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Press Start: This is the end, again

By Owen S. Good
Owen S. Good is a longtime veteran of video games writing, well known for his coverage of sports and racing games.

It was a bad week for news of the fate of humanity. Not only is Fallout 4 going to set the world on fire again (we'll know when after E3), but also XCOM 2 was revealed (PC only!) depicting humanity in a subjugated condition 20 years after the events of the originals. Those bastards from outer space just won't give it up, will they?

Recapping the past week in news, the Gears of War franchise will now be made (or remastered) by an in-house Microsoft studio rebranding itself as "The Coalition." DC Comics trundled out its new lineup. The World Video Game Hall of Fame inducted its first class. 2K Sports confirmed what we'd known since late April: That Spike Lee is writing the role-playing mode in NBA 2K16 and that Steph Curry, appearing tonight in the NBA Finals, will grace one of its three covers. And Nintendo, not wanting to feel left out, tossed a "Nintendo Direct Micro" on everyone by surprise.

That's just a slice of the week that was in video gaming and pop culture. Below you will find some of the week's must-read stories, a mix of original reporting and long reads. Welcome to Press Start, a recap of the week in games and gaming culture to get you ready for the one ahead.

Last Week in Five Stories




  1. See how Fallout 4 will transform Boston's landmarks

    Rather than tell the world where Fallout 4 would be set, Bethesda showed us with a flurry of iconic Boston landmarks placed into the wasteland.

    fallout thumb




  2. FIFA 16's women need more to do, but playing Man City isn't the answer

    In the end, the addition of women's national teams to FIFA 16 still looks like it could have been a part of this series long ago, at least in time for fans of either gender to be playing along with the Women's World Cup. This is the one month out of four years when women's soccer is a mainstream event and even appointment television.





  3. Heroes of the Storm Review: Into the breach

    Blizzard has gone back to the drawing board, tinkering, removing elements, streamlining and simplifying a notoriously difficult-to-learn style of game. The result is something familiar to MOBA fans that new players might find more approachable. But in their efforts to make a faster, simpler game, Heroes of the Storm has introduced different challenges it doesn't manage as well.





  4. Minecraft saved my father's gaming life, and helped our relationship

    It’s now 2015, and Dad is a much different man than he was when I was clad in a Batman T-shirt and leggings sitting on his lap in our living room. He’s into reading sports news online and working on his wheelchair basketball technique. But there’s one very important thread that we do still share: Minecraft.





  5. The strange tale of my legal copy of the DJ Hero soundtrack, and why the PC is scary for record labels

    Harmonix is putting a PC version of the latest Rock Band game on the back burner, and one reason is the music industry's fear of piracy. Which brings us to the strange case of the DJ Hero soundtrack, and how I was able to rip what may be the only legal version of the soundtrack that doesn't exist on the game's disc.


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