Gundam Evolution will shut down this November

By Tomas Franzese July 20, 2023

Bandai Namco’s free-to-play Gundam FPS Gundam Evolution will shut down service this November.

Announced and released last year, Gundam Evolution is a team-based FPS inspired by games like Overwatch where players fight against each other while also completing objectives in teams of six. Digital Trends enjoyed the game, with reviewer DeAngelo Epps giving it a three-and-a-half star review and writing “Gundam Evolution brings enough unique twists to make it a true contender in the team hero shooter genre.” Sadly, it doesn’t seem that the free-to-play game could attract many players, with Steam Charts showing its 24-hour player count being just 657 players.

“We wanted to create a title that brought FPS fans and Gundam fans together. We challenged ourselves to create an authentic Gundam FPS game that could be played globally. Unfortunately, we have determined that it is no longer possible for us to provide a service that satisfies our players,” executive producer Kazuya Maruyama wrote in a blog post about the shutdown on the game’s website. “We want to express our gratitude to everyone who has played the game and supported us to this point. At the same time, we would like to sincerely apologize to our fans and players.”

Service for Gundam Evolution will end at 5 p.m. PT on November 29, while the sale of in-game EVO Coins currency will stop at 6 p.m. on July 26. Bandai Namco isn’t offering any refunds for money spent on the game. At least Gundom Evolution actually has a bit of new content coming before it shuts down. On August 23, Season 6 of the game will begin and introduce one new unit and two new maps; then, on October 25, Season 7 will introduce Gundam Evolution’s final new unit and map.

Gundam Evolution is available for free across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S until November 29. It will not be playable after that date.

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Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R improves an already great fighting game

Jotaro Kujo stands before a battle in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R.

While Street Fighter 6 was the talk of the show floor at Summer Game Fest Play Days, another fighting game also managed to impress me at the event. That title was JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R, a fighting game based on the popular and heavily-memed anime and manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle was first released in Japan in 2013, scoring a rare perfect score from the popular Japanese outlet Famitsu. Anime fighting games vary wildly in quality, but this was considered one of the better ones thanks to its thoughtful and rewarding gameplay.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R continues that game's legacy as an enhanced remaster that does more than visually update the game and turn servers back. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R adds in new characters, voice acting, and gameplay tweaks that almost make it feel like a different game. In the years since the 2013 game this is based on came out, both JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and the fighting game genre got a lot more popular. Thankfully, my demo showed that this fighting game has only gotten better with age.
To be continued
Although JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R didn't get a remake-level visual overhaul, fans should still appreciate many of the graphical tweaks and just how pretty this game is. Even though I was playing a PS4, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R was one of the best-looking games at Summer Game Fest Play Days. The anime already has an extremely distinct art style and features a cast of overly-muscular characters, so it transitions to a fighting game almost perfectly. Pulling off special moves that you've seen in the manga and anime or calling out a stand yourself is super satisfying, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R will show them in all of their extremely detailed glory.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R - Early Access Demo
Even the voiceovers and character models got updates to match the voice acting and styles fans will remember from the anime. We don't get many video games based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, so it's nice to see this one put in extra care to respect the source material and improve upon the original release. That said, graphics will only get you so far in a fighting game. It's the gameplay mechanics that really ensure a fighting game lives or dies.
Thankfully, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R is a lot of fun to play.
The 2013 original was a 3D fighting game that plays more like Virtua Fighter than Jump Force. The standard attacks, combo, block, and dodge moves to be expected from fighting games are here, but characters can also summon their stands and basically get a second fighter to attack and zone with. Fights also have some other cute oddities, like having an assist character to strengthen some of your attacks or being able to taunt the other player when they are knocked down to take away some of their special meter gauges. That taunt feature specifically is not only hilarious but feels very JoJo and adds palpable benefits to what's usually just a visual gag in fighting games.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R does add a couple of new gameplay additions that players will definitely notice, including hit stops and jump dashes that give that game more competitive depth, as well as flash cancels that let players quickly cancel their current combo if they don't want to change their approach or the moves they are using

I didn't have enough time to kit out and learn combos and how to string them together, but I can clearly recognize just how these features will positively deepen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R's meta. With auto combos for new players and revitalized online play too, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R hopefully won't have a problem attracting new JoJo's Bizzare Adventure fans to this fighting game. Whether you enjoyed the original release or want to see what a good JoJo's Bizarre Adventure game looks like, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R should be on your radar. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on September 2. If you want to try it before then, a demo is available on PS4 and PS5 until June 21.

Gaming

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Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates walk through a forest in One Piece Odyssey.

During a special One Piece livestream, Bandai Namco Entertainment announced One Piece Odyssey, an expansive JRPG based on the long-running anime that will launch later this year.
The announcement trailer focuses on highlighting the game's world and putting a spotlight on many of the popular One Piece characters that the game will feature. "A storm, a shipwreck, a mysterious island," the trailer's description teases. "Expect the unexpected on your next adventure with the Straw Hats!"
One Piece Odyssey - Announcement Trailer
While we know that One Piece Odyssey will be a JRPG with quests, dungeons, and turn-based combat. A developer interview video shows some footage of Luffy exploring One Piece Odyssey's world and solving an environmental puzzle in a dungeon.
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A message from Oda also appears at the start of the announcement trailer, and he certainly seems quite excited about the project. "I thought to myself, wasn't it like three years ago when I designed the characters?!" he said, revealing how long One Piece Odyssey has been in development. "But when I actually saw the game ... wow! It felt like I was watching a movie! What incredible immersion."
One Piece Odyssey will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later in 2022.

Gaming

Elden Ring director says George R.R. Martin will be ‘shocked’

Malenia in Elden Ring putting her prosthetic arm on.

Developer FromSoftware has twisted Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin's lore for Elden Ring to the point where Martin "might be a bit shocked" when he sees what happens to some characters, says game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Miyazaki highlighted these changes in an interview with Game Informer for its Elden Ring cover story. Martin's name is closely tied to Elden Ring, but FromSoftware stressed previously that the author just came up with the backstory and lore for this world and let FromSoftware go wild from there in terms of writing dialogue and making the game.
ELDEN RING - Story Trailer
Miyazaki thinks FromSoftware's interpretation of this lore is not as focused on the human element as Martin was when he crafted Elden Ring's backstory.
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Martin previously stated on his blog that he finished working on Elden Ring years ago and has only been periodically shown updates and designs since then. Miyazaki's statements here back that up.
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Elden Ring will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on February 25, 2022.