gaming news round-up.
Mario + Rabbids 2 Launching This October
Since the Nintendo Direct was bigger and better than most of us expected, that seems like the best place to start. Quite a few things vyed for the headline slot, but it arguably went to Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. The rumored sequel to the popular crossover game will launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2022. Its trailer also revealed Bowser will be joining the game's cast, and later in the week news broke that some of the video game world's most famous composers have been piecing together its soundtrack.
Pac-Man World Remake Is Missing Ms. Pac-Man
Another big reveal during the fast-paced Direct was Pac-Man World: Re-Pac – an unexpected remake of the 1999 PS1 game that took Pac-Man from the mazes he was known for, and put him into a platformer. Reactions to Re-Pac were mostly positive, but there is one element of the remake shown off in the trailer Pac-Man fans are up in arms about: the absence of Ms. Pac-Man. The ongoing legal issues surrounding the character mean Ms. Pac-Man has been replaced by Pac-Mom in the remake, and people aren't happy about it. It also appears to mean Bandai Namco has simply given up on trying to get the rights to use Ms. Pac-Man moving forward.
Amazon Begins Casting For Fallout
There are so many video games being turned into TV shows right now, it can be hard to keep track of which ones have been picked up and by what companies. Amazon's Fallout adaptation had fallen pretty far down the pecking order until this week when a number of the stars cast for the show were revealed. Kyle MacLachlan of Twin Peaks and Dune fame leads the charge. He'll be joined by Xelia Mendes-Jones who is set to appear in Netflix's Havoc alongside Tom Hardy, as well as Aaron Moten who is most known for his roles in Disjointed and Mozart in the Jungle.
An Unofficial Look At The PSVR2
PlayStation has been drip-feeding information about its upcoming PSVR2, presumably as and when that information is ready. Unfortunately for those in charge of that gradual reveal schedule for the console, indie studio BitPlanetGames got a bit ahead of itself this week. Someone at the studio shared a photo of a PSVR2 they have at the office, seemingly not realizing they were giving the world its very first glimpse at the headset and controllers in the wild. The photo was quickly taken down, but thanks to the permanence of the internet, it's still out there if you want to see it.
More Skate 4 Testing
EA kicked off 2022 by revealing Skate 4 would launch soon. Here we are at the halfway point of the year and still no word on when that soon will be. On the bright side, the news at the start of this week that EA would be running a second playtest for Skate 4 was confirmed to be true by the end of it. EA showed off some very rough alpha footage on Thursday, admitting the game needs work and asking for insiders to help shape its future. The next alpha test will take place later this month, and if you want to be a part of it you'll need to sign up to be an insider.
John Cena Is A Gamer
When someone unearthed the image of John Cena playing a Switch at Nintendo HQ from the console's launch, most thought it was to point out his camouflage shoes for the 1000th time. It was actually so Dan Ryckert, who formerly worked in WWE, could reveal Cena spent the entire time he was there nagging Nintendo to hurry up and make a new 2D Metroid game. The photo was taken in 2017, so four years before Dread would finally arrive. Nintendo reportedly sent Cena a copy of Dread when it launched last year, to which Cena's people replied, “John loves it.”
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