Category: Game

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Fire Emblem Fates is one of the year’s most anticipated 3DS titles, with the Special Edition (which includes Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, Conquest and Revelation all on one cartridge, plus bonus goodies) selling out almost immediately everywhere online.
Above, watch us unbox our copy of that coveted Special Edition, including its unique box, hardcover art book, a New 3DS XL carrying bag (no doubt intended to match the Fire Emblem Fates-themed version of the New 3DS XL hardware, which does not include the game), and a strange, two-sided 3DS retail game box with the cover art of both games on each side of it. Weird!
Fire Emblem Fates comes out in North America on Feb. 19 for $39.99. For more Fire Emblem videos, check out our YouTube playlist with all our coverage of the game so far, and be sure to subscribe to Polygon on YouTube to be notified when our future Fire Emblem coverage hits.

The first non-Brit to host the series in 39 years The future of Top Gear at the BBC has been contemptuous, but it looks like the network has found a new friend to help smooth out the transition.
Matt LeBlanc, best known for his work on NBC’s Friends and Showtime’s Episodes, will join England’s Chris Evans in hosting the popular car show, the BBC announced on Thursday.
LeBlanc will be the first non-English host the show has had in 39 years and, according to the BBC, will be joined by other cast members that they’ll reveal shortly.
“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter," LeBlanc said in the press release. "What a thrill!"
LeBlanc joining the show may be exactly what the new Top Gear series needs following its calamitous history with former host Jeremy Clarkson.
Clarkson, one of Top Gear’s most notorious figures, was effectively fired from his position after he allegedly assaulted a BBC employee. Clarkson, who’d been a constant headache for the network following repeated racist comments and digs at other countries, then joined Amazon with former co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May to essentially recreate the show for the streaming service.
The BBC is hoping that with a string of new talent and a reformatted show, they can maintain the same massive numbers. Top Gear was one of the highest rated shows in the world for years and became a staple program for the BBC.
The biggest change for Top Gear is the type of presenter the show will now have. Both LeBlanc and Evans are known for their television personalities. They’re self-proclaimed "petrol-heads," but they’re not entrenched in the world of mechanics in the way Clarkson, May and especially Hammond were.
It’s seems like an attempt to make the show even more accessible to a casual audience and pick up a new batch of viewers that the original Top Gear may have neglected.
The new version of the show is set to debut sometime in May. Old episodes are available to stream on Netflix right now.

It’s time to make all of the memes Much like how Giphy helps track down the perfect gif to use in any scenario, the newly created Frinkiac will help users find the exact Simpsons screenshot they’ve been searching for.
The project, which was created by developers Sean Schultz, Allie Young and Paul Lehrer, allows users to input any quote from the show and find the matching screenshot.
Once the screenshot is found, users have the option to create a meme out of it. The quote is pasted onto the corresponding screenshot which can then be saved as an image file.
According to one of the developers, the Frinkiac is based on a system that “parses episodes and generates screen captures." He added that the search engine then tries to figure out which are the most relevant screenshots based on the quote being looked up.
The Frinkiac also gives users information on what episode and season the screenshot is from, as well as context for the quote in the shot.
As of right now, the search engine only allows users to look up screenshots from the first 15 seasons. The developers haven’t said if they plan on incorporating any of the more recent seasons.
For a more technical breakdown of how the search engine was built, check out their developers blog.

Hardware with a nice new coat of paint Sony is launching a limited edition Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End bundle alongside the game, the company announced today. Get a quick glimpse of the set’s primary focus — a PlayStation 4 console in a unique blueish gray color — in the trailer above.
Pre-orders for the Nathan Drake-adorned hardware, which comes with a matching DualShock 4 and the game itself, are now available. Both the bundle and Uncharted 4 itself arrive April 26, following a handful of delays. Take a look at Drake’s final outing below.

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Above, watch us play Fire Emblem Fates from the very beginning, including the opening cutscenes, character customization, tactical strategy gameplay and more.

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Here’s the thing: You probably shouldn’t use the NSFW video above to inform yourself about the gameplay loops of American Truck Simulator, the long haul driving game that’s topping the Steam charts this week. While, yes, Justin and I do achieve the basics of American Trucking, which is to say, taking jobs and driving cargo from Point A to Point B, a lot of really bad stuff happens in between.
Really though, isn’t that the reality of truck life? It’s all about the journey, and how many horrific collisions happen during said journey. In our case: about 400.

The channel’s first original mobile release Cartoon Network Studios has launched OK K.O.! Lakewood Turbo Plaza — its first original mobile game — for iOS and Android devices, the network announced today. Indie studio Double Stallion co-developed the title based on a concept by Steven Universe producer Ian Jones-Quartey and collaborator Toby Jones, storyboard director on Regular Show.
OK K.O.! Lakewood Turbo Plaza wears those influences proudly, combining the fantastical fights of Steven Universe with the offbeat humor of Regular Show. Cartoon Network, however, is dedicated to expanding the free mobile title (which has no microtransactions) into a game franchise, not an animated one.
Along with today’s launch, the company will host a game jam based upon Lakewood Turbo Plaza and its cast of superhero fighters. From Feb. 12-14, 200 indie designers will convene in Portland, Oregon to create prototypes of future games in the series. Cartoon Network stated in a press release that these builds will “inform future iterations of the property," with the winning team’s design becoming a full-fledged game.
While Cartoon Network is emphasizing its latest IP as a game first, Lakewood Turbo Plaza is also the subject of a series of animated shorts. These videos are animated by various studios, which Cartoon Network hosts on its website for viewing. You can watch the first of these shorts above.
Several of the cable channel’s animated series have translated to the gaming space in the past. We named Steven Universe: Attack the Light one of the best games for new iOS users, for example, and Adventure Time recently received its first virtual reality title.

The Wii U remaster is no straight port When The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess comes to Wii U next month, it will offer several new features, which Nintendo detailed in a press release today. The trailer above offers a quick look at the additions to the game.
Twilight Princess will boast a new set of high-definition graphics, as previously seen, but Nintendo confirmed that the game will also offer offscreen play on the GamePad.
Also unique to this version of Twilight Princess: Hero Mode, which ups the challenge by doubling all damage and eliminating heart drops. This more difficult option is available upon starting a new game.
Link will also have access to a new item, called the Ghost Lantern, which makes it easier to identify and collect ghastly souls for a certain quest. Link’s wallet has also been expanded to hold more rupees.
The game launches on March 4, and all physical copies come with a new Wolf Link and Midna amiibo. Amiibo add extra changes to Twilight Princess, such as access to new areas and, when using the Ganondorf figure, further increased difficulty. Nintendo notes that when using the Ganondorf amiibo in Hero Mode, Link will take quadruple damage.
Watch us play the HD edition of the game from the beginning to tide you over. For those who can’t get enough Twilight Princess, though, remember to check out the new manga adaptation, which begins its run next week.

Will explore her family’s past and future Family memories and a haunted past are the main themes that author Claudia Gray will explore in her upcoming novel, Star Wars: Bloodline.
Gray told USA Today that the events in the novel take place years before The Force Awakens and follow Leia’s transition from princess to general.
Leia will be a senator in Bloodline, and a large portion of the book will focus on helping the new generation of senators and lawmakers remember the importance of the Rebellion and the devastation the Empire caused. Gray said the book would take place decades after the fall of Darth Vader, at the height of a peaceful New Republic.
Gray also confirmed that Leia’s family would play a large part in the book and in the development of the senator. The author said that while the novel isn’t just about Leia as a mother or sister, there would be disastrous developments from within her own family. It’s a theme, Gray said, that would have “pretty far-reaching repercussions for several characters."
Star Wars: Bloodline is a direct follow-up to Star Wars: Aftermath, written by Chuck Wendig. Aftermath was released last year before The Force Awakens.
Bloodline will be released May 3, and an excerpt of the novel can be read on USA Today’s website. For more Star Wars reading material, check out this list Polygon put together of everything available right now.

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If you saw Hello Kitty’s Magic Apron on the Nintendo eShop, you probably wouldn’t think twice about it: just another budget children’s game, maybe with some light cooking elements, right?
Wrong. Hello Kitty’s Magic Apron combines the gameplay of Elite Beat Agents and Cooking Mama and sprinkles a heaping helping of recipes sung aloud in charmingly clumsy Vocaloid English. The resulting music, while often extremely catchy, can also be sometimes pretty harrowing. (We’re still thinking about that tempura song.)
Above, watch as we dive headfirst into everything Hello Kitty’s Magic Apron has to offer, and return as two changed individuals. Hello Kitty’s Magic Apron is available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for $19.99.