G4MANIC: News

Middle-earth: Shadow of War Reveals Shelob in Spectacular New Trailer

2017-07-23T05:56:14+00:00

Today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions hosted a panel at San Diego Comic-Con about their upcoming game Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and they just released a brand new trailer.

Incidentally, during the panel we also learned that The Walking Dead star Pollyanna McIntosh will play Shelob in the game.

The version of Shelob we get in Middle-earth: Shadow of War is certainly rather different from what Tolkien fans are used to. She appears in humanoid form to grant Talion a vision about his own destiny and the fate of the whole Middle-earth. That said, not everything may be as it seems, with Celebrimbor urging our hero not to trust her, mentioning that she is definitely not their ally.

Of course, we also see Shelob in her much more familiar – and definitely more terrifying – spider form, even if it remains to be seen what role she’ll really play in the story.

You can watch the trailer below (but if you’re affected by arachnophobia, maybe you shouldn’t), and if you want to see more of the game, you can check out the latest story trailer, another introducing the Nemesis Forge system, and our hands-on preview. At E3 2017, it won our staff-voted Game of Show award.

The game will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 10.

Monster Hunter Weapons Gameplay Trailer Leaks Online

2017-07-23T05:32:30+00:00

Someone decides to play a bit of Monster Hunter with weapons, and uploads a video online. Now that is my definition of a leak. Taking the weapons and using them to size the big predators down is certainly a thing.

This happened off-stage at the San Diego Comic Con, and was an unauthorized piece of recording, so it might be taken offline soon. Be sure to watch it while it’s still online!

Battlefield 1’s Latest Update Will Let You Try DLC Maps For Free

2017-07-23T03:10:33+00:00

Yesterday, DICE’s hugely popular World War 1 shooter Battlefield 1 received a new update alongside a brand new multiplayer map that’s free to all players.

The update, titled “Prise De Tahure,” adds premium trials, timed events that’ll allow players who don’t own the game’s premium pass to try new and upcoming maps. It’s very similar to premium friends, which allows you to party up and play with friends who already own the game’s premium pass or DLC. Unlocks and spawning in vehicles will be restricted to premium pass owners on the DLC maps during premium trials.

Alongside premium trials, the update is adding a slew of new changes to maps, modes, and UI with some other minor fixes to the overall game too.

Maps and modes:

Soissons: Adjusted Flag D capture area in Frontlines to improve map balance.
Nivelle Nights: Fixed a bug where the Out of Bounds grayscale screen-effect would sometimes fail to enable.
Nivelle Nights: Fixed an issue where field kits in sector five in a Rush game could be used before the sector was active.
Fort de Vaux: Players should no longer be able to get on top of the fort around the courtyard area.

UI fixes:

Fixed issue where the “Player-Created Content” option was grayed-out, unusable, and set to “Hide” after booting the title without a network connection.
Fixed the wrong transport driver chase camera caption in the controls UI.
The networking issues icons will not show up in Spectator Mode anymore.

Other fixes:

Updated the Map Voting system to exclude the previous map (as well as the current map) from the random selection pool to prevent the possible A-B-A-B map play pattern.
Game will now cancel matchmaking whenever backing out of the Operations globe screen. This to prevent a lingering blur state of the globe.
Synchronized damage taken effect to the actual shooter networked state. Previously it lead to out of sync effects where the shooter was not yet visible.
Fixed a rare client crash that could occur when a player joined late and a player just dropped/picked up a weapon.
Fixed a disconnect issue that could occur when loading a map.
Implemented a lenient latency setting where players are not penalized for having a higher ping.

Battlefield 1 also got a brand new nighttime map as well. “Prise De Tahure” puts players in the role of German and French soldiers in the Champagne-Ardennes region. This is the second free nighttime map this Summer, last month DICE released the first map “Nivelle Nights.”

Battlefield 1′s next upcoming DLC “In the Name of the Tsar“ will be available in September. It’ll bring players to the largest front of the war, Russia, and for the first time in Battlefield history, the game will add female soldiers into the mix as well.

Battlefield 1 is available now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Source: DICE

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Surpasses 5 Million Copies Sold

2017-07-21T15:11:47+00:00

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has surpassed 5 million copies sold on PC via Steam Early Access.

As you may know, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds launched back on March 23rd, in a month that saw numerous blockbuster releases and even the launch of Nintendo’s new piece of the hardware, the Switch. But that didn’t matter — as the last-man standing battle royale third-person shooter raced to 1 million copies within just a few weeks on the market. Then it hit two million. Then three million. Then 4 million. And now, a little less than four months since it launched, it passed the 5 million mark, making it easily one of the most successful games this year, a feat that I don’t think anybody saw coming.

Propelled by endless Gifs and tons of Twitch streaming, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds from PLAYERUNKNOWN aka Brendan Green (the creator of the Battle Royale game-mode in the ARMA series and H1Z1: King of the Hill) is on a pace of more than 1 million copies sold each month, and very well could hit 10 million by the end of the year if it continues this snowball momentum.

For those that don’t know: in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, players start with nothing and must fight to locate weapons and supplies in a battle to be the lone survivor.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available via Steam Early Access for $29.99 USD. It is scheduled to release later this year on PC and Xbox One, and eventually come to PS4 at an unknown date.

In other recent and related news, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds passed juggernaut GTA V in concurrent steam players.

Source: SteamSpy

Rare Devs Have Big Ambitions for AI in Sea of Thieves; Talk Physics & Programming Challenges

2017-07-21T04:40:27+00:00

After showing Sea of Thieves at E3 2017, the folks at Rare have gone back to working hard on the game to advance progress ahead of the scheduled early 2018 release window on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC.

As part of their Insider Programme, Rare began to organize regular AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on the Insider forums. The most recent one from a few days ago featured the programming team, which talked extensively about chief aspects of the game from AI to physics, map size, and more.

We’ve gathered some of the highlights below. Let’s start with AI – Rare boasted “big ambitions” for AI in Sea of Thieves and also stated that the current build AI’s lack of threat is intended and will be updated later.

We’ve got big ambitions about our AI and we definitely want to have other living things in the game other than just skeletons & sharks. I know there are a number of people here who would love us to spend some time on animals for the world. I mean, Fable had chickens, right?</P>

The current skeleton AI are just set as a base level so they provide somewhat of a challenge but don’t annoy players when exploring too much. As we add different quest types, progression etc, there will definitely be different challenges to take on.

When asked about the feasibility of improving the physics behind things like treasure chests, a Rare programmer said that this is a bit too expensive on the game’s performance at the moment, though it may happen in the future.

In terms of the performance of the game, updating physics objects is probably one of the most expensive things we do (the ship is one great big physics object containing lots of other little ones!). We did experiment with making the chest more realistic (and having it fall down cliffs and bounce around) but it’s a trade off between spending our precious CPU cycles on things like the chest, or allowing us to support more ships or other exciting things.

We are always looking at the performance side of things, so we’ll never rule anything out though!

Right now the spy glass isn’t in Sea of Thieves yet, and it sounds like there are a few technical challenges for Rare to overcome before it can be added.

Well, the spy glass is something we’d definitely love to have in the game, as it’s such an iconic pirate thing to have!

The spy glass is actually something of a technical challenge for us as it breaks our island streaming code, which currently works by only loading in islands that you are close to. This means that we only load in high detailed textures and models when we are really close to an island – and as you are inevitably sailing towards an island, we’ve got time to load it in by the time you get there. If you can whip out a telescope and see islands that are further away, it means we need to have more of these high-resolution assets loaded, which means we use up more memory (and we currently use a lot of memory).

So, it’s something we really want to do, but before we get to it we first need to make sure we’ve got our memory under control, and we give our island streaming code a bit of love and attention (which we are at the moment). So nothing to report right now, but hopefully we’ll have news soon.

Another Insider inquired about the rumored six-to-eight hour that would be necessary to sail from one end to the other of the world’s map. This was quickly debunked, but at the same time, Rare stated that the current map available in the Closed Alpha is not the final size.

The 6-8 hour thing isn’t anything we’ve ever said, I think that appeared in an article somewhere, but no-one here claims to have said it… The current map size is NOT the final map size, that much I can confirm. We will be growing. What’s critical to us is there’s loads of varied places to explore, and that you have time to explore, whilst still encountering other players & ships on their adventures too. We’ll keep balancing this and testing it in our Alpha as we move forward.

The game’s ship damage system could also become more complex soon.

Well, we’d definitely love to add much more damage to the game. Our Unity prototype tested out different forms damage (like the mast coming down) but we haven’t had a chance to prototype those things in Unreal yet. The actual damage tends to be the easy bit, but we need to make sure that the players can repair the ship afterward that brings the challenge. We don’t want to do any permanent damage to things like cannons until we have a method of refreshing your ship without sinking it first!

Obviously, as we start looking into more sea based AI, we may well need a more complex damage model.

Finally, Closed Alpha testers will be happy to learn that the developers have started working on a way to store items on the ship and they’re hopeful that this will be added soon.

Rare’s Executive Producer Joe Neate recently said that Sea of Thieves might just be the best thing the studio has ever done. Given the early 2018 planned launch, it’s fair to expect a beta test later this year, which should get the game in the hands of many more testers.

Dark and Light Comes to Early Access with a Launch Trailer and Some Dragons

2017-07-21T04:15:05+00:00

You MMORPG fans out there have been patiently waiting for this, and the time is finally upon us. Some may recall that Snail Games USA’s MMORPG Dark and Light was supposed to come to Steam Early Access in late 2016, but to allow for a little more time to perfect the project, the team decided to delay that release. However, the developer has now officially announced the game’s Early Access launch, and along with that, we’ve also gotten an action-packed trailer.

In the Early Access Launch Trailer, which you can see below, we are first greeted by Dark and Light‘s scenic vistas, but it quickly turns into something much more action-oriented. Goblins, golems, and yes, even dragons make an appearance in this trailer filled with combat and a splash of the game’s exploration and customization systems.

Snail Games USA has been working on Dark and Light for over twelve years now! A few months back, the game’s first gameplay trailer was released. It is now available as part of Steam’s Early Access program.

For more information, you can visit the game’s Steam page or the official website. The game is expected to make its full launch on Steam sometime in Q4 2017.

ARK: Survival Evolved Developers Re-Confirm No Server Wipes When it Leaves Early Access; Details Launch Plans

2017-07-20T09:38:15+00:00

Studio Wildcard is working hard on its open world survival game ARK: Survival Evolved as it nears its official release. The game is currently scheduled to leave early access on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on August 8, 2017. The game has come a long way since its initial early access release over two years ago. Today the studio re-confirmed that their will be no server wipes when the game officially launches. This is good news for those players that have poured hours and hours into the game, taming dinosaurs, building structures, and crafting weapons.

In addition to the re-confirmation of no server wipes, the studio also shared more information regarding servers and the upcoming Ragnarok content. When the game officially launches, it will keep its current legacy servers in addition to having a fresh cluster of network servers running new code and infrastructure designed to prevent cheaters and hackers. On launch day, Studio Wildcard will also offer private rentable dedicated servers on all platforms. These servers will come complete with all of ARKscustomer server config settings. Players will also be able to create a backup of server save files allowing players to try new things with their server without losing data. Lastly, the dedicated servers will allow up to 100 players.

The official community made mod, Ragnarok, will be making its console debut on August 8 when the game leaves early access. The massive map will be free for all players to download and features a new environment for players to explore. PC players, who have had Ragnarok for a while now can expect a large update this week that will feature new areas to explore and quality of life changes.

ARK: Survival Evolved is currently available in early access on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The game is scheduled to leave early access across all platform on August 8, 2017.

ARK: Survival Evolved Developers Re-Confirm No Server Wipes When it Leaves Early Access; Details Launch Plans

2017-07-20T09:38:15+00:00

VooFoo: XB1X Is Substantially More Powerful Than PS4 Pro and Developing for It Is a Breeze

2017-07-20T07:36:00+00:00

VooFoo Studios, the UK development team behind Mantis Burn Racing, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

We’ve taken the opportunity to interview them on their future projects and the continued support of Mantis Burn Racing. However, given that the game already runs at native 4K@60FPS on PlayStation 4 Pro, we were particularly curious about the technical enhancements they are planning for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox One X console as well as their overall opinion on the console after working on it. You can find VooFoo’s take on this topic below.

Yeah, it’s a pretty cool piece of kit. It’s substantially more powerful than the PS4 Pro, but the downside is that it comes with a price point to match. Whether that’ll put consumers off, we’ll have to wait and see, but this really is the most powerful games console on the planet. Microsoft are really throwing a lot more into the devkit itself too, really going that extra step to make development a breeze, which is great to see.

We did have to drop a few minor things on PS4 Pro, such as some of the particle effect detail, and lower precision shading (which actually, is not really noticeable). We can go the other way on Xbox One X, adding extra detail. We already scale both ways for a range of hardware specs on PC, so it’s relatively straightforward for us to take that over to console too. As an added extra, we’re throwing in some anti-aliasing on Xbox One X at 4K. We had to drop this on PS4 Pro – we were happy to do that because with pixels so small, a bit of aliasing isn’t a problem. But when we can do it, it adds a whole extra layer to the crispness and clarity of the image. It’s still early days yet, so we are looking at other areas we may be able to ramp up too – we have some interesting options here, but I don’t want to promise anything specific just yet.

It will be interesting to see just what kind of additional graphics improvements the developers will come up with. Check back tomorrow on Wccftech to read our full interview with VooFoo Studios!

Ubisoft Says Far Cry 5 Won’t Have Towers Or Mini-Map, And Here’s Why

2017-07-20T06:58:54+00:00

Far Cry 5 is on the horizon and we are trying to grab any new piece of information that we can get about the game. With this new game in Far Cry franchise Ubisoft is trying to recapture the excellence that they did with Far Cry 3, there are many changes being made in the game. And I think this game is going to be the the most unique Far Cry game in the franchise. In a recent interview with the lead writer Drew Holmes, he stated-

“We really wanted to focus on exploration with a sense of, ‘I’m not sure what to do or where to go’. The removal of the mini map was so you’re not staring at a little corner of your screen saying, ‘what’s new in the world?’ You’ve got to actually pay attention to the world and the art side is doing a good job of making sure there are good landmarks to orient yourself. That it becomes more [or] less the game guiding you on where to go, and more of you saying, ‘where do I want to go, what do I want to do today?’”

The mini map is going to be missed but we gladly welcome the changes and are excited to see how Ubisoft is going to handle these changes. He also stated-

“I think in Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4 you got into a rhythm of, ‘the only way that I can find out what to do in this area is to go climb a tower, hit a button and all of these things pop up.’ We really wanted to focus on exploration with a sense of, ‘I’m not sure what to do or where to go’.”

Ubisoft is trying to move away from the formula that they have used in every game since a long time like- Assassins Creed, Watch Dogs etc. This move might be a big step for Ubisoft as the formula they are using is tried and tested but the players got fatigued from it, now to explore an area we won’t be climbing a tower and pressing switches instead we’ll be just exploring.

“I think when you set a game in a more familiar setting like Montana, we wanted to compare it to, ‘what would I do in this situation? I’d have to go and try and meet some locals, see if they’d do anything. Or go to a town and see if there’s anything to do around there. So the goal really was to get rid of the towers as a way of forcing me to interact with the people, pay attention to my surroundings. And sort of intuitively figure out, ‘well, if there’s a town here, there’s a gas station down the road,’ so everything sort of feels like a believable world.”

This is the first Far Cry game that these changes are being made to and I think it is a welcome change and an overdue one, as after Far Cry 3 they haven’t added any new features to the game, all the games felt same after Far Cry 3 just with a different skin, Far Cry 4 was ‘Far Cry 3 in Himalayas’, Far Cry Primal was ‘Far Cry 3 in Stone Age’. Far Cry 5 is going to be something new.

Far Cry 5 releases on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 27th, 2018.

Citadel: Forged With Fire Gets Free Public Beta

2017-07-20T06:47:04+00:00

If you can’t wait to get your hands on Blue Isle Studios’ newest game, then you may in luck. Today the developer announced that its sandbox RPG Citadel: Forged With Fire will be getting an open beta, and will be available on Saturday, July 22nd, 2017, starting at 9:00 a.m. EDT (6:00 a.m. PDT). It will last until Sunday, July 23rd, 2017 at 12:00 a.m. EDT (July 22nd, 2017 at 9:00 p.m. PDT).

As of the time of this writing, it’s unknown exactly what content will be available during the beta, however it has been confirmed that any progress made will carry over into the full game. Players who want to sign up for the beta they can do so by clicking here.

You can check out a full list of features for the game below:

Tame Legendary Beasts: Tame or ward off Savage Orcs, Horses, Direwolves, Dragons and more.
Form Alliances and an Empire: Build your house, create a flag and establish a hierarchy as you prepare for war against other houses!
Explore a Massive Fantasy World: Visit Sweeping plains, dense forests, craggy mountains, festering swamps, a frozen tundra and more…
Study the Arcane Arts: Learn and master a wide range of powerful spells!
Want to Fly?: Use your Wizardly prowess to take to the skies using a broomstick, a dragon, an eagle or alchemy!
Build and Bash Epic Castles: Construct the castle of your dreams, use magic to enhance your fortress or take advantage of the dynamic destruction system and crush an opposing house.
Character Customization: Dress your Mage the way you want, with a limitless variety of clothing and weapon options!

A week ago Blue Isle Studios announced that PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game are in active development, however neither a release date nor window was revealed for these versions.

Citadel: Forged With Fire is set to hit Steam’s Early Access Program on July 26th, 2017, and will cost you $24.99. An official release date for the final version game has not been set.

New Call of Duty: WWII Zombies Teaser Emerges

2017-07-20T02:32:13+00:00

A 25-second teaser for Call of Duty: WWII‘s Nazi zombie mode has been re-tweeted by the official Call of Duty twitter today. The teaser is an extension of the game’s AR that YouTubers have been following over the past few weeks, the teasers may give us hints as to the upcoming mode’s setting.

The teaser was posted alongside the name of a town: “Mittelburg.” The video on to show a town, filmed in black and white, as the camera moves towards the gates of a mansion. As soon as the camera reaches the gates though, the camera shakes as if it were attacked and flips around.

There isn’t much to go on here, but the town is deserted and windows and doors are boarded up, as if the town had been abandoned, or to hold back the undead Fourth Reich. Mittelburg is the name of a real castle in Germany.

This video was found amidst Manila folders on the game’s hidden website. YouTuber NoahJ456 broadcast his findings via livestream and Twitter. Call of Duty’s Twitter account retweeted it as the build up to tomorrow’s reveal intensifies.

You can check out the teaser below.

Call of Duty: WWII‘s zombie mode will be getting a full reveal tomorrow at San Diego Comic Con. You can read our site for information on the leaked incomplete trailer “Army of the Dead,” as well as articles on the casting of David Tennant and others for the characters in the survival mode.

Mittelburg #WW2Zombies pic.twitter.com/7aniAUbJpk
— NoahJ456 (@NoahJ456) July 15, 2017

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WoW, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone & Heroes of the Storm will stop supporting Windows XP & Vista in October

2017-07-20T02:00:10+00:00

Blizzard has announced that it will end support for older operating systems this October. Going into more details, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm will stop supporting both Windows XP and Windows Vista in October.

Back in February, Blizzard hinted at dropping support for both Windows XP and Windows Vista in 2017. As such, owners of the aforementioned games will have to move on to a newer operating system in order to keep playing these titles.

As Blizzard claimed:

“The games will not run on these older operating systems once they are no longer supported, so we encourage any players who are still using one of the older OSes to upgrade to a newer version. We’ll be rolling out this change on a staggered schedule, and will post further notices as we get closer to making the change for each game.”

Forza Motorsport 7 will feature 700 cars, first 167 cars revealed

2017-07-19T00:45:22+00:00

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios have announced that Forza Motorsport 7 will feature more cars than any previous Forza game. According to the teams, there will be 700 cars to choose, and the first 167 cars have been officially unveiled.

Here is the full list of the first 167 cars:

2013 Ariel Atom 500 V8
2016 Ariel Nomad
1958 Aston Martin DBR1
1960 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato
1964 Aston Martin DB5
1977 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
1998 Aston Martin V8 Vantage V600
2006 Aston Martin #007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9
2008 Aston Martin DBS
2010 Aston Martin One-77
2012 Aston Martin V12 Zagato
2012 Aston Martin Vanquish
2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT12
2016 Aston Martin Vulcan
2017 Aston Martin DB11
2014 BAC Mono
1992 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport
2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
2013 Donkervoort D8 GTO
1948 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta
1952 Ferrari 375
1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial
1957 Ferrari 250 California
1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
1962 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
1963 Ferrari 250LM
1964 Ferrari F-158 F1
1967 Ferrari #24 Ferrari Spa 330 P4
1968 Ferrari 365 GTB/4
1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT
1971 Ferrari #2 Ferrari Automobili 312 P
1976 Ferrari #1 Scuderia Ferrari 312T2
1982 Ferrari #71 Ferrari France 512 BB/LM
1982 Ferrari #72 N.A.R.T. 512 BB/LM
1984 Ferrari 288 GTO
1987 Ferrari F40
1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione
1990 Ferrari #1 Scuderia Ferrari 641
1992 Ferrari 512 TR
1994 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta
1995 Ferrari F50
1996 Ferrari F50 GT
1998 Ferrari #12 Risi Competizione F333 SP
1998 Ferrari #30 MOMO Doran Racing F333 SP
2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello
2002 Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
2003 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale
2004 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
2008 Ferrari California
2009 Ferrari 458 Italia
2010 Ferrari 599 GTO
2010 Ferrari 599XX
2011 Ferrari #62 Risi Competizione 458 Italia GTC
2011 Ferrari FF
2012 Ferrari F12berlinetta
2013 Ferrari 458 Speciale
2013 Ferrari LaFerrari
2014 Ferrari #51 AF Corse 458 Italia GTE
2014 Ferrari #62 Risi Competizione 458 Italia GTLM
2014 Ferrari California T
2014 Ferrari FXX K
2015 Ferrari 488 GTB
2015 Ferrari F12tdf
2012 Hennessey Venom GT
2011 Koenigsegg Agera
2015 Koenigsegg One:1
2016 Koenigsegg Regera
2013 KTM X-Bow R
1967 Lamborghini Miura P400
1986 Lamborghini LM 002
1988 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV
1988 Lamborghini Jalpa
1997 Lamborghini Diablo SV
2008 Lamborghini Reventón
2010 Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV
2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera
2011 Lamborghini Sesto Elemento
2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4
2013 Lamborghini Veneno
2014 Lamborghini #14 GMG Racing LP 570-4 Super Trofeo
2014 Lamborghini #18 DragonSpeed Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo
2014 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4
2014 Lamborghini Urus
2015 Lamborghini #63 Squadra Corse Huracán LP620-2 Super Trofeo
2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV
2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4
1956 Lotus Eleven
1966 Ford Lotus Cortina
1967 Lotus Type 49
1971 Lotus Elan Sprint
1976 Lotus #5 Team Lotus 77
1990 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
1999 Lotus Elise Series 1 Sport 190
2000 Lotus 340R
2002 Lotus Esprit V8
2005 Lotus Elise 111S
2009 Lotus 2-Eleven
2011 Lotus Evora S
2012 Lotus Exige S
2016 Lotus 3-Eleven
1939 Maserati 8CTF
1953 Maserati A6GCS/53 Pininfarina Berlinetta
1957 Maserati 300 S
1961 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage
1997 Maserati Ghibli Cup
2004 Maserati MC12
2010 Maserati Gran Turismo S
2014 Maserati #35 M.Calamia Swiss Team MC Trofeo
2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4
1966 McLaren M2B
1969 McLaren #4 McLaren Cars M8B
1976 McLaren #11 Team McLaren M23
1988 McLaren #12 Honda McLaren MP4/4
1993 McLaren F1
1997 McLaren F1 GT
2011 McLaren #59 McLaren GT 12C GT3
2011 McLaren 12C
2013 McLaren P1
2014 McLaren #60 Bhaitech 12C GT3
2015 McLaren 570S Coupé
2015 McLaren 650S Coupe
2015 McLaren P1 GTR
2010 Noble M600
2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster
2010 Pagani Zonda R
2012 Pagani Huayra
2016 Pagani Huayra BC
1955 Porsche 550A Spyder
1957 Porsche 356A Speedster
1960 Porsche 718 RS 60
1970 Porsche 914/6
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
1982 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3
1987 Porsche #17 Porsche AG 962C
1987 Porsche #17 Porsche Dunlop 962C
1987 Porsche 959
1989 Porsche 944 Turbo
1993 Porsche 928 GTS
1995 Porsche 911 GT2
1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion
2003 Porsche Carrera GT
2004 Porsche 911 GT3 (996)
2008 Porsche #7 Penske Racing RS Spyder Evo
2011 Porsche #45 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR
2012 Porsche 911 GT2 RS
2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0
2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo
2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S
2014 Porsche 918 Spyder
2015 Porsche #19 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid
2015 Porsche Macan Turbo
2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
2016 Porsche Cayman GT4
2017 Porsche #1 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid
2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo
2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS
2011 Radical SR8 RX
2015 Radical RXC Turbo
2004 Saleen S7
2016 Spania GTA GTA Spano
2005 TVR Sagaris
2015 Ultima Evolution Coupe 1020
2016 W Motors Lykan HyperSport
2016 Zenvo TS1

Forza Motorsport 7 will feature the largest collection of Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini models available in any racing game, as well as over 30 famous environments with dynamic conditions that change every time you race.

The game is currently planned for an October 3rd release!

Titanfall 2 Getting 4-Player Co-Op Horde Mode for Free With Frontier Defense

2017-07-19T00:21:18+00:00

Today Respawn Entertainment announced that its first person shooter Titanfall 2 is getting a co-op horde mode in which four players will fight against waves of AI opponents.

The mode, titled Frontier Defense, will be part of the upcoming and aptly-named Operation Frontier Shield DLC, that will launch on July 25th for free.

The mode will include the following features:

Co-op 4 player mode.
Defend your Harvester against 5 waves of increasingly difficult enemies.
Earn cash for defeating enemies that you can spend in between waves to purchase tools like Batteries, Arc Traps, Sentries, and more.
Choose from Easy / Regular / Hard / Master difficulty.
There will be an Insane difficulty as well that will exist in a separate tile as a Featured Mode.
New Titan Progression – ‘Aegis Ranks’
- Earn Aegis Ranks by completing matches of Frontier Defense. Aegis Ranks can unlock powerful upgrades for your Titans, helping you succeed at higher difficulty levels. For now these Ranks will only apply to Frontier Defense.
New, challenging enemy types to battle.
5 maps supported at launch
- Homestead
- Forwardbase Kodai
- War Games
- Rise
- Blackwater Canal
- We are currently testing additional maps and will add more in future
More of Frontier Defense will be shown in an upcoming tutorial video around launch.

On top of the mode, we’ll get a new map named Rise and a new live fire map titled Township.

Since Electronic Arts has to make money one way or another, the update also introduces purchasable content in the form of Elite Warpaints for weapons and titans. Not only they change the looks of your equipment, but they also provide a merit boost for the owner and his team, and an XP boost only for the owner. You probably noticed that I said “owner,” and that’s because you don’t need to equip them to get the bonuses. All you need is to own them.

The weapon skins, that you can see in the gallery below, can also be purchased in bundle until August 28th, but of course you can get each of them separately. Titan skins are limited edition, also on sale until August 28th, and provide a stackable XP boost for the whole team in Frontier Defense. Interestingly, a part of the skins on the shoulder will upgrade when you complete each difficulty in the new mode.

CROSSOUT – Latest update adds two new game modes and support for NVIDIA’s HBAO+

2017-07-18T14:21:00+00:00

Targem Games and Gaijin Entertainment have released a new major update for Crossout, the popular vehicular action MMOG that has attracted a staggering three million players in its first month alone. This update adds two new game modes; Big Black Scorpions, an acrobatic deathmatch for swift players with fast reflexes, and Clan Wars, which sees organized survivors fight for territorial control over the planet’s rarest resources.

Further additions include improved visuals through Nvidia’s HBAO+ technology, a new map and the ability for players to become flag-bearers in battle. Thanks to NVIDIA’s HBAO+ tech, shadows now cast by objects and scenery have become far more detailed and life-like, significantly adding to the ambience and immersion of the game.

Crossout’s newest Brawl Mode (all game modes outside regular battles) is called Big Black Scorpions. In this battle royale game mode, players ride on the Black Scorpion, a fast and nimble buggy that is equipped with the Scorpion Pulse Accelerator. This relic weapon is capable of taking out a Black Scorpion with a single hit, however it has a long recharge time Each Black Scorpion is also equipped with a set of vertical thrusters, giving it unprecedented mobility in the arena.

On the other hand, Clan Wars is Crossout’s main game mode for organized competitive gameplay. To participate, players have to join or form an in-game clan and select the most fearsome warriors from their midst to represent them on the destroyed world’s most contested battlefields. Based on their weekly performance, all members of the most successful clans receive their rightful share of Uranium, a very rare resource used to craft the most powerful equipment, such as the Flamethrower, and thus an extremely valuable commodity on the in-game market.

Weather and Time Will Change Gameplay in Days Gone

2017-07-18T13:56:40+00:00

The weather and time of day will have tangible effects on gameplay in Sony Bend’s upcoming open-world zombie game Days Gone.

This latest revelation comes to light through the recent release of the behind-doors alternate-path playthrough of the game’s on-stage E3 presentation (embedded below). Compared with the daylight scenario of the original showing, the new trailer takes place in a snowy setting as night falls, providing an opportunity to show how such minor, apparently cosmetic changes can result in appreciable differences in the gameplay.

In the new demonstration, the player is able to see the Marauders setting the clothesline trap from the original demo, and therefore get the jump on his adversaries before heading deeper into the camp. The commentary by Days Gone’s Creative Director John Garvin and voice actor Sam Witwer goes further than the visuals in explaining that cold makes the zombies (Freakers in the game) stronger, while rainy weather and night time brings out more of them, as well as altering the behavioural patterns of the Marauders to ensure a highly dynamic experience.

The new video also shows off a number of elements that were less clear in the original demo, such as main character Deacon’s “Survival Vision,” which lets him track enemies, and his ability to craft items on the fly. Finally, the player takes a very different approach in tackling the Marauder camp here, going in with a frontal assault, rather than using the Freakers as in the first demonstration. Garvin explains that these are just two approaches that players can take to overcome the same situation, with other options being a stealth-based infiltration or a long-distance sniping mission.

Days Gone does not currently have a release date, though is expected to release exclusively on PlayStation 4 some time in 2018.

BattleTech Will Offer Strategic Depth of the Tabletop Game

2017-07-18T10:53:30+00:00

The upcoming adaptation of the classic mech-based tabletop wargame BattleTech will capture the considerable depth of the original title, according to director Jordan Weisman.

Speaking to Gamasutra recently, Weisman said that a desire to go beyond the tactical limitations of real-time combat was a core reason for the team at Harebrained Schemes to create a turn-based strategy game based on the franchise. “BattleTech has always been a squad… based game. While we were able to reflect this in the MechCommander games, we could not model the mechs, their interactions, and their MechWarrior pilots in as great a depth as we can in this turn based game,” he said.

The shift in approach allows the developer to implement a range of mechanics that separate BattleTech from previous franchise entries as well as other turn-based strategy games. One key feature is the kind of damage the mechs can take. Weisman says that a strong enough impact can stun or wound pilots, thus affecting their combat ability, while damage done to particular limbs can disable the attached equipment, putting the mech in a very vulnerable position.

Despite the presence of these variables, the true tactical heart of BattleTech is the three factors of heat, stability, and melee. Heat is a constant concern, as every move a mech makes will increase the temperature and bring the unit closer to a fail-safe shutdown, rendering it inoperable and indefensible for a time. Stability is affected by a number of variables, the most important of which is melee strikes, which can easily topple a mech, creating an easy kill for opposing forces.

Most of these elements are drawn from the tabletop game, though the developers have previously said that BattleTech will not use the original’s ruleset, ensuring the game remains a unique experience among both its predecessors and rivals.

BattleTech is the latest project from Harebrained Schemes, the developer behind ShadowRun Returns. The game is currently scheduled for release on PC some time in 2017, and received a first trailer earlier this year.

The Evil Within 2 Will Run at 4K and Be Xbox One X Enhanced

2017-07-18T08:08:00+00:00

Thanks to a Xbox’s listing, we now have confirmation that Tango Gameworks and Bethesda’s upcoming third-person survival horror game, The Evil Within 2, will be Xbox One X enhanced and come packing HDR support, and run at 4K.

Unfortunately the listing provides no information whether or not the game will be native 4K or upscaled. Usually when native 4K isn’t specified that is a indication that it isn’t, but rather is upscaled.

The listing also confirms 4K compatibility for PC, but being an Xbox listing it obviously doesn’t confirm said compatibility for PS4 Pro, though it’s safe to assume if the game will support 4K on Xbox One X it will support it on Sony’s own supped-up console.

Now, how much Tango Gameworks will take advantage of Xbox One X’s increase in power has not been divulged. If those details are revealed, it will likely be closer to launch when such things are more finalized.

The Evil Within 2 is set to release on October 13th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC at the standard AAA price-point of $59.99 USD. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the game’s E3 2017 announcement trailer and its first batch of screenshots.

For those that don’t know, in The Evil Within 2 you once again step into the shoes of Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who must enter a world filled with nightmares to save his daughter and discover the dark origins of a once-idyllic town to bring her back.

Ballistic Overkill Gets New Update that Significantly Improves Player Matchmaking

2017-07-18T07:55:39+00:00

Aquiris Game Studio released a new update today for its fast paced PvP shooter Ballistic Overkill. The latest update brings improvements to player matchmaking, auto balancing in matches, and some balance changes to some of the classes.

In the latest update, which is currently available to download, the developers have completely reworked and improved the way player matchmaking is handled in Ballistic Overkill. Previously, the game usually had servers that were either too empty or almost full. I remember countless times when I would be placed in a lobby of 2v2 or even 1v1. That’s not the most fun way to enjoy a team based first person shooter. However, with the latest update, players will experience much smoother matchmaking in terms of player lobbies but also in regards to player region and latency. The wait time for a match may be a little longer, but the wait will definitely be worth it in the end. If the game doesn’t find a good server in 2 minutes then it will place you in a more crowded server while still aiming for best ping and occupancy.

Additionally, the update is also bringing back its auto balance feature. Now when a match ends the game will redistribute players so that the top players on each team aren’t playing on the same team time and time again. While this eliminates the ability to choose the team you want to be on, it should help out with team balance.

Ballistic Overkill is currently available on PC via Steam for $11.99.

Ashes of Creation Gets New Trailer Showing Gorgeous Environments

2017-07-18T06:01:45+00:00

Today Intrepid Studios released a new trailer of its upcoming MMORPG Ashes of Creation.

A pre-alpha version of the game will be playable at PAX West in September, and today’s trailer shows exactly that, with multiple absolutely beautiful environments for attendees to enjoy.

Ashes of Creation is an open world MMORPG promising an ever-changing world via player-driven economy and settlements, somewhat reminiscent of the ideas that we saw in the now defunct EverQuest Next project.

It appears to be certainly an ambitious game, and it was funded on Kickstarter, gathering a whopping $3,271,809 pledged by 19,576 backers. The team launched the campaign with a solid prototype to show, and this demonstrated that while miracle Kickstarters like the one of the initial pioneering years are quite rare nowadays, coming to it with something tangible to show goes a long way to be successful. The folks at Intrepid asked only fora $750,000 goal, but more than quadrupled it, unlocking every single stretch goal.

You can check out the trailer below, and if you want to see more, you can watch a beautiful gameplay video showing different seasons, a trailer showcasing the freehold settlements and more gameplay giving a look on playable monsters.

The game has an estimated release on PC in December 2018.

Super Mario 64 Maker lets you create your own levels in Super Mario 64, available now for download

2017-07-18T03:41:37+00:00

We rarely post stories about retro (or at least somehow old consoles), however this is a really special case. Kaze Emanuar has created a romhack via which players can create their own levels in Super Mario 64, called Super Mario 64 Maker. As said, this is a romhack, meaning that you will need a N64 emulator.

Kaze suggests using the N64 controller in order to create the new custom levels in this romhack as it’s easiest to just intuitively feel the controls, and especially given the fact that every button does something.

We are pretty sure that this is a dream come true for a lot of Super Mario fans, so we strongly suggest downloading it while you still can. Nintendo may take it down, though we haven’t seen the big N take down other similar projects.

As Kaze noted, this is the first version of the Super Mario 64 Maker and as you’d expect, it comes with a number of bugs. Kaze suggested making a savestate every 5 minutes in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Those interested can download this romhack from here.

Have fun!

Ataribox retro mini-console plays current and classic games

2017-07-18T01:55:00+00:00

Atari, in the hope of emulating the success of Nintendo's Mini NES and Mini SNES, has unveiled the Ataribox—a modern console inspired by the legendary Atari 2600, which was first released in 1977.

While technical details on the Ataribox are slim, Atari—or at least, the company that now goes by the Atari name after the original Atari went bankrupt in 2013—has revealed that the console will come in both red/black and wood editions, the latter paying homage to the 1977 original.

Atari, in a newsletter to fans, promised that the Ataribox will feature SD card support, an HDMI port, and four USB ports (the teaser image also shows an Ethernet port). In a deviation from the emulation-based retro games of the Mini NES and SNES, it added that the Ataribox will play "classic" and "current" games.

"As you can guess," Atari said, "those ports suggest modern internal specs." Whether that means the Ataribox will play modern PC games—in which case, it won't be cheap—or modern mobile games is anyone's guess.

Information on pricing, release dates, game content, or even full specs aren't on the cards right now. "We know you are hungry for more details; on specs, games, pricing, timing," the company said. "We're not teasing you intentionally; we want to get this right, so we've opted to share things step by step as we bring this to life, and to listen closely to the Atari community feedback as we do so."

Creating a console that plays both retro games and more modern titles, even if they only turn out to be Android-based, is certainly a ballsy move given the failure of most microconsoles. The Mini NES succeeded, in part, due to its simplicity and cheap price, both of which would be difficult in a more capable console.

Atari's last official console—the ill-fated Atari Jaguar—was marketed as the first 64-bit console at a time when consoles had only just gone 32-bit. Unfortunately, the extra horsepower wasn't enough to shift units—the company reportedly only sold a few hundred thousand.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has sold 2.3 million Mini NES consoles, with demand to spare before it was taken off the market earlier this year. Nintendo has promised to make more units of its follow up, the Mini SNES, although launch day pre-orders have long since sold out. Supply fears have led to a 150-percent markup on online auction sites like eBay.

Playerunknown’s Battleground is the 4th game with the highest peak player count on Steam, closes to 5 million units

2017-07-18T00:25:42+00:00

Playerunknown’s Battleground appears to be a huge success on the PC. According to Steamcharts, Bluehole’s battle-royale title has managed to top Grand Theft Auto V and has climbed in the 4th place of Steam’s games with the highest peak player count of all time. Not only that, but according to Steamspy, the game closes to 5 million sold copies, even though it’s still in its Early Access program.

From the looks of it, Playerunknown’s Battleground may be also able to surpass Fallout 4 and reach the third place. Back in November 2015, Fallout 4 had almost 472K concurrent players. Playerunknown’s Battleground currently has 382K concurrent players and this number will obviously increase once the game nears its full release.

Naturally, we don’t expect Bluehole’s title to come close to DOTA 2 that peaked 1.2 million concurrent players in March 2016 or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that peaked 850K concurrent players in April 2016. Still, it’s amazing what Bluehole has managed to achieve, so kudos to the team!

Beautiful Doom 6.2.0 is now available, improves visuals, adds new blood effects & new BFG9000 attack

2017-07-17T07:13:00+00:00

Modder ‘Jekyll_Grim_Payne’ has released a new version of his amazing Beautiful Doom mod for the original Doom games. This mod is basically the grandfather of other popular mods, like Brutal Doom, and was originally released back in 2008.

This mod aims to improve each and every single object in Doom, making them smoother, more impressive visually and having better sounds while retaining vanilla gameplay. As such, players will witness new smoke effects, casings, debris, hugely enhanced gibbing system, and smooth weapon animations.

In Beautiful Doom 6.2.0, Jekyll_Grim_Payne has added some new blood effects. Blood can now spray on the ceiling and slowly drip down in nicely-animated blood drops, it can form proper pools, and players can leave bloody footprints (similar to those found in Duke Nukem 3D). Furthermore, the code and behavior of blood has generally been improved and made more consistent, and decorative blood looks now much better.

Jekyll_Grim_Payne has also improved Arch-Vile’s resurrection, making it much cooler on gibbed monsters as gibs now don’t just disappear but move towards the place of resurrection.

Last but not least, the modder has added a new alternative attack to the BFG, and improved its main attack with more consistent lighting and green sparks.

Those interested can download the latest version of the Beautiful Doom mod from here. Do note that this mod is only compatible with GZDoom.

Enjoy!

There is a new fan-made CRYENGINE-powered Jurassic Park game under development, first screenshots

2017-07-17T04:47:00+00:00

Hold on to your butts everyone, there is a new fan-made Jurassic Park game under development. This new Jurassic Park game is being developed by Lifelesstapir and will be powered by CRYENGINE. And from the looks of it, this will be walking simulator and will not feature any dinosaurs.

Now we’ve seen many Jurassic Park projects cancelled or shut down, so we are a bit sceptic whether this new JP fan game will ever see the light of day. According to Lifelesstapir, players will take the role of a new employee in Jurassic Park while the park is closed. Players will explore the park in the year 1996, and the 1993 incident (in other words, the movie) did not ever happen.

To his credit, Lifelesstapir has created numerous scenes from Jurassic Park. Below you can find a lot of screenshots showcasing these areas (from open-world areas to close quarters). Furthermore, Lifelesstapir released a video showing the jeep that will be featured in it.

Lifelesstapir has not revealed whether there will be dinosaurs or not but from the sounds of it, there won’t be any. This will obviously disappoint some, however this makes us a little bit optimistic about its future. After all, most other JP fan teams had major difficulties animating and creating the dinosaurs.

Enjoy the screenshots and let’s hope that Lifelesstapir will one day release this project to the public!

AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition runs PREY & ROTTR significantly slower than the NVIDIA GTX1080

2017-07-17T04:37:11+00:00

DudeRandom84 has benched the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition in PREY and Rise of the Tomb Raider, and shared his results (which are really interesting). PREY is a title that AMD chose to showcase its RX Vega GPU at Computex 2017, however it appears that AMD’s latest graphics is running this game noticeably slower than NVIDIA’s default GTX1080 GPU.

Now we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition is primarily meant for workstation users, and not for gamers/enthusiasts. Still, these results will give you an idea of what you can expect from the RX Vega. Because let’s be realistic here: while the RX Vega will be faster in games that the Vega Frontier Edition, it won’t offer a 40% performance boost (and if you are expecting something like that, we strongly suggest lowering your expectations).

As we can see, at 1440p and with all graphics settings set at their max values, the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition runs PREY with almost 10fps slower than the NVIDIA GTX1080, and with almost 40fps slower than the NVIDIA GTX1080Ti. There are some scenes during which the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition comes a bit closer to the NVIDIA GTX1080 (performance difference at only 4-5fps), and there was only one scene in which the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier could top the NVIDIA GTX1080.

Rise of the Tomb Raider ran similarly to PREY. At 1440p on Very High settings (but without Purehair), the game ran faster on NVIDIA’s hardware. For the most part, the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition performed slower by around 10fps than the NVIDIA GTX1080, and by almost 30fps than the NVIDIA GTX1080Ti. As with PREY, there were some scenes in which the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition was able to come close to the NVIDIA GTX1080.

AMD will officially release its RX Vega graphics cards at the end of July, so it will be interesting to see the performance difference between the workstation and the gaming variants of the VEGA architecture. As we’ve already said, our guess is that RX Vega will perform somewhere between the NVIDIA GTX1080 and the NVIDIA GTX1080Ti, and from the looks of it this is what AMD fans should – realistically – expect.

Enjoy!

THE BEST ALL-AROUND GRAPHICS CARDS

2017-07-16T07:08:00+00:00

We realize the mining craze has caused significant disruption to the GPU market, with many GPUs either out of stock or priced well above MSRP. We are not factoring these conditions into our recommendations, but leaving them as-is based on MSRP with the hope that things will soon return to normal. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use. Last updated: JULY 10, 2017.

When we're old and sitting in our rocking chairs on the porch we'll look back fondly on the years 2016 and 2017, wipe a tear from our eye, and regale our grandkids about the move to 14nm and 16nm FinFET GPUs. "Your granddad had 100fps at 1440p," we'll tell our grandkids as they ignore us while ensconced in their 32k VR simulations. They won't understand, of course, how amazing the year 2016 was in terms of GPU advancements, but it can't be understated. Not only did we finally move from 28nm planar transistors all the way down to 14/16nm 3D FinFET, but the accompanying performance boost from one generation to the next was one of the largest ever recorded in modern times. Instead of the typical 10 to 20 percent boosts we experience going from one generation of silicon to the next, we saw a 60 to 80 percent boost. Frame rates skyrocketed, 4k gaming became viable with a single GPU, and laptops were able to sport desktop-class graphics for the first time due to improvements in efficiency as well. It was (and still is) a great time to be alive, indeed.

Insane resellers aside, it's never been a better time to be in the market for a GPU. But which one is the best? We've done all the benchmarking, testing, and research so you don't have to. These are the best GPUs for gaming, no matter your budget or price-range:

Best High-End GPU

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 w/ICX

We haven't tested all of the GTX 1080 Ti GPUs available, yet, but of the three we've tested so far the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with ICX is our favorite due to its stellar performance and reasonable price of just $729 (if you can find it in stock, that is). The SC2 has been improved from the previous model by adding a new technology called ICX, which is the addition of nine extra sensors to measure temperatures all over the GPU instead of just on the die. This allows the dual fans to perform the task of keeping the card frosty more efficiently, and in our testing the card was always quiet and never rose above 72C. It also has pretty slick RGB lighting too.

The mining craze has put a strain on supply for these GPUs, but if you're vigilant you can still pick one up for MSRP.

See it on Amazon

The Best Overall GPU

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 (Non Founder's Edition)

The launch of the GTX 1080 Ti caused Nvidia to lower the price of its little brother, the GTX 1080, by roughly $100, making it an even better deal than it was previously. Even though it's fallen from the top perch of the GPU world the GTX 1080 is still one heck of a GPU, and is totally capable of 4k gaming, VR, and pretty much anything else you can throw at it. Though we originally reviewed the Founder's Edition, which is essentially the "reference" version of the card despite its fancy name, there's no reason to buy it over cards from Nvidia's partners (Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA, MSI, etc.) since they are just as powerful (if not more so in many cases), offer better cooling, and are less expensive.

The GTX 1080 is available from a variety of manufacturers. Below are some of the best current options:

EVGA FTW Gaming / EVGA FTW Gaming UK

Asus ROG Strix RGB / Asus ROG Strix RGB UK

MSI Gaming X 8G / MSI Gaming X 8G UK

Zotac Amp! Edition / Zotac Amp! Edition UK

Gigabyte G1 Gaming / Gigabyte G1 Gaming UK

Best Bang for the Buck GPU

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (Non Founder's Edition)

This is another category that is uncontested, and is occupied by the beastly GeForce GTX 1070. It wins in this category because it's only 20 percent slower than the GTX 1080 and costs 50 percent less, making it a much better deal overall than the GTX 1080. Despite its second-billing status, it's still powerful enough to run AAA titles at 60fps at 2560x1440, so what more do you really need? If your monitor is 1920x1080 it'll hit over 100 frames per second in most games too, making it the perfect GPU to pair with one of those sweet 144Hz panels.

Though we reviewed the Founder's Edition, a.k.a. reference version of this card, we are applying the same purchasing logic we used with the GTX 1080 in that there's no reason to buy Nvidia's version, as the models from Nvidia's partners are less expensive, better-looking, run cooler in most cases, and are just a better overall deal.

As always there are several variants of this GPU and they largely perform similarly. The differences between them come down to clock speeds, styling, cooling apparatus, and warranty terms. Prices range from $380 to $440, and below are a few of the best current options:

MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1070 - $419 / MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1070 - £427

Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 AMP Edition - $415 / Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 AMP Edition - £427

Asus GeForce GTX 1070 ROG Strix OC - $419 / Asus GeForce GTX 1070 ROG Strix OC - £452

EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming - $408 / EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC Gaming - £400

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 G1 Gaming - $399 / Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 G1 Gaming - £439

Best 1080p GPU

GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (Non Founder's Edition)

This is a contentious category, and a controversial choice, since there are four well-matched competitors all within roughly $50 of each other. For AMD there's the 4GB and 8GB versions of its spectacular Polaris GPU, the RX 480, and Nvidia offers both 3GB and 6GB versions of its GTX 1060 as well. Since we haven't tested the 3GB and 4GB versions of these competing cards, our decision is solely based on the 8GB Radeon RX 480 and 6GB GTX 1060, and of those two the GTX 1060 is the better of the two based on our testing. It's the perfect GPU to run every game at maximum settings at 1080p and hit at least 60fps, if not more. Though it's a smidge more expensive than the RX 480 in most cases, for particular models the two cards are priced either exactly the same or within $10 of each other, making the generally more powerful GTX 1060 a clear winner. It also has better software too in our opinion, but to be fair to AMD we have not sampled its revamped suite.

The GTX 1060 is available in a variety of models ranging in price from $249 to $269. Though we reviewed and recommend MSI's version our experience tells us its competitors are all good options as well, so here are a few of them:

Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition - $269 / Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition - £260

PNY GTX 1060 - $249 / PNY GTX 1060 - £249

Gigabyte GTX 1060 Mini OC - $249 / Gigabyte GTX 1060 Mini OC - £225

EVGA GTX 1060 Gaming - $249 / EVGA GTX 1060 Gaming - £250

MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G - $259 / MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G - £250

Best sub-$200 GPU

AMD Radeon RX 570

This is a bit of a tricky recommendation for two reasons. First, we have only reviewed the previous version, which was the RX 470. The RX 570 is the updated version based on a respin of the Polaris die, and generally speaking it offers about a five percent performance boost, so it is still a great card for 1080p gaming. Second, this card is currently decidedly not available at its $189 MSRP due to the mining craze, so they are around $400 online these days. Still, we're going to recommend it since it competes with the 3GB GTX 1060 from Nvidia, and the RX 570's extra gigabyte of memory allows the card to run at higher detail levels without running out of memory. If and when the pricing on this card comes back down from the stratosphere, it's the one to get if your budget is around $200.

MSI Gaming RX 570 Armor 4G

Gigabyte G1 Gaming 4G RX 570

XFX Radeon XXX RX 570

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 570

PowerColor Red Dragon RX 570

Here’s why 30,000 World of Tanks players are boycotting the game

2017-07-15T08:58:45+00:00

This is a special post from CONTRAS about the current state of World of Tanks.

About 30,000 people from various clan communities decided to boycott the new season on the Global Map. This include people from the top clans and alliances of the RU server for World of Tanks. This group of people has created a movement named CONTRAS.

Members of CONTRAS have already put forwards their list of demands to the company. The first one being: they want to meet with the leadership of Wargaming and discuss with them the perspectives for the development of the clan mode in the game. This has already been responded to by Wargaming and things certainly look more positive right now. Vyacheslav Makarov, the new head of the Wargaming office in Minsk has asked CONTRAS to email him suggestions, ideas and thoughts on improving the situation. Makarov also offered to meet with representatives of CONTRAS personally. The meeting will be held at the end of July in the Wargaming’s office in Minsk.

Here is everything the CONTRAS movement is unhappy with:

Targeted killing of strategy on the global map

The global map was created as a mode in which the strategic component was dominant. But WG itself, despite stating that they support this, deliberately kills off active strategic action with its’ decisions.

The political interaction and balance of power between clans is being replaced by quests to achieve amounts of destroyed tanks, amount of battles etc. – marathon principles from random battles. As a result, clans are forced to abandon conquered lands. Such a global map could very well be replaced by tournaments with gold as a participation prize. But the global map department receives a glorious statistic and reports to the upper management that activity in the mode increases. That today’s activity influx will be replaced by tomorrow’s desertedness is not discussed.

Demotivation of clans

WG’s last years decisions led the way for clans to lose motivation for improving their gameplay and increasing their standard.

The constant prioritization of the amount of battles over their quality in all modes leads to each clan member wasting more and more time on the game, this scares away normal players from clan activities.

Equalization of prizes leads to a clan receiving the same amount for a battle against a tough enemy and a weaker enemy.

All of this leads to reluctance of fighting against stronger enemies. Instead of searching for ways to increase the combat capabilities of the clan, they search for loopholes in the game rules.

The recent developments lead to planned destruction of the clan segment of the game, players are more inclined to play Ranked Battles, mini-tournaments and other modes non-dependant on clans, since they are more profitable and easy.

Disrespect towards players and clans

The lack of a proper plan for conducting certain activities for the clan community does not allow for clans to plan their operation to demonstrate maximum results. We would like to understand the future plans regarding clan content. We shouldn’t be panicking to train games on tier 8 or 6 because the global map department announced an event or campaign a week before it starts. A clan does not consist of 5-6 people, but of several dozens which also have a real, non-tank life: family, studying/working. They are ready to adapt to the schedule if needed, but they should know this schedule in advance and not two days ahead.

Closed nature of the global map department

Complete lack of feedback between the global map developers and the playerbase – all community proposals are met with replies about expensiveness and labor intensity of the development or trolling about lust for gold. There are no contact groups to discuss upcoming improvements and proposals on a permanent basis. We only see rare trips to Minsk by some representatives of the community, based on which, reports about working with the community are made, since these meetings did not bring any real changes.

This is what they believe the Global Map should be like:

Goal

The global map is the pinnacle of clan activity. Clans should strive to participate on the global map, honing their skills in training, raids, offensives, attracting new players. This gives players an experience they cannot receive in other game modes, develops the players and makes them learn new tactical approaches.

The global map should attract and stimulate clans with its’ possibilities. And also reward each participating player for their effort.

Strategy

The global map should be interesting in the first place by application of strategy, diplomacy and fights on territories, bringing interaction between players on another level than it is in a single battle. It is a strategy which provides clans with long-term goals, the feeling of belonging to something greater, feeling immersed in battling with tanks.

Successes on the global map always determined the strength of a clan and its’ glory – legendary clans of the past and present would not be themselves without having participated on the global map. The measure of strength of a clan is the capability to capture and hold lands on the global map. This idea should guide the development of the global map.

Mutual benefit

The developers always talk about the unprofitability of the global map mode, but is that really so?

We deem this untrue, because:

– To play on the global map, a player needs at least 2-3 vehicles from different branches. He researches these vehicles and doesn’t just leave the game after unlocking the IS-7.

– Playing in the clan environment requires many silver, which the player earns by using premium account and/or premium vehicles. The money for this lands directly on WG’s account.

– The clan keeps a player in the game, since clan life is the strongest social component of this product.

What does CONTRAS demand?

Return of the prestige of the global map

We propose to return the glory of holding land on the global map.

To do so, a change in prize distribution is necessary with lowering the reward for deployments and increasing it for holding provinces. Stimulating battles shouldn’t happen through quests, but by creating conditions where it is advantageous and neccesary for a clan to fight. Alternative prizes on the global map (scrap, bonds, clan reserves etc.) should stimulate activity of developing clans without increasing the gold resource on the global map. We’re fighting for several years already to expand the clan portal and would like to see our rewards we’ve earned on the global map.

Popularization of the global map and clans

We demand that the WG staff responsible for the coverage of the game faithfully perform their duties regarding the clan component.

It is neccesary to easen the understanding of the global map mode by creating training content.

It is also necessary to provide clans with the possibility to inform the playerbase of their successes themselves.

Provide the clan press the possibility to publish news on the official portal of the game, like it was before 2015. Create an official video channel with the company’s support to broadcast battles on the global map.

Regularly cover clan activities and reward clans which advertise the game mode.

Regularly publish news about the global map, events, map freezes etc. so players and commanders can plan ahead.

Development of the global map

We propose to include an alliance functionality into the game, which was unofficially present since the start of the global map.

Alliances are the top level of socialization between players and should be understandable and accessible. This would provide players with an unique feeling of depth in the game process. Socialization is one of the most important achievements which keeps active players in the game.

Feedback

We propose to create a department or designate a personal manager to work with the clan community.

We deem it neccessary to create a focus-group which will consist of the most experienced clan leaders and alliance leaders.

The main task of this group would be assisting the new department in optimizing the proposed changes and working on documents regarding clan activities, and also collecting feedback to constantly improve the quality of the global map. Feedback is neccessary to provide the community with a means to influence the taken decisions

How would CONTRAS like to achieve these goals?

Together!

We require cooperation with WG and the clan community, built on mutual respect and the desire to improve the game.

We are currently creating a shortened version of our proposals to improve the global map which will be sent to Mr. Makarov on July 10th.”

Check out world exclusive PS4 Project CARS 2 gameplay here

2017-07-15T08:55:00+00:00

This year promises to be huge in the racing genre thanks to the releases of Gran Turismo Sport, Forza Motorsport 7, not to mention an ever-growing list of annual releases such as MXGP 3, F1 2017, MotoGP 17 and WRC 7.

Another game that is set to make a big splash this September is Slightly Mad Studios' Project CARS 2. We put the wheel and controller aside for one moment to catch up with the game director Stephen Viljoen to discuss various aspects of the title to the backdrop of some exclusive PlayStation 4 footage of the racer.

Viljoen and the team were keen to refine the Project CARS experience by keeping elements which added depth to the game and scrapping other areas which didn't quite work. One big focus of Project CARS 2 is the new weather system which not only replicates different weather conditions as seen previously, but also introduces seasonal changes.

Further into the video (below) we also pair some work in progress PlayStation 4 gameplay against the PC which highlights just how well the game is coming along on the console which is remarkably close to the PC experience. You can view the full interview with Stephen Viljoen along with some preview PC and PlayStation 4 gameplay in the video below.

Microsoft announces its program for Gamescom 2017 set for 20th August

2017-07-13T15:30:07+00:00

This year the Xbox team is pleased to participate in Gamescom in Cologne. The new Xbox One X of Microsoft will be present for the first time in Europe, along with a wide range of playable titles such as Sea of Thieves, Forza Motorsport 7 and Age of Empire Definitive Edition.

Below we list the main events that will be hosted by Microsoft during the week of Gamescom 2017:

1. On Monday, August 21, starting at 9:00 pm CEST, 12:00 pm PDT, Microsoft will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Age of Empires franchise with a special livestream event in Cologne, alongside some of our biggest fans. The livestream will celebrate the rich history of the beloved PC game series, as well as give fans a first-look at Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.

2. We will again be hosting an Xbox FanFest experience for our fans who are attending Gamescom 2017. FanFest will begin on Tuesday, August 22nd.

3. We’re back in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse, North entrance, this year and you won’t want to miss the opportunity to play a wide collection of the games coming to Xbox over the next 12 months. See below for the show opening times:
Tuesday, August 22 – 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CEST (press/trade only day)
Wednesday, August 23 – 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CEST
Thursday, August 24 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
Friday, August 25 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
Saturday, August 26 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST

Gamescom 2017 in Cologne will be open from August 23 to 26, while on August 22 it will be reserved for press and exhibitors.

Gran Turismo Sport PS4 Release Date Officially Announced

2017-07-13T15:27:27+00:00

The original racing simulator returns. Gran Turismo Sport comes to PS4 on 18th October 2017.

After years of waiting, Kazunori Yamauchi officially announces that Gran Turismo Sport will be available on PlayStation 4 from October 17, exclusive to the Sony console

The highly anticipated announcement of the launch date of GT Sport is accompanied by the publication of a new trailer full of gameplay scenes and a handful of new images that testify to the Polyphony Digital team’s efforts in the delicate beta testing phase that is Held over the past few months

PlayGround Games Win Best Independent Studio Award

2017-07-13T12:14:42+00:00

The extremely talented Playground Games, behind the incredible Forza Horizon games have won the award for Best Independent Studio at the Develop Awards 2017.

The shortlist of studios nominated for the award are as follows:

Supermassive Games
Playground Games
Playsport Games
CD Projekt Red
Playdead
Sumo Digital
Rebellion
Frontier

PlayGround Games have delivered some of the best racers this gen with Forza Horizon 2 and Forza Horizon 3; the latter racer is sitting at an impressive metacritic score of 91. The latest DLC pack for Forza Horizon 3, the Hot Wheels expansion has also been met with critical acclaim, introducing our beloved toys and crazy looping tracks to the digital realm.

The studio is now working on a brand new open world game not related to the Forza series and we cannot wait to see what it is.

Congratulations to the team at Playground Games. The award is much deserved!

Gravel Is A New Off Road Racing Game Built In Unreal Engine 4

2017-07-13T12:08:42+00:00

Milestone, one of the greatest and oldest developers specialised in the racing segment at a global level, is back and set to make an impression with its new IP dedicated to the off-road, four-wheeled world: Gravel, announcing the first of a series of Dev Diaries which will unveil all the backstage goings-on in the creation of the new game!

Gravel is the first four-wheeled racing game which the Milanese production house is developing with the help of the Unreal Engine 4 by Epic Games, demonstrating a real hike in technological standards compared to previous games. This is confirmed by Ivan Del Duca, Technical Director at Milestone: “Unreal Engine is a game framework produced by Epic Games, which Milestone has decided to embrace, mainly to make significant strides forward from a technological point of view, enabling us to recreate tracks in extremely vast areas of the world which surrounds us“. Mike Gamble, European Territory Manger at Epic, outlines the close collaboration between Milestone and Epic, “The combination of Unreal Engine and Milestone’s expertise in the racing sector brought something really special to life, I can’t wait to play it“.

The new graphics engine has made a significant impact on all areas of production, from design to graphics, thus improving creation and race development processes, modes and environments and guaranteeing incredible visual rendering. An example of this is the development of the vast landscapes which characterise disciplines such as Cross Country or the rendering of the lighting.

The amazing achievements obtained don’t end there. In fact, the real generational turning point can’t but leave even the most demanding videogame player with their jaw on the floor. As well as the innovations at the graphic level, for fans and insiders alike it won’t be difficult to notice the improvements in the sound thanks to the new REV sound acquisition system by Crankcase Audio.

This brings the first Dev Diary to an end, revealing just a few of the generational turning point innovations brought about via the long-lasting racing tradition of the Milestone production house. The success of Gravel is being heralded as an ultimate off-road experience: you will be able to compete in no-holds barred challenges, with tussles, extreme jumps and adrenaline-inducing bends, where the complete racing freedom and aggressive competition will be the real stars of the show.

There are 4 different disciplines to compete in and get the heart racing on board the most powerful machines: Cross Country, vast areas which reproduce some of the most evocative places on planet Earth, where you can compete right until the final checkpoint. Wild Rush, to enjoy some of the most exotic and savage locations at full gas. Speed Cross, for those who want to race on some of the most beautiful tracks in the world; and Stadiums, if you’re ready to compete in arenas packed with jumps and with spectacular layouts!

Gravel will enable you to experience all of this in first person and to take part in the craziest show being broadcast on the Gravel Channel web TV, a trip around the world where you can challenge the Off-Road Masters in every discipline and compete for the official World Champion title!

The game will be available at the beginning of 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system, and PC/STEAM.

VRWorks Now Supported in Unreal Engine

2017-07-13T12:04:44+00:00

Unreal Engine is one of the most popular bases for videogame development, and has been the base on which many popular virtual reality (VR) titles have been built, such as Robo Recall. Nvidia have now released a new branch of VRWorks which integrates Unreal Engine support.

VRWorks – which was responsible for a new ‘Ultra’ quality mode in EVE: Valkyrie, announced earlier– has had its components and features adopted by various parts of the VR industry and acts as a suite of APIs, libraries and engines to enable high-end graphics performance.

The new branch enables Unreal developers can use new features such as Lens Matched Shading, Single Pass Stereo and Multi-res Shading. Each of the these new features offer advantages, such as Lens Matched Shading, which offers an improved version of multi-res shading by ensuring frame buffer and display pixel rates are matched for the best performance by taking advantage of Nvidia Pascal hardware. Another feature that takes advantage of Pascal hardware is Single Pass Stereo, which frees up geometry bandwidth, thus reducing resource demand.

A new VR SLI allows developers to take advantage of PC setups with multiple graphics cards to tackle scenes that are high in visual demand. This can offer twice the performance with a PC development rig equipped with a second graphics card, or over 2.8 times the performance with three cards.

The new VRWorks 4.16 Graphics branch of Unreal Engine 4 is available to anyone who has a Unreal Engine 4 Github subscription and is available to download now.

The Wonder Of Space Just Got A Whole Lot Prettier For EVE: Valkyrie

2017-07-13T12:01:54+00:00

If you’re looking for a virtual reality (VR) experience that truly makes the jaw drop and quickly clues you in to the benefits of a 360 degree viewpoint you can’t do much better than checking out the wonders (and dangers) of outer space courtesy of EVE: Valkyrie. Whether it’s the basic game or any of the many additions to it since launch, such as Gatecrash, Wormholes or Groundrush the immersion level of CCP Games‘ spaceship dogfighter is already a pretty compelling spectacle.

Well, the good news for owners of EVE: Valkyrie is that they may well be able to experience it at an even greater level of clarity – and soon. With improvements to surface fidelity and reactivity, the addition of “God ray” style shafts of light and other dynamic lighting and shadowing.

This is all thanks to the support of NVIDIA VRWorks technologies, whose continued work has enabled the team at CCP Games to consider and implement a new ‘Ultra’ graphics setting. Bringing much higher graphical fidelity, and by extension an even better sense of immersion to this fast-paced slice of the EVE Online universe. This improvement has been made achievable thanks to a number of developments by the NVIDIA team that CCP Games have implemented, with CCP already using NVIDIA’s Lens Matched Shading technique for rendering and GeForce support.

For instance, anti-aliasing has been improved, this is thanks to Multi-Sample G-Buffer Anti-Aliasing – a new technique developed by the team at NVIDIA that “improves anti-aliasing by further reducing visible aliasing of geometry edges and specular highlights, giving players a superior visual experience”. NVIDIA Volumetric Lighting has also been used to add to the realism of the cockpit view and making projectiles look even more impressive as CCP Games look to build on the wow-factor of a hostile, but beautiful, universe with

Pilots keen to see the changes in action should look for Ultra mode as part of the latest update to EVE: Valkyrie, VRFocus will bring you more information on the ongoing developments at both NVIDIA and CCP Games in the near future.

Destiny 2 beta preload available today on PS4, Xbox One

2017-07-13T10:43:28+00:00

Activision announces that today it will be possible to prepare for the beta.

Activision has confirmed that today, July 13, it will be possible to preload Destiny 2beta on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The beta will start next week (July 18th on PS4) but from now on you will be able to benefit by downloading the application that will give access to the trial version.

The news goes hand in hand with reports from some readers who have received the code via email to download the beta from the online stores they booked for the game.

We remind you that Destiny 2′s private beta will start on July 18 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox 19 on Xbox One for all those who have booked the game, and from July 21, the beta will become public and all those who have a PS4 or an Xbox One can try the new Bungie title.

The Destiny 2 beta will feature the campaign’s opening mission, “Homecoming”, a Strike called The Inverted Spire, two Crucible gametypes, “Countdown” and “Control” and, during latest hour of Beta, the access of social space “The Farm”. During the Beta testing, each Guardian class will have only one subclass: Arcstrider Hunter, Sentinel Titan and Dawnblade Warlock. All three of them are new for Destiny 2.

Without further extensions, the beta will end for everyone on July 23. Destiny 2 is scheduled for release on September 6 on PS4 and Xbox One and October 24 on P

Just Cause 3 – Multiplayer mod releases on July 20th

2017-07-13T04:04:35+00:00

The team behind the multiplayer mod for Just Cause 3, nanos GbR, has announced that it will be released on July 20th. Just Cause 3 Multiplayer mod is a free fan-created project bringing an explosive and highly-customizable multiplayer to Avalanche’s action sandbox game.

Here are the key features of this mod:

Battle, race, chase and play tag with fighter jets with up to hundreds of players per server.
Enjoy community created gamemodes, ensuring a constantly evolving play set.
Countless hours of fun including racing, deathmatch, skydiving, freeroam, etc.
Don’t see the game mode you want? Make one!
State-of-the-art synchronisation helps reduce lag to a minimum.

The Just Cause 3 Multiplayer mod has been under development for a while. At first there were two MP mods, however the other one was cancelled. The Nanos team released a preview version of this mod back in September 2016, and has been working on improving each and every aspect of it.

From the looks of it, and since it’s coming on Steam, this mod has been given the green light by Avalanche. As such, we don’t expect Square Enix to shut it down.

The team has also released some new screenshots for this mod that can be viewed below.

Enjoy!

Destiny 2 reported to sell 3 million units on the PC in its first 3 months

2017-07-13T04:00:11+00:00

SuperData has issued a press release, claiming that by analyzing historical data and their proprietary analytics-based metric system, Destiny 2 will sell 3 million units on the PC in its first 3 months. As such, SuperData expects Destiny 2 to become the best-selling premium PC game since Overwatch.

As the press release reads, SuperData evaluated the performance of Destiny 1 on console and how it compared to other AAA titles that launched during the same time period. The forecast also takes into account the expected early September launch date of the title, the impact of a Battlenet release on PC and macro-level digital download trends.

This analysis comes from the newly released SuperData Forecaster, which provides a quantitative analysis of historical sell-through across 500+ titles, enabling a more accurate estimate of future success for upcoming titles. The Forecaster takes into consideration the franchise historically as well as publisher, genre, sales for previous titles, total monthly active users and critic’s reviews, among other factors that influence sales performance.

Sam Barberie, Vice President of Product and Business Development at SuperData Research, said:

“As the buzz around specific titles continues to grow within the digital gaming industry as a whole, the Forecaster offers a unique starting point for those thinking about sales scenarios. By pairing this with the SuperData Arcade, the digital gaming industry can now have a clearer picture of what drives sales success and how their future releases could gain an advantage.”

Free demo for The Surge coming next week

2017-07-13T03:58:12+00:00

Focus Home Interactive and Deck13 have announced that a free demo for The Surge will be released next week. The teams did not reveal any additional details, though we believe that this demo to feature the first main mission from it.

Can you survive The Surge's demo?

Available next week on PS4, XBox One and PC. pic.twitter.com/2ns2U20BOj
— The Surge (@TheSurgeGame) July 12, 2017

View

The Surge was released on May 16th and as we’ve already claimed, it performs great on the PC platform. Deck13 has offered a nice amount of options to tweak, and the game runs wonderfully even on dual-core systems.

The Surge is an action RPG that is inspired by the Dark Souls games, in which players will battle through a world gone mad as Warren, on his first day of work at CREO – a megacorporation that has been hit by a devastating catastrophe.

Stay tuned for more!

Wild Guns Reloaded is now available on Steam

2017-07-12T14:17:21+00:00

Natsume today launched Wild Guns Reloaded for the PC via Steam and according to the press release, this is the first time the Wild Guns franchise is available on PC. In addition, the title is 25% off for the first week at a special launch price of $14.99.

In Wild Guns Reloaded, Annie has tracked down the famed bounty hunter Clint to get revenge on the Kid Gang. With eight stages, each with three zones, there’s plenty of bad robots to blast away. With a true arcade game feel, Wild Guns was the first sci-fi western to arrive on home consoles, and to this day, there really isn’t any other game like Wild Guns!

Wild Guns Reloaded also offers two new characters, each with their own weapons and tactics, and allows 4 players to play at the same time. Online rankings, classic and new stages, new Boss enemies, and special weapons round out the classic Wild Guns experience on PC.

Hiro Maekawa, President & CEO of Natsume, said:

“The PlayStation 4 version of Wild Guns Reloaded was so well-received critically last year, we are excited to see how PC gamers react to it on Steam. The title offers fast-paced fun in either a single player or local co-op game, complete with online rankings, classic and new stages, new bosses, enemies and more!”

Dystopian puzzle-platformer, Black The Fall, is now available

2017-07-12T14:15:31+00:00

Square Enix has announced that Sand Sailor Studio’s dystopian puzzle-platformer, Black The Fall, is now available. Black The Fall plunges players into a deeply atmospheric communist dystopia, in which they must solve a series of puzzles to survive in a world determined to keep them trapped in the system.

Played out in a striking environment, the game’s lead ‘Black’ intends to escape; sneaking through numerous stages past cameras trained on his every step as he tries to escape the system that is keeping him and his fellow citizens enslaved.

Cristian Diaconescu, Creative Director at the Bucharest-based Sand Sailor Studio, said:

“With Black The Fall we really want to capture the feeling of what it was like to live in the communist state, and have been inspired by the first-hand experiences of our families. The world Black lives in might be fictional, but the system trying to beat him down is as bleak and oppressive as it has been in many countries around the world.

Romania only broke free of the shackles of the Soviet bloc less than 30 years ago, so for many people living in the country today the memories are still fresh. We decided to take those stories and illustrate just what it was like to live within a restrictive regime in a game.

That means players have to make use of the kind of tactics people who survived that era mastered – manipulation and stealth. The intentionally melancholic atmosphere also has a role to play here, and that’s something we’ve rendered in detail through image and sound. We’ve put no text or dialogue into the game at all – the story is told through experiences in play.”

As stated by Diaconescu, Black The Fall directly touches on life in Romania under Communist dictator Nicolae Ceau?escu in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Its weighty subject matter sets the game apart from other puzzle platformers.

Phil Elliott, Director of Community & Indie Development at Square Enix Collective, added:

“Black The Fall was one of the first games that featured on the Collective feedback platform back in 2014, and was among the first Kickstarter campaigns we supported too. So it’s with great delight we’re working with the team at Sand Sailor Studio on releasing the game as well – both the game, and the team behind it, have come a very long way in that time, and we’re really looking forward to seeing people enjoy the experience they’ve created.”

Enjoy!

New screenshots for Skyrim's upcoming expansion-sized mod, Lordbound

2017-07-12T14:13:13+00:00

Arcky and his team are currently working on a expansion-sized mod for Skyrim, called Lordbound, and have just released some new screenshots for it. Lordbound will feature a whole new storyline and region for players to explore, 15+ hours of new content, as well as non-linear quests, new weapons/armor and more.

The team stated that it is approaching an internal beta testing soon, and that it targets a Q4 2017 release ( the mod may be delayed to 2018 if the team needs some extra time to further polish it).

The team also aims to fill the world with interesting people and places for you to discover because, as it claims, an “empty open world is not a world at all.”

Enjoy the screenshots and stay tuned for more!

Open-World Action-RPG Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem Gets New Trailer

2017-07-12T09:25:59+00:00

Today, Wolcen Studio released a new trailer for Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, its PC game which has been in Steam Early Access since March of last year.

Built in CryEngine and currently boasting a “Mostly Positive” Steam User review ranking, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is an open-world action-RPG where you play as a former office of army of the Human Republic, forced to flee the death penalty because of magic powers you have had thrusted onto you. Being tracked and hunted by humans and monsters of the Wild, you’re soon recruited by a mysterious group of Templars and begin on a journey wandering the world fighting inhuman, mutated monsters hoping to discover the terrible secret of the extinguishing mankind.

According to the developer, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem features dynamic, fast-paced combat that emphasizes weapon-based combos, dodging, dashing, hacking, slashing, and spellcasting. The game has no class restriction, but rather uses a “resource opposition system” that adapts to any play-style.

Below you can check out the game’s lengthy “key features” list courtesy of its Steam Early Access lisiting:

* Under development and will be added to the game during the early access

Dynamic combat system: fast-paced combat system with weapon-based combos and charged attacks. Dodge, Dash, Hack, Slash and unleash devastating spells on your enemies !
Open World: Discover the world and enjoy it at your own convenience
Exploration and experimentation is rewarded with new powers, attributed according to your play style!
Free character development – No class limitation. You have three resources: Rage and Umbra interact with each other, thanks to the Resource Opposition System, in order to balance gameplay.
Rotating Passive Skills Tree: A deep and innovative way to taylor your play style !
Custom player: choose your gender and customize your player, skin color, hair, beard, eyes etc.
Randomly Generated Dungeons for infinite replayability
Element-based spells will react to the environment and to other active elements in the area. For example, lightning will spread in water and stun targets; Fire will spread unless water or frost gets in the way, ect.
Multiplayer mode*: Dungeon Challenge and Co-Op
Apocalyptic Form*: According to your play style, you will develop special powers for your character, changing their abilities and look. Fierce melee warriors may gain a third arm to equip with a new weapon; a fire caster will have their skin turn into lava, healing from fire. Even wings and horns might appear depending on your actions!
Tons of Loot: Weapons, Armor, Potions and randomly generated magic effects for more gameplay diversity!
Asymetric Armor System: We love asymmetric armor, and we want you to be able to customize your gear down to the finest details! You will be able to equip different shoulders and arm protection on the left and right side of your character, bringing a great number of personalization options!
Housing: Create your own house and proudly showcase your special gear!
Rotatable and customizable Camera: Have a new point of view, choose the best angle and discover hidden details.
Dungeon challenge*: Transform a special part of your house into a dungeon and challenge other players to survive the onslaught!
Time of day cycle with dynamic weather: You must adapt to the time of day. Some quests will only be achievable a certain hours, while the night is full of dangers. The rain will make your electrical powers more efficient.
Mature story full of secrets to discover exploring the world.
Kythera AI system: The automatic real time navigation adaptation of Kythera adapts to any change in the physics of the world, allowing us to create exciting scenes including large portion of levels collapsing or moving and fighting on the back of giant creature*, creating never seen before gameplay situations!
Semi procedural Weaponry*: Blades, pommel and guard details can be randomized for more unique gear in the game!
Advanced Crafting mini-game*: Build your own weapons and armors thanks to a complex and challenging module in Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is available for $19.99 USD. It currently has no concrete release date. But as mentioned above, it does have a new trailer which you can check out below:

ARMS 2.0 Patch Will Introduce Hedlok Mode and Character Balance Changes

2017-07-12T09:23:46+00:00

Since its release last month, ARMS has become one of the breakout hits of the Nintendo Switch’s early lineup thanks to its fun and wacky fighting gameplay, with the title’s next update to introduce even more fun to the well-received fighter.

In a report from Eurogamer, producer Kosuke Yabuki shared a few more details on what to expect from the upcoming 2.0 update that will arrive for ARMS tomorrow, July 12th, that will not only introduce the game’s first DLC character Max Brass, but also implement a brand new mode and some balancing for a few characters on the game’s roster.

Specifically, the new mode will be “Hedlok Mode,” which will allow one player to take control of Hedlok – the game’s ultimate villain in the Grand Prix mode – while the other players work together to try to take him down as quickly (and efficiently) as possible. The Hedlok Mode will not only be available in Versus Mode, but throughout the game’s other multiplayer modes and online.

Along with Hedlok Mode, Yabuki also explained that balance changes will be made to some of the characters in ARMS, and added that given how some fans of titles react negatively towards adjusting (or “nerfing”) certain characters, explained that “the balance adjustments are done in a way not to make any character less good than they are the moment.” While no specific characters were mentioned for balance changes, one of the things that will be addressed by Yabuki will be the tendency for players to win “using one technique over and over again,” which might reduce the effectiveness of things like throws.

ARMS is available now for Nintendo Switch.

Source: Eurogamer

No Man’s Sky Tease Indicates a Large Update to Come This August

2017-07-12T09:21:26+00:00

You may recall that it wasn’t so long ago when we told you about a set of cassette tapes that had been sent by developer Hello Games to the official No Man’s Sky reddit page moderators. By decoding some of these cassettes, the No Man’s Sky community had discovered the word “portal.” Well, since then the community has been hard at work further applying the information they’ve gleaned from Hello Games’ plot, and there has been a development pointing towards some big changes coming to the game.

Waking Titan, an alternate-reality game that began in June, seemed to share some similarities with the project that the No Man’s Sky community was cracking away at. Since then, No Man’s Sky and Waking Titan have been linked as likely to be connected, and a Waking Titan file has been released, indicating a new “project” coming in August, signed off by “S.M.” If S.M. is supposed to be Hello Games’ Sean Murray, this document would lead us to believe that a major update will be coming to No Man’s Sky soon.

A new website has also gone live, apparently by a mysterious organization known as The Atlas Foundation. By entering an email address, the website’s visitors volunteer to “become an Atlas Foundation Citizen Scientist and to help to understand the nature of reality itself.” By subscribing to the mailing list, you are then asked various questions presumably to determine your viability as a Citizen Scientist.

If this is indeed an elaborate scheme designed by Hello Games to reveal the next content update coming to No Man’s Sky, then it’s likely to be a big one. The previous updates that came to the game introduced some sizable changes and Hello Games never deemed it necessary to provide such fanfare. Time will only tell on this one.

Source: reddit

Snow in July – Sub-Zero DLC Available Now for Injustice 2 for PS4 and Xbox One

2017-07-12T09:19:21+00:00

NetherRealm studios issued a press release today announcing the official launch of their latest DLC character for Injustice 2. Those familiar with the Mortal Kombat series will recognize Sub-Zero, the other mascot of the franchise opposite to Scorpion. The ice ninja is the second character to be added post-launch and is the second character in the ‘Fighter Pack 1‘. The entire 3 ‘superheroes’ in the pack can be purchased for $19.99 USD or you can get the Ultimate pack which contains all 9 DLC characters (and some skins and shaders) for $39.99 USD. If you’re looking to just add Sub-Zero to your collection, it’ll cost you $6.99 USD but he won’t be available a la carte until July 18th.

The release date for the final character (the first being Red Hood) of Fighter Pack 1, Star Sapphire, has not been announced but based on the history with the other 2 combatants, she should be out mid August. The remaining 6 post-launch characters have yet to be revealed but some of the silhouettes in the DLC reveal trailer are pretty telling.

While Sub-Zero isn’t necessarily a superhero nor villain, his ice manipulation powers are right at home among Captain Cold or Firestorm. His launch trailer shows a mix of classic moves and new surprises such as double ice clones. His options for his gear and shaders are also cool (pun intended) as you can dress and color him to represent the other ROYGBIV ninjas from the MK franchise. Also worthy of noting is that the legendary comic artist Jim Lee designed Subbie’s look for the game.

As for Sub-Zero’s placement in the Injustice 2 world, the official website has this for his bio:

“Sub-Zero is a lethal cryomancer and leader of the reformed Lin Kuei clan. When Sub-Zero was younger, the Lin Kuei were corrupted and destroyed from within, staining their honor. Now serving as Grandmaster, Sub-Zero vows to redeem that honor, pledging to defend the realm from threats near, far, and beyond. In the intergalactic menace Brainiac, Sub-Zero sees a threat to all worlds, and perhaps his greatest opportunity for redemption yet.”

This completes NetherRealm’s invasion of crossover mascots from Mortal Kombat as Scorpion appeared in the original Injustice. But if those teaser silhouette’s tell us anything it’s that Raiden is out there on the horizon.

Gran Turismo Sport vs Forza Motorsport 6 Damage Model Graphics Comparison

2017-07-12T09:09:06+00:00

Gran Turismo Sport is becoming more advanced with each update released. Latest patch 1.08 has added physical damage to the cars and finally the steel start to bend. Let’s compare this damage model with the same feature in Forza Motorsport 6. Which one do you like better?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Update 1.24 Brings the AK47 to the Zombie Party

2017-07-12T08:58:00+00:00

The dead-in-denial don’t stand a chance as the AK47-U is one of two new weapons added to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’s Zombies Chronicles in the latest update, 1.24. The M1911 pistol completes the line-up.

The remainder of the patch notes, found below, are filled with the usual bug fixes and stability improvements. Will you be bugging out with these two bangers, or are you happy with your current “little friend”? Comment below

General

General Stability Improvements.

Zombies

Global

Added the M1911 and AK74-U to Zombies Chronicles
Updated wall buys in specific maps with the stg-44 and mp40
Fixed a bug that would cause a player’s screen to shake when another player fired the Mark II
Fixed an issue where “Turned” zombies would continue to display bullet impacts and play bullet impact sound effects
Fixed an issue where the magic box would stop functioning after a fire sale
Addressed various exploits across all maps
Fixed various collision and pathing issues

Revelations

Fixed an issue where players were downed immediately after teleporting into the Dark Arena

Moon

Increased the volume of the excavator voice over audio
Fixed an issue where players can get launched into the air after walking off a gravity lift
Fixed various bugs that would occur if the player was in Area 51 during the rocket launch sequence
Various hacker tool bug fixes
Fixed an issue that would cause lighting to stream in slowly after teleporting from Area 51
Fixed a bug where the Gersh device would not function in certain areas of the map

Shi No Numa

Fixed an issue where flogger kills were not counting towards the Trapeze Artist challenge

Origins

Balanced the Panzersoldat’s health
Fixed an issue where the Panzersoldat could get stuck inside walls
Fixed various Panzersoldat pathing issues and bugs
Fixed an issue where players could take damage after being stomped by the robot while wearing the golden helmet
Fixed an issue where players were getting downed by the robot while in the trenches
Fixed various Elemental Staff bugs and exploits
Fixed Templar pathing issues
Fixed an issue where the robot hatch would fail to open after being hit
Fixed an issue where all perk machines would stop functioning after a generator had been recaptured
Reduced buyable door prices in the starting area while playing online solo games
Players will receive a double points powerup after capturing the first generator while playing in solo games

Unity Engine 2017.1 has been released and is now available for download

2017-07-12T03:48:46+00:00

Unity Technologies has announced the release of Unity Engine 2017.1. According to the team, this new version of the Unity Engine comes with impoved graphics quality and runtime performance. Moreover, Unity Engine 2017.1 introduces new ways artists & designers can create stunning cinematic content, compose artistic camera shots and tell better visual stories with the Timeline, Cinemachine and Post-processing tools.

As the press release reads, Unity exists to democratize development, solve hard problems and enable success — three core values that are the driving forces of Unity’s adoption by millions of creators. Unity powers more than 50% of all new mobile games and nearly 75% of all AR and VR content. Furthermore, interactive content made with Unity reaches nearly 3 billion devices worldwide.

Adam Myhill, Head of Cinematics at Unity, said:

“Unity 2017.1 is a one-stop creation powerhouse that will allow teams of artists and designers to unlock their full creativity. With incredibly open choreography tools like Timeline, smart procedural cameras in Cinemachine which follow your direction, and a built-in world-class colour grading suite plus the ability to edit and output all from within, we’re unleashing a content creation game changer that will improve collaboration across the board. Working in an environment with so much power and flexibility doesn’t just save a huge amount of time, it allows you to experiment, iterate and collaborate in ways which are the key ingredients of so many great things.”

Unity 2017.1 contains more than 100 new features and improvements devoted to increasing collaboration, improving runtime performance and graphics quality, and more.

Here are the key features of this new engine:

Timeline: is a powerful new visual tool that allows you to create cinematic content such as cutscenes and trailers, gameplay sequences, and much more.
Cinemachine: is an advanced camera system that enables you to compose your shots like a movie director from within Unity, without any code, and ushers in the era of procedural cinematography.
Post-processing: lets you easily apply realistic filters to scenes using film industry terminology, controls, and colour space formats to create high quality visuals for more dramatic and realistic looks, so you can tell a better visual story.
Unity Collaborate out of Beta, Free to use until October
Live-Ops Analytics
2D improvements
Animation improvements
Ambisonic audio added
Improved support for Visual Studio, including Mac OS
Asset Bundle Browser
Scripting Runtime upgrade | C#6 and .NET 4.6 added
Model importer improvements
NVIDIA VRWorks now up on Asset Store

You can download Unity 2017.1 from here. Regular users can download Unity Personal, while companies will have to purchase the Plus or the Pro version.

Here is hoping that with this new version of the Unity Engine, game developers will be able to achieve visuals comparable to the Adam tech demo!

Vanquish - PC Patch 1.04 is now available, adds two new command line options

2017-07-12T03:46:09+00:00

Little Stone Software has released a new patch for Vanquish. According to the release notes, this patch makes some adjustments to reduce flickering lighting effects in certain circumstances, as well as to correct invincibility frames when dodging at higher frame rates.

Furthermore, this patch introduces two new command line options. The first one can be used for those encountering brightness issues (brightness rapidly changing) and the second one can be used for players experiencing slowdown in the visor cutscenes.

This patch will be auto-downloaded from Steam, and you can read its complete changelog below.

Vanquish – PC Patch 1.04 Release Notes:

Adjustment to reduce flickering lighting effects in certain circumstances.
Adjustment to correct invincibility frames when dodging at higher frame rates.
Two new command line options (enter in ‘Set Launch Options…’ in the Steam properties for the game):
– fulltone
Players should try this if they’re having issues with the brightness rapidly changing (may very slightly impact performance).

– fastvisor
For players experiencing slowdown in the visor cutscenes, may improve frame rate in these sections.

Rocket League Developers Reveal Active Player Count On Different Platforms

2017-07-12T01:38:56+00:00

The developers behind the wildly popular vehicular football game Rocket League are celebrating the game’s second birthday and in doing so, have revealed some interesting bits on information regarding the active players on the various platforms that the game appears on. Take a gander below:

Unsurprisingly, the PlayStation comes out on top at 41% but it is very closely followed by the Xbox platform at 32%. As some of you may be aware, the developers (Psyonix) have confirmed that Sony are not allowing the title to benefit from cross-play; allowing Playstation and Xbox gamers to play with each other. The significantly larger player pool would greatly benefit all players with faster and more competitive matchmaking.

It will also be interesting to see how these numbers fare come the release of the soon to be released Nintendo Switch version of the game. Right now, consoles command a majority of over 70% of the player base and it remains to be seen how much of that chunk Nintendo can bite off.

Take a look at Psyonix’s website for other interesting statistics about Rocket League.

New Titanfall 2 Game-Mode 'Free Agents' Released

2017-07-12T00:59:07+00:00

Titanfall 2 is the gift that keeps on giving. Respawn really are outdoing themselves with the incredible support they are giving the excellent shooter by releasing yet another game mode for free (like all other previous DLC) and with double XP to boot.

Free Agents adds a great twist to the usual Free For All playlist. Players will have to now capture three batteries which will then will allow them to call in a Titan. Batteries will spawn around the map and can also be stolen from other pilots after they are killed.

Double XP is limited to this game mode so make sure you jump on before you miss your chance to make some gains towards regenerating your pilot even more.

If you haven’t played Titanfall 2 yet then you are missing out! Titanfall 2 is also now available in the library of games available for the Xbox One on EA Access.

GT Sport vs Forza 7 vs Project CARS 2 Illumination Effect Graphics Comparison

2017-07-12T00:36:05+00:00

The great trio of racing games is about to be released later this year and first gameplay videos have already been shown (additionaly GT Sport received Closed Beta). Let’s look closely on awesome illumination / sun / lightning effect that all of these games have implemented.
Which one do you like better?

World of Tanks Developer Shows Off Tank Using Microsoft’s HoloLens Mixed Reality

2017-07-11T12:53:00+00:00

Today World of Tanks developer Wargaming released a video showcasing a Mixed Reality experience that they exhibited at TankFest 2017 at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The developer collaborated with the museum to restore an ultra-rare World War II tank Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61, nicknamed “Sturmtiger.” Then they created a mixed reality experience using World of Tanks assets and even a view of a map together with Microsoft HoloLens to have the tank look like it was entering the hangar, and showcasing the interior and mechanical features of the massive steel beast.

The video gives you a glimpse on what attendees at the show saw, including the Sturmtiger rolling into the hangar directly from a World of Tanks map, and a detailed view of the giant 380mm rocket-propelled shells it used to fire.

It’s certainly an interesting and “educational” view of using mixed reality, and you can check it at the bottom of the post.

Incidentally, if you’re interested in a completely different World of Tanks experience, Wargaming is running a crossover event with Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles. Yes… it’s bittersweet.

PS4 Exclusive NiOh’s Second Story DLC Defiant Honor Gets Screenshots and Artwork

2017-07-11T12:51:06+00:00

Today Koei Tecmo updated the official site of its action game NiOh with a batch of screenshots and key artwork of the upcoming story DLC Defiant Honor.

The DLC will see William and his new ally Date Masamune pitched against Sanada Yukimura and the forces of the Toyotomi Clan at the siege of Osaka in 1615.

The screenshots showcase Sanada Maru, the fortress built by Sanada Yukimura to defend Osaka against the Tokugawa clan. We also get to see the new guardian spirits that will come with the DLC. One of them looks definitely like a Kirin, which is pretty appropriate to the iconic antlers displayed on Yukimura’s kabuto (samurai helm).

On top of that, the DLC will come with a new story, new characters, new yokai, new weapons and new stages. It will be released exclusively for PS4 on July 25th.

If you want to read more, you can check out yesterday’s announcement. NiOh and thefirst story DLC Dragon of the North are currently available on PS4.

PS4 System Software Update 4.72 Released; Does Exactly What You Think it Does

2017-07-11T12:47:17+00:00

Today Sony Interactive Entertainment made a new PS4 system software update available for download from the PlayStation Network.

The update is numbered 4.72, and it weighs only 340.6 megabytes.

As for what it does, you probably won’t be surprised to read the usual patch notes:

“This sytem software update improves the quality of the system performance.”

This is pretty much par for the course for decimal updates, and it’s the equivalent of the old “stability” update. Apparently someone at Sony got tired of all the memes, and now we get “quality” updates.

At the moment of this writing the update isn’t yet available on the relevant websites, and and you’ll need to use the option in the settings of your PS4 or PS4 Pro to launch it. Later today you should be able to download it from here if you’re in North America and from here if you’re in Europe.

The latest large update to the PS4 system software was released back in March, and was numbered 4.50. It included external HDD support, Boost Mode for PS4 Pro, custom wallpapers, and much more.

E3 2017: Playerunknown's Battlegrounds On Xbox One Coming This Year

2017-07-11T04:07:46+00:00

Hunger Games-like shooter Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is coming to consoles this year. Microsoft announced during its E3 briefing today that the popular shooter is coming to Xbox One as a "console launch exclusive" in late 2017. That wording suggests it may also come to to PlayStation 4, though not until later, apparently. Those playing on Xbox One X will be able to enjoy 4K and HDR support.

Playerunknown himself, Brendan Greene, appeared on stage to make the announcement about Battlegrounds' console release. He also revealed that the game has reached 3 million players on PC, where it remains in Early Access.

Microsoft's E3 2017 briefing has ended. If you missed it or want to catch up with all the news, you can check out this roundup of all the major announcements.

Albion Online: Starter Packs Available

2017-07-11T03:58:20+00:00

Media Alert – for immediate release

Berlin, July 10, 2017 – The countdown has begun: The servers of Albion Online are currently offline and are being set up for the official start of the game. From July 17, 2017 on, players can finally set out on their adventures in the world of Albion. Hence, Sandbox Interactive announced the available new Starter packs today, replacing the Founder Packs. These introductory packs not only offer the players access to Sandbox' MMORPG, but also contain different amounts of gold and premium play time as well as special equipment items.

The Starter Packs at a glance:

Veteran Starter Pack 29.95 USD	Epic Starter Pack 49.95 USD	Legendary Starter Pack 99.95 USD
Game start: July 19	Game start: July 18	Game start: July 17
2,000 Gold	4,500 Gold	12,000 Gold
30 days Premium	60 days Premium	90 days Premium
	Epic Equipment	Legendary Equipment
	Epic Avatars	Legendary Avatars
		Legendary Horse
		Legendary Cart
		Epic Equipment
		Epic Avatars

Existing Founders will also get all the mounts and equipment items included in the Starter Pack of the respective tier (Veteran, Epic, Legendary).

Depending on the tier of their Founder or Starter Pack, Albion Online adventurers are granted access to the officially launched game at different times.

The launch next week will look as follows:

July 17 at 13:00 (UTC): Access for owners of Legendary Founder or Starter Packs
July 18 at 13:00 (UTC): Access for owners of Epic Founder or Starter Packs
July 19 at 13:00 (UTC): Access for owners of Veteran Founder or Starter Packs

Here is an overview of 13:00 UTC in several time zones:

    06:00 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles)

    09:00 a.m. EDT (New York)

    10:00 a.m. BRT (São Paulo)

    03:00 p.m. CEST (Brussels, Berlin, Paris)

    04:00 p.m. MSK (Moscow)

    11:00 p.m. AEST (Sydney)

All details to the launch times and Starter Packs is also available here:

https://albiononline.com/en/news/official-release-times-starter-packs

What is Albion Online?

Albion Online is a sandbox MMORPG from Sandbox Interactive, set in the medieval fantasy world of Albion. Whether playing a hardened fighter, a farmer, a merchant or a master craftsman, in the player-driven world every single weapon and every single building is created by the players. Thanks to a "you are what you wear" system free of typical class restrictions, a skilled archer can instantly become a powerful mage, and the players define their own role within the game world. PvE, PvP or the battle guild vs guild, every action in the game has a meaning … as well as consequences. PvP battles in the danger zones of the game world are a "winner takes it all" affair. Albion Online is the first PC game to enable the exact same experience on tablets.

Albion Online will officially launch on July 17, 2017.

Additional information on Albion Online can be found at:

Website:          https://albiononline.com

Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/albiononline

YouTube:        http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9gij-VpDFWaaqn1zLM4TEQ

Twitter:            https://twitter.com/albiononline

***

About Sandbox Interactive GmbH

Sandbox Interactive is an independent game development studio founded in January 2012 and is based in Berlin, Germany, currently employing 52 full-time and 12 freelance programmers and designers on their cross-platform sandbox MMO Albion Online. Sandbox Interactive follows the belief that the creation of your own world and interaction with other players are paramount to entertainment – and, that these ideas are truly brought to life in the sandbox genre. With Albion Online, they are making a game with compelling gameplay and the player’s experience squarely in the foreground.

BATTLECREW Space Pirates goes free to play, available to everyone right now

2017-07-11T00:58:04+00:00

DONTNOD ELEVEN has announced that its fast-paced competitive multiplayer shooter, BATTLECREW Space Pirates, is now available to everyone. With this free version, players will have access to the full content of the game as they will be offered a set number of game credits each day which will allow them to try BATTLECREW Space Pirates. Players who already own the full version can play with no limitation and even offer credits to whomever they wish.

Here are the key features of the game:

Fast and addictive gameplay designed for competition: in BATTLECREW, games are based on skill and cooperation with up to 8 players!
Gold Rush 4vs4 mode in which you and your team have to collect as much gold as possible to win!
Team Deathmatch 2vs2 mode in which you have to kill as many of the enemy pirates as you can to claim victory!
4 character classes, each with entirely different playing style! A richly-colored cast of cool and charismatic pirates!
Pirate Bounties & Pirate Points: BATTLECREW regularly challenges the community! Earn Bounties Points and Pirate Points (XP) to unlock new content (maps, skins, taunts…)
18 unique maps already unlocked, 9 maps for the Gold Rush mode and 9 maps for the Team Deathmatch mode. More to unlock by the community through our Pirate Bounties system
Tortuga, the game community’ hub, is where pirates can meet, chat, check the game statistics and leaderboard, customize their avatar, check the community challenges, and launch games.
Crews (Unlimited version only) – Create your own squad of 4 players for the Gold Rush mode or 2 players for the team Deathmatch mode. When your crew is complete, you will enter your own Tortuga.
Tutorials & Training mode Player vs. Bots – BATTLECREW’s fast-paced action can be daunting for newcomers, but that shouldn’t be a problem anymore thanks to a tutorial that introduces novice players to the core concepts of each character’s gameplay and skills.
20 unique Steam Achievements are now waiting to be unlocked!
Steam Item Trading – BATTLECREW now supports the Steam Inventory and Trading systems, where players can trade 8 BATTLECREW cards.

Those interested can download BATTLECREW Space Pirates from Steam.

Have fun!

Destiny 2 Videos Showcase Vex-Covered Endless Vale, Control Mode Changes

2017-07-11T00:52:25+00:00

Bungie’s Destiny 2 is receiving new gameplay footage courtesy of IGN First and to start off this week, we finally get a look at one of the new Crucible maps. It’s called Endless Vale and it’s located on Nessus, a Centaur minor planet that the Vex have heavily mechanized.

The Vex architecture is immediately apparent but what’s more interesting are the changes to Control, Destiny’s objective zone capture PvP mode. This time around, there’s no neutralization process when capturing Zones – you straightaway capture a Zone when standing on it.

Furthermore, multiple players are no longer needed to accelerate the capture process. Another neat little touch is that the capture flags turn more transparent the closer you get, thus allowing for a clear line of sight at all times. Capturing zones will still increase the number of points earned per kill but matches are generally shorter now.

Destiny 2’s open beta starts on July 21st and ends on July 23rd for Xbox One and PS4. Those who pre-order on the PS4 get early access on July 18th while Xbox One pre-orders get it on July 19th.

Final Track List Revealed For Project CARS 2

2017-07-11T00:49:24+00:00

Project Cars 2, the sequel to 2015’s ambitious racing game, is due out later this year- ad it looks like Slightly Mad Studios will go all out on this title. It will apparently have 60 track locations, with 130 track layouts allowed among them- which will lead to a ridiculous amount of track variety.

You can check out the full list of tracks for yourself below (the number after the track name is the number of layouts possible for that track)- but it is very clear that Slightly Mad Studios wants to go bigger and better with this sequel compared to the original game. Given that they nailed the mechanics the first time around, it’s a good strategy to do so.

Project CARS 2 will launch on September 22 for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC- will you be getting it? make sure to let us know in the comments section below.

Autodromo Algarve 2
Azure Circuit (Monaco) 1
Azure Coast 1
Bannochbrae 1
Bathurst 1
Brands Hatch 2
Brno 2
Cadwell Park 3
California Highway 1
Chesterfield (Kart) 1
Circuit de Catalunya 3
Circuit of the Americas 3
Daytona 2
Daytona RX 1
DirtFish RX 3
Donington Park 2
Dubai Autodrome 4
Dubai Autodrome (Kart) 1
Fuji Speedway 1
Glencairn (Kart) 1
Greenwood (Kart) 1
Hockenheim 4
Hockenheim (Historic) 1
Imola 1
Indianapolis 2
Knockhill 2
Knockhill RX 1
Laguna Seca 1
Lankebanen (Hell) RX 1
Le Mans (Kart) 1
Le Mans 24 Hours 1
Le Mans Bugatti 1
Long Beach 1
Lydden Hill 1
Mercedes Ice Lake Multiple
Monza 2
Monza (Historic) 1
Nordschleife 1
Nordschleife/Nurburgring Combined 1
Nurburgring 3
Oschersleben 3
Oulton Park 3
Red Bull Ring 2
Road America 1
Rouen-Les-Essarts (Historic) 1
Ruapuna Park 5
Sakitto (Fictional) 4
Silverstone 4
Silverstone (Historic) 1
Snetterton 3
Sonoma Raceway 3
Spa 1
Summerton (Kart) 1
Texas Motor Speedway Multiple
Watkins Glen 3
Willow Springs 3
Zhuhai 1
Zolder 1

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Open Beta Starts On October 6th

2017-07-11T00:46:00+00:00

DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 has finally received new information on its upcoming open beta courtesy of the PlayStation Blog. The beta will start on October 6th till October 9th but those pre-order can play from October 4th onwards.

Modes and maps available include Galactic Assault on Naboo, which is the same 40 player map showcased at E3 2017 involving the Separatists and Republic Clones. Four different classes will be available including the Assault, Heavy, Officer and Specialist. Heroes and vehicles from the prequel era will also be available to take control of.

Open beta players will also get a shot at the new Starfighter Assault mode which will be an “epic starfighter assault set during the original trilogy era, piloting an assortment of Star Wars’ greatest ships in an objective-based, multi-stage battle.” You can expect more information on this at Gamescom in August.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 will launch on November 17th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Will you take part in the open beta? Let us know below.

Sea of Thieves New Video Shows Off Some Stormy Gameplay

2017-07-11T00:43:50+00:00

Undoubtedly the most exciting and currently anticipated upcoming Xbox exclusive is Rare’s Sea of Thieves, the fantastic looking shared world multiplayer pirate action game that is due out early next year. We’ve been waiting for this one for a long time, folks- at least it continues to look great in each video of it that we get to see.

Take this newest footage for it, for instance, which is the newest in a series of videos designed to show us some new gameplay footage and mechanics in the upcoming game. This specific video actually shows us some stormy gameplay- gotta say, they look impressive, as do their actual practical effects in game.

Sea of Thieves is due out on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs exclusively early next year. Make sure to check out the footage for yourself below, and stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information on the game.

Monolith Are Treating Middle-Earth Shadow of War On Xbox One X With Great Care And Tremendous Pride

2017-07-11T00:40:22+00:00

After the highly successful debut of Shadow of Mordor, the developers at Monolith Productions are back with the highly anticipated sequel: Shadow of War, which is set in mythical world of the Lord of the Rings. With Mordor being a major hit for the studio, there was nearly no doubt that a sequel was on its way, and we finally got out hands on it. Shadow of War takes place after Shadow of Mordor, but in the J.R.R. Tolkien book series it occurs between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. What’s really juicy about these games published from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is the fact that many of the elements that occur are inspired by the films and less than the books; and being it’s own story, Shadow of War can stretch out its own limbs and create original content that doesn’t necessarily counteract anything from the books or movies. So much of the game is filled with original and new content aplenty.

First things first, you should be happy to know that you will continue the game as Talion from the previous story; and you’re still infused with the same mystical powers and control of the spirit of Celebrimbor. Talion is a man of many great talents. His ability to avidly climb walls, without even a ledge to clamp down on to is unparalleled. Move over Nathan Drake, we’ve got a new cliffhanger in town. That’s right, Talion has the ability to climb towers without any struggle at all, and it feels great. It’s a bit weird and doesn’t look real, but who wants to slowly climb a wall or tower when this game is based on momentum? And also, blame it on his magical powers.

"With a ton of main story quests going on, Shadow of War is also filled with really fun side quests. These aren’t your standard fetch quests you’ll find in other major triple-A games either."

Talion’s ability to tactically infiltrate the minds of minions, and every sort of enemy, the Nemesis System from the previous game returns. The Nemesis System is more fleshed out than ever before and can be used on nearly every enemy in the game. After punching out an enemy, I was able to either shame the enemy, or have it join my ranks of an army I’m growing to take down enemy castles. Controlling enemies is obtainable in steps; and the first step is to beat the enemy into submission.

Just go down and swat it with your sword a few times and drain its health. Afterward, you can shame the enemy: this involves embarrassing the enemy and having it run off. But there’s also the ability to recruit enemies; again, almost all enemies are recruitable; even the massive ones that you can even ride and go smashing things up with. Same process applies: beat the enemy into submission and force it to join your ranks. The updated Nemesis System felt great and I was really proud of the number of enemies I was able to recruit and shame within a short amount of time.

One of the many jobs Talion takes on is laying assault on a series of castles and fortresses in the land. Castles involve a series of ways to go about infiltrating and killing the head chief. One way, is to locate the boss’s secret minions who are linked directly to him. With each location, you bring with you your own army of recruits; those that have joined willingly and those who you’ve recruited using the Nemesis System. So you’ll likely never be in a massive castle battle alone. When you find and defeat and/or recruit his personal body guards, the boss of the castle will come out and you can defeat him. Another way is to kill everyone, as well. This involves a major battle (most of which occurs no matter what) where your army battles the soldiers of the castle inside and outside of the walls. Or you can sneak in covertly and make minimal kills to find where he’s hiding.

"Shadow of War is a beautiful game set in a magnificent world, brought to life in a magical realm. And playing it on the Xbox One X was unreal."

With a ton of main story quests going on, Shadow of War is also filled with really fun side quests. These aren’t your standard fetch quests you’ll find in other major triple-A games either. These involve big story plots, fighting, rescuing, recruiting, exploring and more. I played a coupleof side quests that dropped a lot of loot; one was a good early-game sword.

Shadow of War is a beautiful game set in a magnificent world, brought to life in a magical realm. And playing it on the Xbox One X was unreal. Unlike Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War isn’t as drab or colorless like before. From watching orcs rambling on and working in their camps, to wild beasts running around looking for prey; Shadow of War is a living game that wants you to think. The hues of greens and browns are fresh and lively around the forests and prairies. The atmosphere is pungent of looming war, but also of strength and the will to survive.

After playing through Shadow of War’s preview version at E3 2017, it’s obvious that Monolith is treating it with great care and tremendous pride. There are a few odd choices, such as no fall damage, and the slow pace of climbing; but overall the game is looking amazing at this point and should only be better by the time it releases.

This game was previewed on the Xbox One X.

Introducing the new Glacier White PS4 Pro Destiny 2 bundle

2017-07-11T00:25:42+00:00

While Destiny 2’s beta doesn’t kick off until next week, we’re starting the celebrations early with the reveal of our Destiny 2 PS4 Pro bundle, which will be available come the game’s launch on 6th September.

The bundle includes a Deluxe Edition copy of Destiny 2 on Blu-ray Disc and the new Glacier White PS4 Pro with matching DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller. Also included is a voucher for a digital content pack that’ll give you access to the Destiny 2 expansion pass and premium digital content:

Legendary sword
Legendary player emote
Cabal Empire themed emblem

The Destiny 2 expansion ass grants access to both Expansion I and Expansion II, offering brand new story missions, cooperative activities, competitive multiplayer and a wealth of new weapons, armour and gear.

To help you prepare for battle, all Destiny 2 players on PS4 will have access to bonus content before it’s available anywhere else. You’ll find a competitive multiplayer map, a three person co-op Strike, a new ship, specialised gear set and an exclusive exotic weapon.

Don’t forget, players that pre-order Destiny 2 on PlayStation Store will get early access to the beta next week, starting on 18th July.

Let us know what you think of the bundle below. Hope to see everyone online next week for the Destiny 2 beta!

First gameplay trailer released for Wild West Online

2017-07-10T14:34:53+00:00

612 Games and WWO Partners have released the first gameplay trailer for Wild West Online. Wild West Online is a systems-driven, open world, Wild West-themed action MMO built from the ground up for PC and featuring world exploration, resource gathering, PvP combat, PvE missions and much more. The game is currently planned for a December 2017 release. Enjoy!

The Top Ten City Building Games

2017-07-10T13:31:59+00:00

There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction that comes with building your own tiny village, town or city, watching it grow and seeing your inhabitants thrive. Or you could watch them suffer through devastating natural disasters as you panic and desperately press buttons to make it go away… Either way, it’s certainly entertaining. The city builder genre however, has become somewhat difficult to navigate with several long-standing successful franchises to choose from and more than a few poorly executed cash-ins. Here is our guide to the genre; the top ten city building games.

Valhalla Hills

First, we take a trip back in time to the Viking age with Valhalla Hills. The incentive here is more than just to watch your inhabitants survive, you have to lead your band of outcast viking warriors to the top of a mountain where a portal will take them to Valhalla, the viking afterlife. This is trickier than you may think as these warriors have a strong thirst for mead and are more than a little lazy. They have their own wants and desires, so the gameplay mainly centres around making sure they can get to what they want as quickly and efficiently as possible, even if that means ignoring their work. This certainly makes for a challenge as you protect and feed them, help them fight off beasts and just generally survive the harsh mountain environment. With varying mountain terrains, day/night cycles and procedurally generated maps, there’s tonnes of variety and infinite possibilities for new challenges.

Planetbase

From the past we journey to the future and to another planet (and of course, build a city on it) in Planetbase! Take control of a group of settlers as they colonise a whole new planet. It’s simple enough in terms of gameplay; you instruct your colonists to build structures in order to survive, ensuring they have a supply of water, food and, of course, oxygen all the while. On a quest for the colony to become self-sufficient, you must help your colonists grow crops in bio-domes, mine metal, collect energy, find water and so on. Your colonists can also build bots, adding to your workforce and increasing the need for prioritising your workers into suitable roles. With 4 different planets to conquer, each more challenging than the last, and natural events such as sandstorms and meteors to endure, Planetbase provides a nice level of challenge that will have you committed to expanding your colony.

Anno 2205

Next up is Ubisoft taking us back to the future again with Anno 2205. With a focus on business simulation, you must build up your city and take over regions belonging to competing corporations in order to build the greatest corporation known to earth. Then you’ve got to take it to the moon. Of course, many argue that gameplay is oversimplified in 2205, especially if you’re looking for a real challenge from your city builder. In which case, Anno 2070 would be the way to go. It really depends on the kind of experience you want; the more relaxed Anno 2205, or the challenge of 2070. Either way, it’s a guaranteed solid play.

Tropico 5

What could be better than relaxing on a tropical island? Building an empire to stand the test of time on a tropical island of course! At number 7 it’s Tropico 5. Improving on previous titles in the series, Tropico 5 adds new features such as co-op play, multiplayer and the ability to move through eras! Can your colony withstand the great wars? Is your technology advanced enough to make it from the early colonial era right through to beyond the 21^st century? Put your dictator skills to the test and build up your colony in this light humoured take on the city builder genre.

Northgard

Another Viking adventure at number 6 but this time, we’ve got a lot more control and much more solid construction mechanics. The Viking elders have sent their bravest warriors to conquer Northgard; A picturesque new continent in which the warriors must survive, building up their colony all while battling dire wolves, undead warriors and giants. While Northgardis arguably more of a real-time strategy game, construction definitely plays a massive part, affecting access to resources and the like. For satisfying strategy and addictive gameplay, Northgard is one to try.

SimCity 2013

What kind of City Builder list would this be without SimCity? SimCity 2013 has everything we love from previous titles and adds more detailed simuation, multiplayer and of course more up to date graphics. It’s one of the most solid urban planning simulations out there, letting you build the city of your dreams, be that to benefit the sims living there or to slowly kill them with horrific pollution due to over-industrialisation… Anything is possible!

Civilization V

Now, number 4 is, strictly speaking, a turn-based strategy game but there’s no doubt that its city building elements are the backbone of its gameplay. Civilization V was a triumph upon its release and still reigns supreme as a TBS but the strategy of figuring out where to build a city, how to optimize the income of resources and expanding your civilization are all aspects of a solid city builder too, making Civ 5 an excellent choice. If you’re looking to hunker down and invest a solid 6 hours into some seriously deep strategic city building, this is the one for you.

Prison Architect

This next one is not so much about keeping your little people happy as it is about keeping them inside. OK, you aren’t building a city, but rather, a prison – yet it works similar. In Prison Architect, your role is to build and maintain a maximum-security prison with the intention of keeping the inmates securely inside. But strong walls and iron bars aren’t the only strategies you’ll need when faced with the challenge of keeping your prisoners content as well, just in case they decide to have an unscheduled brawl. The simple top-down 2D graphics are pleasing enough and the humour ensures Prison Architect is a more relaxed, light-hearted play. With just enough micromanaging (such as hiring staff, connecting drains and lighting) to keep you busy and engaged. For a simple yet satisfying builder, Prison Architect is definitely worth a try.

Banished

At number 2 we have the deceptively calming Banished. It’s the fine balancing acts of growing your colony that keep you fully invested in this one. Have too many kids, famine breaks out. Have no kids, your workforce gets old and inefficient. Then there’s the harsh winters. Banished is simple to understand while its core mechanics add a subtle, yet nonetheless potentially devastating, layer of challenge. That being said, its overall ambience, music, sound effects and quaint atmosphere means you could easily spend hours in Banished. We recommend losing yourself in the world of Banished. But watch out, winter is coming.

Cities: Skylines

Finally, at number one we have Cities: Skylines. With the opportunity to create vast, sprawling cities that really live and breathe, Cities: Skylines has to be close to perfection in terms of the city building genre. Starting with a tiny plot of land just off a motorway, building roads, residential and industrial areas draws in residents who can be given jobs. Skylines also features an intuitive transportation system, meaning optimizing your roads and reducing traffic plays a big role in how quickly you can progress. As your population increases, so does the repertoire of what you can build; schools, healthcare facilities, police stations and much more until your tiny square has grown into a bustling city. And with the inclusion of mod capabilities, the possibilities are practically endless. For an excellent all-round city builder, there’s nothing quite like Cities: Skylines. It’s a thoroughly rewarding experience that we totally recommend for veterans of the genre and newbies alike.

That’s it for our rundown of the top 10 city building games! We hope you enjoy trying some of them out and seeing what you can build. Just try not to run your residents into the ground… Happy building!

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge confirmed for November release

2017-07-10T06:21:05+00:00

Bigben Interactive has confirmed that the official Tourist Trophy title TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge will release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this November.

The late 2017 release will see it go up against the likes of Need for Speed: Payback in a very crowded year for the racing genre. To accompany the announcement, Bigben also released a teaser trailer which you can view below.

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge features the full recreation of the legendary 37 ¾ mile road circuit along with 36 official riders from 2016 and 2017 which will see numerous teams and bike manufacturers represented.

We recently caught up with Sebastien Waxin from Bigben Interactive to have a chat about the upcoming official TT game which you can view below.

'Ark: Survival Evolved' expansion Ragnarok has new release date for consoles

2017-07-10T06:03:32+00:00

Studio Wildcard announced a new release date for 'Ark: Survival Evolved' upcoming expansion Ragnarok.

The highly anticipated Ragnarok expansion of “#Ark: Survival Evolved” has a new release date on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. This was announced after the patch for the Microsoft’s console version of the game has met several delays.

New release date

The previous week has been a busy work week for #Studio Wildcard as the game developer tried to resolve many bugs and issues that were introduced in the game’s Xbox One version of “Ark: Survival Evolved.” The issues progressed, and the studio has to address it putting other projects in line on hold.

Because of this, the release of the patch for the PlayStation 4 version of the game has been delayed.

The studio needs to fix the bugs in the Xbox One patch first before releasing the PS4 update so as to prevent the same issues happening in the Japanese console. The update for PlayStation 4 is scheduled to be released on July 12.

Moreover, the much-awaited Ragnarok expansion was given a new release date. Set to release on consoles, the upcoming mod expansion is expected to be available by July 19. However, the dates given by Studio Wildcard are not always accurate, and the releases are not always on time. In most cases, they are delayed.

Latest releases

Over the weekend PC patch v261 was released. The highly anticipated patch v758 for the Xbox One version of the game was also made available following the PC patch.

What is the studio’s current priority?

According to Studio Wildcard, their main objective at present is to arrive at a good state for the Xbox players.

If the patch deployed for the console becomes stable and will not meet any issues in the game or crash, the game developer can then port the changes with abstraction to PlayStation 4.

Moreover, the developer noted that after the PS4 patch release, they will wrap up their progress for Ragnarok on the same console. Players who are using the PC platform do not need to worry since the expansionwill also be released on PC. Right now, the studio is still focusing on the game’s console build, and pushing the game versions to excellent state.

The studio also assured players that the Ragnarok map including the improvements and fixes will be released soon in “Ark: Survival Evolved.” The team is just asking for more time from the community. While there is a great chance that these new release dates could meet delays and get postponed, fans are optimistic that they can enjoy the updates soon.

Warframe Plains of Eidolon Interview With Steve Sinclair

2017-07-10T04:47:30+00:00

There were all kinds of amazing reveals for Warframe this year at TennoCon including Umbra and Hydroid Prime, but nothing else quite lives up to the Plains of Eidolon expansion. The demo teased things like weapon customization, open landscapes, and massive Sentients, but in order to dive in a little deeper we discussed the update with Warframe’s creative director.

Could you please introduce yourself for our readers who might not be familiar with you?

Absolutely. I am Steve Sinclair. I’m a super old crusty guy and I work as the creative director on Warframe here at Digital Extremes in lovely northern Canada.

While at TennoCon 2017, you unveiled the Plains of Eidolon expansion for Warframe. Can you give us a brief overview of the new content?

The Plains of Eidolon demo is a really huge leap for us in many ways. We wanted to do a whole bunch of things with this so I’ll just ram them off. We wanted to create a more open game. We wanted to have landscapes in the game. Before,traditionally playing Warframe, it’s all like a rat in a maze and feels a bit like a dungeon crawler. For this we wanted to have mountains and sun and clouds and day/night cycles that are continuous.

We also introduced a civilian culture. Everything we have in Warframe up to date tends to be on the other side of the gun, as an enemy. This is people that inhabit this world that you’re kind of fighting to protect. We have Cetus, which is their town, and in there you can get missions and craft modular weapons. There’s a lot of stuff in this update, it’s kind of crazy. You can seamlessly transition out of the town and into this open landscape that I hope will drive our players crazy because they’ve never seen anything like this.

What type of technical challenges and visual improvements are going into this expansion?

It’s been one of the craziest challenges. Usually we draw about 500 meters in front of the player and now it’s 3000 meters. We’ve never had real-time day/night cycles. Handling the directional lighting. We’ve also upgraded our renderer to raise the quality bar of the game. We’re here at TennoCon so it’s like our goal is to thrill, surprise and delight these people to keep them playing for years.

You’ve got this crazy new feature: spear fishing. Is there going to be any functionality to it, such as quest requirements, material gathering or mounting fish on your wall?

Yes, actually. A fishing trophy, that’s a great trophy. There’s a little bit of depth there. When we first starting talking about the demo, we had this gorgeous lake and people kept saying ‘we should add fishing to the game.’ They were being sarcastic, but I was kind of like ‘we should try it.’ We didn’t have the cast and reel thing; it wasn’t ninja enough. So of course we added the spear fishing instead.

It’s a resource. There’s a lot of resource collection in Warframe. There’s a lot of crafting. So we’re kind of integrating that into it. For a certain type of player, this will be really fun and sort of interesting to figure out where the best fishing spots are and what the best time of day is to catch specific types. But it started kind of as a goofy joke.

While we’re on the topic of crafting, can you go into a bit of detail on the new weapon customization system?

Usually, in Warframe you have a whole bunch of mods, which are interchangeable or type specific. You have secondary mods that only work on your secondary weapons. There’s hundreds of these things. There’s a ton of interesting customization space but the weapon just looks like and is named the weapon.

For Plains of Eidolon, what we’re doing is there’s an Ostron and it’s Hawks Anvil. He will, if you bring to him components of Ostron weaponry, reconfigure them in all these different permutations. I don’t remember if we’re up to hundreds of permutations, but the idea is that the strike, the grip, and the balance combine to create the statistics, look and handling of the weapon. We think it’s really interesting that players are not just modding their weapons anymore but building them from parts. And the best part of it is that you get to name them, which is such a simple thing but Warframe is so much about that customization. Every aspect of decorating is really important for our players.

During the day the plains are accessible to anyone but powerful beings come out at night. What type of requirements will players need in order to have a chance against these Spectral Sentients?

The design for it is kind of out there. During the day, new players come in and experience the landscape features, fighting Grineer camps. As the sun sets, the half-destroyed ghosts of the Sentients emerge. They’re a multi-stage boss battle. They have very specific weak points and abilities. Our design for that is that you need to be very deep into Warframe. You need to be ‘War Within.’

Without going into spoilers, but there’s a specific type of character that emerges when you get that far into the game. That character, when we have Plains of Eidolon, we actually be able to weaponize themselves and build armor from these same monsters they’re fighting. What’s interesting about that is the Warframe becomes almost like a tag-team with this character. It’s very high-end play. We’re here at TennoCon, I’m meeting all these players who’ve been with us for four years. We really kind of owe it to them to give them a crazy challenge they’ve never faced before.

Player feedback regarding Warframe has generally expressed concern for a lack of challenging PvE endgame. Is this one of the steps to remedy that issue?

Yeah. This is why this exists, it’s to speak to that. ‘We want a challenge, we need something difficult.’ So Plains of Eidolon, as the sun sets, this is for them.

Even though Plains of Eidolon is still 4-player co-op, do you have intentions of creating new open zones that bring even more players together?

We do. Without putting a guarantee on it, we have a feature called Trials in the game, which can be with 8 players. One of the problems is that type of gameplay is so high end and specific. We’d like to expose that size of squad to more players. I think the landscape is the perfect opportunity for that. What we’re going to ship as soon as possible won’t be that. My expectation is just like you say, our players will want more. ‘Open it up.’ Absolutely, that will be something we’ll be working on.

Personally, what is your favorite part of the new content?

Well, it’s a very simple thing. It’s just running through the landscape and seeing the sun come up, and hearing the change in the sounds and change in the lighting. And running through and seeing the Grineer walking through the grass. It’s familiar and yet feels so different. Then the sun sets and the broken moon comes up. All the sounds change and the effects change. It just feels like a breath of fresh air when you’re in that more open space.

If you missed the live demo at TennoCon 2017, you have view it in its entirety above. The MMOGames team would like to thank Steve, and the Digital Extremes team, for giving us a first-hand look at this exciting new content.

Is Elite Dangerous on PlayStation the definitive console version?

2017-07-10T03:59:00+00:00

Frontier Developments' celebrated Elite Dangerous arrived on PlayStation 4 recently, joining the already established PC and Xbox One versions. There's a reason we've held off coverage until now: the PS4 build launched with v-sync disabled, resulting in a sub-optimal presentation. Frontier asked us to wait for a hotfix to roll out, which duly arrived on Monday. The outlook improves with the new update in place but it's still not quite right.

At the base level, both the base PS4 and Xbox One versions of Elite Dangerous operate using a sub-set of the PC's expansive range of graphics options, with all versions delivering a native 1080p resolution. PlayStation 4 Pro is also supported with two modes - quality and performance - but again, 1080p is the final resolution here, with no higher resolution functionality integrated yet. We have parity in resolution then, but there are differences in visual settings deployed for each device. Using the training missions as the basis for like-for-like comparisons, the Pro's performance mode offers the exact same visual set as the base PS4 version of the game - as you might expect, it's simply running the same visuals at a significantly higher frame-rate.

In turn, the Xbox One game looks much the same, the most immediate difference coming from terrain detail. Distant detail is better defined on PS4, compared to Xbox One's more simplified rendition. However, the Microsoft platform enjoys a small but significant advantage of its own: its anti-aliasing solution is a closer match for PC's top setting - SMAA - while base PS4 and Pro's performance mode opt for the less impressive FXAA, which adds a distinct blur to texture detail. Elsewhere, PS4 and Xbox One are very close with just small variations: shadow quality is matched for example, but object draw distance has an advantage on Sony's hardware.

On balance, PS4 does have the edge in pushing higher visual settings, though it's let down a touch by its lower quality anti-aliasing. It's possible there's more going on behind the hood too if we dig deeper, but the general impression is that most differences are hard to pick out - especially as the vast majority of the game plays out in deep space. In terms of the overall visual make-up of the game, there's no doubt that this is a good-looking game - often beautiful, in fact - and the overall scale of the differences is slight. It's unlikely that anyone will feel shortchanged here.

Performance is another issue though. On the positive side, 60fps is the preferred target for all versions, and with the latest 1.3 update in place, everything runs with v-sync enabled on PS4, more in line with Xbox One. However, the evidence does seem to suggest that the Microsoft platform benefits from triple-buffering in place, while the PS4 and Pro versions use double-buffering, leading to some surprising results in head-to-head performance comparisons.

Navigating through complex space stations, frame-rate buckles on both machines, but remarkably, Xbox One is consistently in the lead in performance, seemingly capable of reaching the limits of GPU performance. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 4 game dips down hard - dropping from 60fps to 30fps under stress points - a signature impact of double-buffer v-sync. In practice, this means that we can see Xbox One delivering a 40fps performance level in these areas, with PS4 running 10fps slower. It's not particularly ideal in either case, but for intricate docking manouevres, it'll be Xbox One that gives you improved visual feedback and controller response. It's a similar story with planetary landings - sudden drops to 30fps territory on PS4, while Xbox One fluctuates between 30 to 50fps. Bearing in mind the Sony hardware's more capable GPU, this is an unexpected result.

An optional 30fps cap might be preferable, but the fact is that the majority of gameplay plays out in space, where there are far fewer deviations from the intended, silky-smooth 60fps. Dog-fighting in space runs more or less as it should, only hiccupping occasionally from its intended target. The performance differences are apparent then, mitigated mostly by the fact that space-based gameplay is fine overall. Those who play the game with a trading emphasis are less likely to be bothered by it, compared to those who focus more on planetary exploration.

PlayStation 4 Pro offers two interesting render modes meanwhile: if you want to push the boat out a bit, the quality mode changes ramps up the visual settings to make for a much closer match to the PC version. Just about every setting is dialled up, from level of detail, effects and shadow quality, the addition of ambient occlusion, higher-grade depth of field, and much more.

In fact, the anti-aliasing gets a boost too, going from the FXAA we have on the performance mode, to the SMAA we have on PC. Another stand-out upgrade is in the terrain detail - there's much more of it, backed by a big improvement in texture filtering quality. Next to the performance mode, or even a regular PS4, there's simply more definition to the landscape, and texture details just pop, even at range.

Inevitably, this doesn't come for free, and for frame-rates you're looking at a stark difference between the two PS4 Pro modes. With performance mode selected, the graph line in our performance tools does a reasonable job of sticking to 60fps. The only area where it really struggles is while flying close to a planet surface - putting you at the 50fps mark. Generally speaking though, it's a marked improvement over the quality mode, which plays out much like a regular PS4, where for the stress points you're looking at something approaching a fixed 30fps experience.

We started out our work playing on quality mode, but ended up switching to performance mode simply because it offers the closest we're going to get to a locked 60fps on console - but stacked up against the Xbox One results, there's the feeling that Pro should be delivering more. And certainly on base PS4, we hope the v-sync implementation can be improved to match its Xbox sibling. As things stand, the console ports do the job just fine, but don't have the consistent fluidity you're only going to get on PC - which remains the premier Elite Dangerous experience.

UBISOFT REVEALS WHY THEY SELECTED MONTANA, USA AS THE SETTING FOR FAR CRY 5

2017-07-10T03:55:01+00:00

Why Was Montana Chosen For Far Cry 5?

Previous games in the Far Cry series have taken place in areas with a lot of wilderness, including Africa, Micronesia and the Himalayas. Now, it would seem that Far Cry 5 is in stark contrast to its predecessors, especially with regards to the game’s setting, however in a recent interview lead writer Drew Holmes explained why Ubisoft decided to base the game out of Montana, USA.

In a recent interview with GamingBolt, Drew Holmes states that Dan Hay, the director of Far Cry, has discussed bringing the series to the United States since they made Far Cry 3. “The first place that everyone decided to check out was Montana. I think that there’s a great sense of frontier, great sense of wilderness, of danger, wildlife, there’s mountains, there’s big sky. There’s lots of places that feel unknown even though it is in the backyard.” So maybe it’s not quite so different from where the previous titles have been set after all, with the amount of wilderness being cited here.

Holmes continued saying, “So I think as soon as the team went there, they started to meet the people there, and get a sense of, ‘Montanans are a very self-reliant type of person. They don’t like to be pushed around.’ There’s a history of standoffish-ness and leave-me-alone with the state that I think worked really, really well with Far Cry. The list of places that Far Cry wanted to go after that just fell off the table. We said, ‘this is the spot, this is where we want to go. Now let’s think of an interesting villain that could populate that space’.” And have they ever, sparking ridiculous petitionsand a bunch of controversy over who Ubisoft decided to choose as the villain: a white, American cult.

This balance between civilization and wilderness that Ubisoft has tried to strike by choosing Montana as the setting for Far Cry 5 is definitely interesting. We’ll just have to wait and see how different this game feels from the others in the series! Far Cry 5 launches next February, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

What do you think about Far Cry 5 being set in Montana? Let us know in the comments below and keep it locked for updates!

SOURCE

Gran Turismo Sport 1.08 Beta Has Wear and Tear Added - Just Like a Real Car

2017-07-10T03:47:28+00:00

Fast and Furious – Gran Turismo Sport 1.08 Beta Focuses on Penalties for Reckless Drivers

Gran Turismo Sport released an update for its Beta users a few days ago that introduces more management to worry about, such as time penalties, fuel management, and bending your struts in a collision so your car runs like crap for the entire rest of the race.

The release notes for the update are as follows:

Main features implemented

Time penalties will now be incurred if collisions between cars take place under certain conditions
The issue that caused camera settings to be reset when restarting a race has been fixed
Other improvements and adjustments

Various issues have been addressed.
Furthermore, after this patch has been applied, we are planning to hold races that feature tyre wear, fuel depletion, and car damage

Tyre wear is just as you’d expect it: the longer you’re on the track, the more traction is lost, but you also get closer to that “sweet spot” as your tires warm up on the track.

Gran Turismo is expected to release on the PS4 on November 16th.

Below are some videos showcasing mechanical damage from a crash, and tyre wear over a period of two hours of driving. Enjoy!

SOURCE

Blood, gore and more detailed for Dead Alliance

2017-07-10T03:32:00+00:00

The Entertainment Software Rating Board has revealed its summary for the upcoming Dead Alliance. The first-person shooting MOBA game ended up with a Mature rating due to blood, gore, strong language and violence.

In the game, players will use a variety of weapons to kill both their opponents as well as the zombie hordes. The battles are highlighted with realistic gunfire, large explosions, blood splashes as well as decapitations. You can find the full ESRB summary for Dead Alliance below:

This is a first-person shooter in which players compete to obtain control of military bases overrun by zombies. Players use pistols, machine guns, and crossbows to shoot and kill rival team members and roaming zombie hordes. Battles are frenetic, accompanied by realistic gunfire and large explosions; enemies emit splashes of blood when hit. Some headshots result in zombies getting decapitated. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” are heard in the dialogue.

Dead Alliance is being developed by IllFonic, Maximum Games and Psyop Games. It will be published by Maximum Games when it comes out on the 29th of August in the North American region for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC gaming platforms. If you are interested, you can preorder the physical console versions with this link on Amazon.

STEAM CRACKS DOWN 40K HACKERS IN JUST ONE DAY

2017-07-09T11:28:46+00:00

Steam has always been accused of having a weak anti-cheat system. With their two major titles, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and Dota 2 causing a huge outrage. Valve has finally cracked down onto these hackers with one hacker’s profile being taken down whose inventory was worth over $2000.

According to the hacker, he hasn’t been banned on CS:GO, but has been banned from another game, DayZ. In terms of Counter-Strike’s player base, a worthy number of players now revert to other matchmaking websites just as FaceIt and ESEA. These platforms not only have far superior systems to ban cheaters but also have significantly better servers.

THIS GUY OWNS EVERY XBOX ONE CONTROLLER EVER MADE, AND IT’S AMAZING

2017-07-09T11:21:35+00:00

The Xbox One has come a long way since its release back in May 2013. Well, YouTuber EDDS-Xbox owns every Xbox controller manufactured since 2013. He has made a pretty sweet collection of controllers, which include the “Day One” edition Xbox controllers, that are really hard to find.

Here, take a look at the video tour of his collection:

The collection is made up of more than 30 controllers (not including duplicates). It’s really amazing to see how this guy managed to snag every Xbox One controller, as some of these are insanely rare.

So, which controller in this collection is your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below.

Watch 23 minutes of Monster Hunter World gameplay in HD

2017-07-09T11:11:54+00:00

The first lengthy high quality video of Monster Hunter World gameplay has surfaced offering 23 minutes of drool-inducing anticipation.

As previously discussed, this next Monster Hunter is coming to consoles and it's using the PS4 and Xbox One's hefty horsepower to host colossal stages that are seamlessly explorable, as opposed to the series' earlier entries comprised of interconnected arenas.

Given the larger scale, finding your target could be intimidating, so Capcom has streamlined the process from aimless wandering to now examining clues to summon glowing insects called Scout Flies that lead you to your objective.

One interesting thing Monster Hunter World brings to the table is a more dynamic ecosystem. While in previous Monster Hunter titles you'd occasionally see larger predators fight each other, here the creatures' interactions are far more fluid. For example, the colossal iguana-like Great Jagrass will swallow some fairly large herbivores whole, causing the beastly lizard to nearly double in size. Follow it back to its lair and it will regurgitate its oversized meal to feed its offspring (yuck!).

Unlike previous Monster Hunter games, World lets you change your weapons and armour mid-mission, so long as you return to your camp. It looks like you can fast-travel there with a pterodactyl-like creature operating as your personal chauffeur.

Another cool new feature includes a radial menu for traps and items, which is there in addition to the classic scrolling inventory list in the bottom right corner.

Monster Hunter World is coming to PS4 and Xbox One in early 2018 with a PC release to follow.

In Theory: is AMD's Ryzen CPU the game-changer for next-gen consoles?

2017-07-09T10:55:00+00:00

With PlayStation 4 Pro on the market and Xbox One X to follow, Microsoft and Sony's R&D focus is inevitably going to shift towards the next wave of machines. Questions surround the kind of generational leap that's possible in the next couple of years, and how much these new machines will cost. But there's one aspect of their technological make-up we can take as read: AMD's Ryzen CPU technology will take centre-stage - and the shift to a radically improved processor architecture could have more pronounced implications on the games we'll play.

It all brings us back to the core concept of hardware balance - the specific combination of CPU, GPU and RAM in a console design. The current-gen machines handed in true generational leaps in terms of graphics and memory (the latter is remarkable in offering a 16x increase over the last generation) but there's compelling evidence that CPU power was the casualty. AMD's Jaguar x86 cores - originally designed with mobile applications in mind - were effectively the only choice available for integration into console SoCs of the era. Two Jaguar clusters were paired up with desktop-level graphics, resulting in a profound impact on the way games were shaped. AMD remains the best partner for the new wave of consoles we expect to arrive in 2019/2020 and with this in mind, perhaps Ryzen is the game-changer. Indeed, it integration may well have more of an impact on game design than the amount of GPU teraflops we end up with in the new wave of machines.

In terms of evolving the games we play - and not just the quality of the visuals - we need to see a shift in different areas of console design, a hardware boost that benefits what we'll refer to as simulation. Consider Grand Theft Auto 4 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and stack up its in-game world to their predecessors in GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas. Visuals clearly operate on another level, but this is married with a true generational leap in terms of simulation. Liberty City came to life as a thriving, bustling metropolis - packed with various NPC types. But it's not just the volume of them that was important. They were equipped with an impressive range of context-sensitive behaviour: they went to work in the morning, drank coffee, went jogging, took out their umbrellas to protect themselves from the elements - and yes, interacted to a limited degree with the player. The quality of the simulation took on a whole new level compared to last-gen counterparts.

The last-gen era also birthed other franchises built on the ability to create a level of simulation never seen before - the in-game world generated in the original Assassin's Creed was like nothing we'd seen before in the past. The question is where the similar generational leaps in simulation can be found in the current generation. Storage and memory increased, which obviously had an impact on the size and shape of in-game worlds, but to what extent did simulation move on? The Assassin's Creed series is a fascinating case in point in that 2014's AC Unity looks and plays like a game designed for a very different kind of console than the machines that were actually delivered.

Ubisoft doubled down on its world-building, packing revolutionary France with NPCs, ramping up detail on the city itself dramatically. And as we soon discovered, the consoles simply couldn't keep up - even after multiple patches, only PS4 Pro's boost mode could brute-force the game to anything like its intended 30fps target. Not surprisingly, Ubisoft pivoted away from world simulation as a focus in Assassin's Creed Syndicate - and while we've only had limited exposure to Origins, the sense is of a title emphasising graphics over world complexity, a much better fit for the current-gen machines.

Other attempts to 'big up' existing game concepts have aimed high but fallen short. Probably the most obvious example is Avalanche's Just Cause 3 - the game that not even the PS4 Pro's boost mode could whip into shape. Emphasising and expanding on the series' signature physics and destruction was the right move conceptually, but perhaps the wrong one bearing in mind the hardware constraints of the current-gen consoles.

We've measured minimum frame-rates of 18fps on base PlayStation 4, rising to just 24fps with boost mode enabled. Meanwhile, DICE has attempted to bring the epic scale of 64-player Battlefield multiplayer to consoles - and again, CPU limits have obstructed the optimal performance level enjoyed by PC gamers. It's the same explanation offered up by Bungie for its 30fps-locked Destiny 2.

So what happens now? Microsoft has customised Jaguar for Xbox One X, so we get a 31 per cent bump in frequency with associated benefits, plus some interesting tweaks designed to maximise performance from L2 cache, but it's still a CPU of the same generation with the same fundamental limits in place. It's an open secret that AMD's Ryzen architecture is the way forward, and the smart money is on one Zen CCX module containing four cores running eight threads making up the CPU component of the next-gen APUs in the PC space. Implementation will vary - perhaps dramatically so on a console - but the current Ryzen processors are based on two CCXs in a single package, opening the door to four, six and eight core processors, depending on which bits AMD chooses to disable. All decent AM4 motherboards allow the user the choice of disabling CCXs, so we took a Ryzen 7 1700, and ran it as a quad-core part with one CCX.

What speed would we run it at? We went with 3.0GHz here, based on nothing more than just a hunch - Microsoft and Sony upped CPU clocks by 31 per cent in the move from 28nm to 16nm, and assuming the same thing happens again on the next process, Xbox One X's 2.3GH CPU speed increases to 3.0GHz. This is just a guess though - confident predictions on frequencies need to be tempered after Microsoft blew the ceiling off GPU clocks in a small form factor with its latest console design. We also may be under-estimating performance here not just in terms of frequency, but also in IPC (instructions per clock). We tested a first-gen Ryzen here - AMD has two further iterations planned before 2020, variations of which are likely to form the basis of next-gen's CPU technology.

We're didn't go in expecting to deliver anything like firm benchmarks, more an indication of what Ryzen is capable of on gaming workloads that have vexed the current-gen machines. Indeed, there are many reasons why our results with our Ryzen candidate may be lower than expected - there's none of the to-the-silicon optimisation console developers like to pursue, while AMD itself has stated that library PC games require updates to get the most out of the new architecture. On top of that, the PC versions don't have access to the stripped back APIs used on consoles, meaning further, additional overhead. Regardless, the results on their own terms impress.

Take The Witcher 3, for example. It's a title very much based on current-gen constraints, targeting 30Hz on consoles - a frame-rate objective it generally managed to hit after several patches. In general gameplay in the open world, our Ryzen candidate hits 100-120fps once GPU limits are effectively removed. In our CPU-busting Novigrad City benchmark, we're still at 80 to 90fps or thereabouts.

Just Cause 3? The same kind of physics work that bludgeons the console Jaguar cores into submission occupies an area between 55 to 80fps. It's a transformative experience, and it's identical to the kind of frame-rates we get from Assassin's Creed Unity in its busiest, most NPC-heavy scenes - and this title is important, in our view. It was a first-gen try-out of a new level of world simulation: flawed and limited in some respects but a genuine attempt to kick off a generational leap in world fidelity. There's a strong argument that owing to console hardware constraints, we never got to see where further iterations of that technology would have led us.

A move to Ryzen for the next wave of consoles could liberate game-makers to scale up their ambitions in terms of simulation. However, that's not to say that we've not had some advanced games on the current-gen systems - developers have pivoted to make the most of the technology available. Horizon Zero Dawn is an open world technical showcase with some phenomenal simulation - key aspects are skewed towards procedural elements, hived off to the GPU. To give you some idea of the scale of Guerrilla's work here, cliffs and mountains have an 'erosion' variable that generates rocks smoothed off by billions of years of exposure to the elements - it's amazing. Even cloud simulation is accurately mapped - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Similarly, we've yet to see a true current-gen showcase from the masters of world simulation, Rockstar. Red Dead Redemption 2 should put that to rights and we're fascinated to see what they come up with.

But looking back to GTA4 and its massive generational leap over prior series entries, what more could Rockstar produce with Ryzen given the remarkable results the firm achieved with the heavier CPU bias in last-gen designs? Given the ability to ramp up simulation, maybe the deluge of Ubisoft open worlds would be significantly better, as well as bigger and prettier, than their last-gen counterparts. From our perspective, while the teraflop race is likely to define the expected power level of the true next-gen consoles, it's actually the CPU that may prove to have the most meaningful impact on the scope of the gameplay experiences we get from the new hardware.

Test results with a four core, eight thread Ryzen are promising - but the sobering reality is that PC benchmarking actually sees it fall some way short of a mainstream Core i5 overall, performance zigzagging between i3 and i5 levels at any given point, depending on the content. Even the Pentium G4560 puts in a stern challenge here - not quite what we expected when we were hoping for something more akin to a mini i7. On a superficial level, it illustrates how wide the gulf is between PC and console CPU power, but on the other hand, bearing in mind Jaguar's low performance level, developers have extracted much more from it than is possible in the PC space, and we'd expect the same from Ryzen. And we can't rule out the console manufacturers spinning their own custom variant, of course.

This year's release of the Xbox One X almost certainly represents the last hurrah for AMD's Jaguar technology - and exactly what replaces it is a decision that Sony and Microsoft can't take lightly. The end result will have profound implications on the sophistication of the games we'll be playing well into the next decade. The good news at least is that the core technology exists right now to dramatically increase game simulation quality in line with the fidelity of the visuals - and we'll be fascinated to investigate the power of AMD's desktop Ryzen APUs too, due later this year.

Nintendo talks about The Legend of Zelda in Virtual Reality

2017-07-09T08:16:47+00:00

Although it seems that much is needed for us to see the virtual reality in the world of Nintendo, the company is already working on it. If you think this means that someday you could explore the world like Zelda: Breath of the Wild in VR, we have some bad news for you, since that possibility seems difficult.

We say this because Eiji Aonuma, producer of Nintendo, commented in an interview with GameReactor who tried to explore scenes in the first person for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but he did not like the result. With this in mind, the producer had a hard time imagining the franchise in this type of devices.

“When we did Twilight Princess, we did first-person trials. And I absolutely did not like it, it did not look like Zelda as I conceived it, nor as you must conceive it yourself as a fan of the saga. And from that point on, we thought we had to be able to see Link, whether it was during the fighting or the exploration. For us, this is the very essence of Zelda. For the moment I have a hard time imagining a Zelda in VR so as you can probably imagine, this is not a priority nor a short-term project. But I’m not closing the door on that for the future,” Aonuma said.

Thus, although the producer did not completely rule out the possibility of it happening, the fact that it costs him to imagine and that it is not their priority, makes it clear that several things must happen before Nintendo starts working on it.

Do you think Zelda has the potential to work in virtual reality or is it better to stand as a third-person adventure? The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available on Nintendo Switch and Wii.

Bungie reveals what will be available to play in the Destiny 2 open beta

2017-07-09T05:42:17+00:00

Experience the opening mission of Destiny 2 early by taking part in the first-person shooter’s open beta. Players that participate in the upcoming open beta can fight alongside Cayde-6, Ikora, and Zavala as the Tower comes under attack by the Cabal Red Legion. The testing period will also include another PvE opportunity in The Inverted Spire Strike, and a chance to tackle PvP with two Crucible modes.

The Control mode returns in Destiny 2 with a few key changes from the first title. The new Countdown mode for the Crucible is also included in the open beta. This mode tasks teams with taking each other out while attacking or defending key locations on the map. All PvP in Destiny 2 and its open beta will pit two teams of four against each other.

Both PvP and PvE players of Destiny 2 will enjoy the new subclasses in the open beta. The Arcstrider Hunter, the Dawnblade Warlock, and the Sentinel Titan will be available during the open beta in July, according to Bungie.net. The new Hunter subclass can summon a staff of lightning to damage foes, while the new Warlock subclass can wield a solar sword. The new Sentinel subclass allows characters to raise a shield of void to protect allies and harass enemies.

PlayStation 4 players will have access to the beta of Destiny 2 first. Players that pre-order the FPS on that system can jump into the game on July 18, while Xbox One players that pre-order will have to wait until July 19. The early access portion lasts until July 20 and the open beta will begin on July 21. The open beta period, which is available to anyone that downloads Destiny 2, will end on July 23. The PC beta is planned for August, 2017.

On July 23, players across both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can head to The Farm social area to stress the area before the game launches. For one hour starting at 10 a.m. PDT, players are encouraged to visit the area to aid in the technical stress test for the hub. As noted on the PlayStation Blog, vendors will not be available during this time.

Players that join the early access beta or open beta tests will earn a unique emblem when the game launches. Destiny 2 is still on track for its release later this year. As the Inquisitr reported, the release date moved from September 8 to an earlier launch date. Destiny 2 is now expected to release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 6.

DICE Announces Premium Trials for Battlefield 1, First Turning Tides Details Released

2017-07-09T03:48:39+00:00

DICE has a lot of new Battlefield 1 news for players, including new incentives for players who don’t have Premium, and the first details on the third DLC expansion, Turning Tides.

Battlefield 1 is going to get a little bit bigger this month with the release of Prise de Tahure, an urban night map and the sixth map for the They Shall Not Pass DLC. When this map launches, there will be a total of six multiplayer maps that Premium Pass owners can play, but what about everyone else? Well, DICE are working on a way for those who don’t own Premium to play the new maps. This is Premium Trials, which is different from Premium Friends.

Premium Trials don’t require players to be in a party with a friend who owns Premium. Instead, during Premium Trials, players will have instant access to all DLC maps. The first trial run will take place later this month when Prise de Tahure launches. A second one will take place before Gamescom, and another will run in September.

Speaking of DLC, Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar is fast approaching. With six new maps, a new faction, and lots of new weapons, vehicles and more, In the Name of the Tsar is shaping up to the biggest Battlefield DLC release ever. While we still have to wait for the full expansion in September, DICE are giving players an early taste of what to expect. In August, players will get to play on one of the maps, Lupkow Pass. Covered in snow, this map exemplifies the different types of conditions players will face across all the new maps.

DICE also released the first details for Battlefield 1: Turning Tides. The third expansion arrives December 2017 and focuses on naval clashes during World War I, including the Zeebrugge Raid and the Gallipoli Offensive. There are plenty of new maps and weapons to play, and players will be able to fight on the sea, land, and air. Expect more details to release in the coming months.

Finally, EA has confirmed that Battlefield 1 has been added to The Vault of EA Access and Origin Access. Subscribers to these services on Xbox One and Origin on PC can now download and play Battlefield 1 at no additional charge for as long as they’re subscribers. Sadly, you still need Premium if you want to own all the DLC.

Digital Extremes Announces ‘Plains of Eidolon’ Expansion for Warframe

2017-07-09T03:45:00+00:00

It’s exciting times to be a Warframe fan. Announced during Digital Extremes’ annual convention (TennoCon) today, Warframe has a significant expansion, titled Plains of Eidolon, coming in the near future that will help redefine expectations from the London-based developer. The biggest and most notable addition is Landscapes, which is an entirely reworked layout for missions. No longer will you be moving through a generally linear set of rooms, but now you’ll be able to move through vast open areas with far more freedom. There’s even a day/night system in place where Plains of Eidolon will change.

“We have announced big things for Warframe at TennoCon before but nothing like this. Adding Landscapes is a huge leap that we’ve been working on for some time,” said Steve Sinclair, creative director of Warframe. “Plains of Eidolon is our first step in adding a new kind of player freedom to the game. We wanted to give our players something new, something dramatic, and that meant taking risks and evolving the game in a fresh, new direction. For veteran players, we’re always trying to give them a living, evolving game. Landscapes is a great example of how we do that. If you bounced off Warframe a while ago, this is a very different feel for the game that warrants a second look. We can’t wait to see how people react to this!”

Because of this new layout, mission layouts will be different from what you can expect, changing how you find and assemble Warframes and equipment in the process. That’s not all, as Warframe will include actual NPCs to interact with, within the bustling city of Cetus. Before, you were saving individuals through a communications device, but now you’ll be able to put a body to a floating face.

This opens up for lots of adventure opportunities as these NPCs will give you quests, have their own stories to tell and even their own motivations. You’ll even meet the Ostrons, a group of scavengers who harvest biomechanical tissue from dormant Orokin Towers.

Warframe is available right now for PlayStation 4 and PC with Plains of Eidolon coming in the near future. Be sure to read about our impressions with Plains of Eidolon soon and check out screenshots and the debut trailer below:

Bioware has removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from Mass Effect: Andromeda

2017-07-09T03:07:49+00:00

A few days ago, we informed you about a new patch for Mass Effect: Andromeda. However, and even though it was not included in its release notes, it appears that this patch has completely removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

We don’t know whether this was intentional or not. After all, we’ve seen developers rolling out patches without the inclusion of the Denuvo anti-tamper tech and then re-applying it via a new update.

But anyway, right now, the 1.9 version of Mass Effect: Andromeda is not powered by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech (though the game is still protected by ORIGIN).

Mass Effect: Andromeda joins a number of games for which the developers/publishers have removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech once their games got cracked. These include DOOM, HITMAN, RiME and Homefront: The Revolution.

Playerunkown’s Battlegrounds has been slightly delayed, still targets a Q4 2017 release

2017-07-09T03:05:56+00:00

When Bluehole Studio launched the Early Access phase of Playerunkown’s Battlegrounds, it claimed that the final build would be coming in around six months. However, it appears that things have slightly changed as the game has been slightly delayed.

Bluehole Studio stated that it is pushing the full launch back a bit from the initial six-month timeframe, though it still targets a Q4 2017 release.

The reason behind this delay? The pressure the team may experience, something that could have a negative impact on the game itself.

As Brendan Greene explained:

“Over the past few months I have done a lot of interviews, and in many of them, I said we hoped to be out of Early Access six months after we first launched. I’ve come to realize that restricting the window to a specific month could hinder us from delivering a fully featured game and/or lead to disappointment within the community if the launch deadline is not met.”

RYSE: Son of Rome is now available for free on GameSessions for the next 30 days

2017-07-09T02:22:47+00:00

GameSessions, the digital services provider that allows gamers to try PC games before they buy, today launched GameSessions Giveaways, a new service that will see the company regularly giveaway free games, starting with Crytek’s visually impressive title, RYSE: Son of Rome.

RYSE: Son of Rome is available to download, play and keep for free from today. Everyone can claim their copy of RYSE: Son of Rome, for free, from GameSessions.com for the next 30 days. Games become activated for the user after they have been played for around 5 minutes.

Ed French, CEO of GameSessions commented:

“RYSE is a breath-taking game which everyone should play, whether for the engaging combat, or the intense atmosphere. This is the first time RYSE has been made available to play for free; and we want to invite gamers to enjoy this blockbuster title at GameSessions.”

GameSessions Giveaways is a new offer, supported by brand partners and sponsors, that will showcase great games and introduce new users to the GameSessions trials service. GameSessions trials allows gamers to play a wide range of games for free on their own PC with the option to buy the full title in-game and play on instantly through Steam, without losing their progress.

Ed French added:

“We’re extremely excited about our new service, GameSessions Giveaways, which offers gamers fantastic PC titles, absolutely free. Through trying out our GameSessions technology even more gamers will find out how easy it is to use our services and explore the hundreds of free trials of other games available now at GameSessions.com.

We will provide a succession of great games via GameSessions Giveaways completely free to everyone. The games provided can be even better thanks to the support of our brand partners who help us acquire the best possible content. In return, the sponsor will get the chance to show a brief pre-roll video and infrequent in-game overlays to highlight what they can offer gamers. So, we get to show users GameSessions, the brand-partner gets to show what they can do for gamers, and gamers get great games completely free.”

Have fun!

AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition runs Crysis 3 with an average of 46fps at 1440p/Very High Settings

2017-07-09T02:19:00+00:00

YouTube’s ‘DudeRandom84’ got his hands on an AMD Radeon Frontier Edition and decided to put Crysis 3 to the test. DudeRandom84 used the game’s Very High settings at 1440p with 2xMSAA, and the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Eition was simply unable to offer an optimal gaming experience.

DudeRandom84 got an average of 46fps, and in some scenes the framerate dropped below 35fps. Of course we do have to note that AMD needs to further optimize its drivers as GPU usage was dropping in some scenes, resulting in an underwhelming performance. Still, do not expect miracles as in other scenes, the GPU was used to its fullest and was running the game with 38fps.

Naturally, NVIDIA’s GTX1080Ti offers a better gaming experience, and we don’t expect the consumer version of the Vega graphics cards, the Radeon RX Vega, to be able to compete with it. As we’ve already said, AMD’s Radeon RX Vega will most likely be somewhere between the GTX1080Ti and the GTX1080.

It’s also worth noting that DudeRandom84 used an Intel i7 Kaby Lake 7700K, so most probably there weren’t any CPU limitations during these tests.

AMD will release the consumer/gaming variant of Vega at the end of July, so stay tuned for more!

Open Beta for Raw Data PvP Opens Today

2017-07-09T01:56:00+00:00

Popular shooter Raw Data is expected to get a full release in September 2017 for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, but before that happens, players who already own the Early Access version of the title can participate in an open Beta of the PvP expansion Raw Data: Hostile Takeover.

Players who have bought a copy of Raw Data will be able to participate in the weekend Open Beta test. The Beta build of Raw Data is already available to download so players can grab the files ready for when the Beta servers go live on Friday 7^th July at 12pm PT. The Beta test will run until Saturday 8^th July, with the servers closing at 9pm PT on that day.

Events will be available to players over that time period, such as a Friday ‘Play with the Devs’ session at 3pm-5pm PT, and ‘Happy Hours’ on both Friday and Saturday.

Steam users can opt-in to the Beta by going in to the Steam Library, right-clicking on Raw Data and selecting the BETAS tab from the Properties menu. The development team do note that users who choose to join in the Beta will be playing with an unfinished build, so bugs and glitches should be expected. Single-player and co-op content will also be disabled with users are playing the PvP Beta in order to prevent corruption to existing save files.

Developer Survios have also set up a channel on popular chat application Discord where players who choose to join in the PvP Beta can join in the Hostile Takeover server to discuss the PvP expansion with fellow players as well as the developers. Further information can be found on the Raw Data Steam page.

Fallout 4 Lawsuit Filed for Music Used without Consent In Violent Ads

2017-07-09T01:45:00+00:00

Zenimax Media, the parent company to Bethesda, is being taken to court over music licensing issues. And none other than singer/songwriter Dion DiMucci is filing the lawsuit for use of ‘The Wanderer’ in Fallout 4 ads.

According to the lawsuit, Dion’s music was used without his consent. To add insult to injury, he found the Fallout 4 ads in which it was used to be deplorable. That seems to be his biggest issue, calling them “objectionable because they featured repeated homicides in a dark, dystopian landscape, where violence is glorified as sport. The killings and physical violence were not to protect innocent life, but instead were repugnant and morally indefensible images designed to appeal to young consumers.”

However, information becomes a little foggy when we look at the records of consent. Court documents indicate that DiMucci and UMG Recordings agreed to license the song for use in Fallout 4. The stipulation, however, was that DiMucci could refuse consent if he was dissatisfied by the use. Alternatively, he could renegotiate for a higher fee if the advertisement was not to his liking. Or, if his problem simply lied with ad content, he could tell Zenimax to portray a better story of survival. All in theory.

According to DiMucci, he didn’t even know about the ad until he saw it for himself. And this lawsuit is coming two years after the fact.

Time will tell in which direction this lawsuit as headed. As of yet, there’s been no word from Zenimax, so check back for more news as events unfold. Until then and beyond, be sure to make the most of your Fallout 4 experience.

SOURCE

Ubisoft Wants To Try and Break Some Molds with Far Cry 5

2017-07-09T01:23:04+00:00

Far Cry 5 is set to deliver quite a few changes to the franchise. It’s the first time the series lands in America, for starters, and it will feature a character creator (again, a first time for Far Cry) and the ability to play the whole campaign in co-op mode with a friend. Furthermore, its story and AI have both been described as “dynamic” in comparison to the largely linear progression of previous titles.

Speaking to EDGE in the latest August issue (https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/gaming/edge-magazine-back-issues/edge-august-2017-issue-308/, Ubisoft’s Game Director Dan Hay explained that’s because the development team is trying to break some molds with Far Cry 5.

When you build games, there are always those heartbreaking moments where you have to leave features on the cutting-room floor because you have to ship. But this is a game where we want to test ourselves. This is a game where we want to try and move some things around and break some molds.

I think games are really maturing to the point where you can tell great stories and, almost in the same vein as they do on television and in movies, put someone into an environment where you’re challenging them and telling them something unique – you’re giving them an experience that they can’t get anywhere else.

Hay also added that it’s a new feeling to develop a game whose theme is so close to real life events.

Typically, when you’re making a game, you’re earnestly working on it and you’ve got your nose to the grindstone. When you get up to take a smoke break, or go outside and take some fresh air, you walk out into a world that’s remarkably different to the one you’re making.

That’s not necessarily the case on this game, and it’s a very strange feeling to go outside and have people around you talking about things that could be in your game. But putting the player against somebody who really does believe that they’re doing right by humanity, at a moment in time where that seems to be a theme in the world…that just feels right.

He’s obviously referring to the religious and militaristic fanaticism displayed by antagonist Joseph Seed, a preacher so convinced that the end of the days is coming he ended up creating a cult and trying to force everyone in the fictional Hope County to join it.

It will be up to the player character, a sheriff’s deputy, to recruit help and take down “the Father” once Far Cry 5 ships for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 27th, 2018. Check out Kai’s hands-on from E3 2017 for some impressions on how the game plays.

Warframe’s Plains of Eidolon Expansion Is The Game’s First Open Zone ‘Landscape’

2017-07-09T01:20:07+00:00

The big news out of TennoCon is Plains of Eidolon, Warframe’s latest expansion due this year. Digital Extremes just announced it during the event in their hometown of London, Ontario, Canada.

Plains of Eidolon, set on Earth, will be Warframe’s first Open Zone ‘Landscape’. The press release explains that this will be a full blown open world with day/night cycle, filled with NPCs to interact with.

For the first time in Warframe history, Tenno will have the freedom to explore, fight, journey and fly through the open Landscapes – Warframe’s first Open Zone – of Planet Earth in their own time, in their own way. Stepping into the rolling Plains of Eidolon, players will experience a rich landscape populated with both familiar and never-before seen creatures, enemies, a new Warframe, stunning vistas lit with a day/night cycle, and a gripping story told through interactive NPC characters who inhabit the bustling scavenger city of Cetus. In Plains of the Eidolon, players will set foot in a natural landscape with the freedom to explore it on their own terms.

With the first introduction of Landscapes in Warframe, Plains of Eidolon enables players to discover a bustling town full of NPCs with their own stories to tell, motives, quirks, and quests to offer. Cetus, a makeshift basecamp for scavengers known as Ostrons who’ve made The Bleeding Tower their home, is filled with activity and surprise. In this immense and gorgeous new landscape, players are challenged to attain a new Warframe and new weapons, engage in new story elements, and soar over the plains using Archwing – mechanical wings previously only used in space or under water. But beware — when night falls, even the invading Grineer flee the Spectral Sentients that haunt their colossal remains on the Plains of Eidolon.

“We have announced big things for Warframe at TennoCon before but nothing like this. Adding Landscapes is a huge leap that we’ve been working on for some time,” said Steve Sinclair, creative director of Warframe. “Plains of Eidolon is our first step in adding a new kind of player freedom to the game. We wanted to give our players something new, something dramatic, and that meant taking risks and evolving the game in a fresh, new direction. For veteran players, we’re always trying to give them a living, evolving game. Landscapes is a great example of how we do that. If you bounced off Warframe a while ago, this is a very different feel for the game that warrants a second look. We can’t wait to see how people react to this!”

KEY FEATURES

Landscapes (Open Zones) – Until now, Warframe missions have taken place in relatively closed environments. With the Plains of the Eidolon expansion, players will set foot in a vast natural landscape free to explore on their own terms.
Meet the Inhabitants of Cetus – Never before have Tenno encountered the faceless people whose lives they have saved, until now. Meet the Ostrons, a makeshift group of scavengers whose culture revolves around the grotesque harvesting of biomechanical tissue from long dormant Orokin Towers.
Different Kind of Mission – In addition to discovering and exploring, players will engage in an assortment of missions to find and assemble new Warframes and weapons, items and more. Expect to strap on Archwing for air travel and battle, and experiment with customizing and modding a Warframe like never before.
Discover and Explore – Plains of the Eidolon offers a sense of discovery, variety, and mystery that mixes several different environments and tones to create a deep sense of place. Experience a bristling new world in where the wind rustles across your Syandana and the age and size of giant Orokin structures ominously looms in the background. Earth will be more alive than ever before.

You may take a look at the first screenshots in the gallery as well as the teaser trailer just below.

Metal Gear Survive E3 2017 Hands-on: Don’t Dismiss This One Just Yet

2017-07-08T13:42:00+00:00

Finishing up the final day of E3 2017 was a quiet appointment with Konami to see one of their two major titles this year. While the announcement of a new Pro Evolution Soccer is sure to excite players across the pond, it’s the upcoming Metal Gear Survive that caught my attention. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was among my favorite games of 2015 and I was excited at the prospect of another game taking advantage and using all of those complex and interconnected mechanics.

Taking place in a desolate wasteland, far away from the comforts of Mother Base, our four person squad was given the simple task of defending an electronic installation against increasing waves of Wanderers and all manner of humanoid creatures. Our experience first opened with a brief tutorial on the mechanics and the option to pick one of four preset load outs, which Konami assured us was just to get us on our feet that much quicker, as the full Metal Gear Survive experience won’t feature traditional classes or presets. I stuck with one that could cover most of the basics: mid- to long-range assault rifle, pistol, (useless) slingshot launcher, and electric stun baton for melee. Before the mission began, we were taken to a virtual firing range where we were given the opportunity to test out controls and see the different mechanics all come together to get a feel for synergy with the weapon diversity.

Metal Gear Survive features a fairly slim amount of base building, with the structures already put together for the defense point. What our squad had control of were more of the specialized structures, like fences and sniper towers. Building the usual walls to stop the invading waves was typically the first priority for every member of my team, while I set up a couple of sniper nests in order to provide some longer range support (mortars, in particular). Resource management, at least early on, felt rather tricky and our materials were finite more than I would have expected, but this should be common in a proper survival game. This made the other essentials like crafting ammo less of a priority until much later in the mission in comparison to impeding the waves through defensive walls and fortifications.

At a quick glance, I wasn’t able to see if any of those ammo types actually matched what guns I had equipped and felt like I was blindly picking what I thought would’ve been the most common of assault rifle ammo (5.56mm, of course). Once it was crafted, there wasn’t any real indication of how I even equip what I just crafted and was instead left beginning the next wave with little more than my secondary firearm, some silly little slingshot that didn’t have any immediate effect, and a melee weapon that was my only reliable friend in the later waves. That is until I branched out for a quick little side quest.

Inside the defensive base were a number of crafting stations, one of which allowed the opportunity for crafting various classes of ammo. With ammo being utterly finite and quite easy to burn through with a fully automatic weapon, knowing when to take advantage and replenish between waves feels like a crucial part of the Metal Gear Survive experience. I am admittedly awful at Call of Duty’s Zombies modes, where I use my guns in the early waves versus the knife when it’s still viable. I could see how skills could carry over between the two games even though Metal Gear Survive asks for a more tactical approach out of its players.

In between waves, Metal Gear Survive expects the player to be productive and prepare for the next wave of enemies. Whether this is in crafting, refreshing the base structures, or laying down new obstacles, there’s always something to do. If you’re feeling ambitious, something our guide referred to as side quests would spring up around the world, indicated by a wide blue mark on the mini-maps. Within were usually some higher level enemies that would prove to be a challenge for a solo player. Clearing them out typically lead to fresh loot and materials, but one held an exceptionally useful bonus: a Walker Gear.

For most of the remainder of our match, I took the lead and ran out to take out the zombie threats. The feel of simply running up and side-kicking your way to victory feels amazing, although I had to be careful not to do the same to the Bomber, Metal Gear Survive’s version of a walking bomb. I made that mistake once and my poor walker gear blew up, leaving me incapacitated until one of my teammates could resurrect me.

I was somewhat cautious on the prospect of a cooperative survival title being connected to Metal Gear, but after having played through Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and loving every minute of it, I knew that engine could put in some work. I was already a huge fan of the multiplayer missions to Peace Walker (Isla del Monstruo in particular) and knew that creating a strange synergy with survival and the FOX Engine could actually turn out pretty decently if the team could pull it off. While my time with Metal Gear Survive was brief, every minute of it left me wanting more. Metal Gear Survive is among my top favorite titles to have the opportunity to check out firsthand, and I’ll be picking it up on day one once it arrives on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in early 2018.

DayZ Creator Says ARK Price Increase Is Outrageous and Born Out of Greed, as The Game Is Not Ready

2017-07-08T13:37:34+00:00

Recently, ARK: Survival Evolved’s creator Studio Wildcard increased the price of the game from $30 to $60 as the title approaches its full launch, due on August 8th on all platforms (PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One).

Even though this decision had been announced earlier, some fans still didn’t agree with it, including DayZ creator Dean Hall. Over the course of several tweets, he vented all his displeasure towards the decision to double ARK price at this point in time. He stated that it’s “****ing outrageous” because the game is nowhere near ready and still very buggy in his opinion.

Hall then added that increasing the ARK price this way represents a “huge disconnect” with the community born out of “pure and simple” greed. Lastly, he said that this sets a “terrible precedent” and an AAA “state” should be required for an AAA price.

Just so we're clear on my opinion: the price increase for Ark is ****ing OUTRAGEOUS.
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) July 6, 2017

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Ark: The game is nowhere near ready for that kind of price. It's greed - pure and simple. It represents a huge disconnect with the community
— Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) July 6, 2017

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Or is it because how much they raised the prices vs. the state of the game? I imagine if they're orepping for release it has to be... Close?
— Adam Bromell 🚀 (@adambromell) July 6, 2017

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Though from what I've seen from the decisions they've made in the past I'm (unfortunately) not surprised.
— Adam Bromell 🚀 (@adambromell) July 6, 2017

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Predictably, some of his own Twitter followers pointed out that DayZ, the game that made Hall famous, is also still far from finished (it only recently

Hall countered that this was a strawman’s argument – attacking the person making the statement rather than the statement itself.

LOL your kidding right? Ever hear of a little game called DayZ?
— xXDaGameXx (@xXDaGameXx) July 6, 2017

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The absolute cheek of this fella.. ever heard of Day Z mate? https://t.co/3HKjgmj8Ju
— Bryan 📷 (@Bryacre) July 6, 2017

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Hall left Bohemia Interactive in November 2014 to found RocketWerkz. The company’s first title, Ion, was eventually canceled. However, he recently announced another project, Stationeers, due on Steam Early Access later this year. In the game, inspired by Space Station 13, players may construct and manage their own space station either by themselves or cooperatively with friends.

We spoke to Studio Wildcard’s Co-Founder and Co-Creative Director at E3 2017 and he explained what will be added to ARK: Survival Evolved ahead of next month’s launch and what will have to wait afterward.

I think we have a couple structures in our upcoming patch, but we are not planning to do any more building tiers or styles prior to launch. We do have a couple surprises for the end game content, some new Engrams that you can get but nothing major.

Bridges will probably be post-launch. Honestly, there’s a really cool bridge mod out there, it’s a dynamic bridge mod, so much so that I know Jeremy looked at it and he was totally impressed with what the guy did. I would say for now go check out that mod but maybe after launch, we’ll try to incorporate something similar. No major changes [for PvE] that we are planning before release.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds initial release date moved back

2017-07-08T11:54:58+00:00

Brendon Greene, the director of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds confirmed yesterday that his game would not be officially released in the span of six-seven months, contrary to what he said during an interview with the popular UK based blog RockPaperShotgun.

“It’s something a lot of people don’t understand and they get a lot of hate because of that. I just try to correct them whenever I can. It’s like, listen, guys, they will get finished. Companies are not going to abandon games like that, you know? People say, ‘oh, DayZ will never be finished,’ and of course it will. People tell us we’re not going to be out of early access in six months; challenge accepted. I can guarantee you, six or seven months and we’re out of early access. It’s the team. It’s a matter of honour, you know? We will finish this game in six months.”

The above quotations were the remarks of Greene when he was indirectly asked when his game would be coming out of the Early Access Phrase by a member of RockPaperShotgun.

However, yesterday, in a Steam update post, Greene anxiously expressed his concerns about how his game would not be able to hit a full release within the six-seven month timeline. He said the following:

“Over the past few months I have done a lot of interviews, and in many of them, I said we hoped to be out of Early Access six months after we first launched. I’ve come to realize that restricting the window to a specific month could hinder us from delivering a fully featured game and/or lead to disappointment within the community if the launch deadline is not met.”

He also said, “So, we have decided to push the full launch back a bit from the initial six-month timeframe, but want to assure you that we are still planning a full release before the end of Q4 2017” thereby hinting the full release of the game by the fourth quarter of this year.

Switch systems apparently come with an internal NES emulator

2017-07-07T01:00:03+00:00

Here’s a little something interesting that we didn’t know about Switch before. With modders now exploring the hardware, it’s been discovered that each system has an internal NES emulator. Aside from the name “flog,” that’s the only information out there.

Now, we do know that NES games will eventually be offered for Switch. Those who subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online starting in 2018 will be able to download a compilation of classic titles with added online play. Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario will be included in the supported titles. These games should presumably be capable of being emulated right off the bat with the “flog” software installed.

Source, Via

Gears of War 4 Update for July Adds Superstar Cole and Windflares To Multiplayer

2017-07-06T10:56:09+00:00

The Gears of War 4 update for July adds powerful windflares to the game’s multiplayer alongside Superstar Cole and new maps.

So far, windflares have only been available in the game’s campaign mode, but the July update adds these storms to Gears 4’s multiplayer mode as well. Windflares culminate in a stormwall with lightning bolts that can fry players in mere seconds.

Two new maps will be added to Gears 4, including Gears of War 1’s Raven Down map.

Set on a tight intersection with a crashed King Raven in the middle, combat on this map is up close and personal – frags can help you to get an edge in combat, but this map is all about your core Gears combat skills.

The reclaimed Windflare map adds the windflare to the peaceful Reclaimed farm setting.

As you play in Versus and Horde, the Windflare will periodically roll into the map, challenging you to battle your enemies and the elements. You’ll need to master movement in the strong winds and judge your aim with projectile weapons well in the wind. As the stormwall hits, prepare to dodge lightning bolts that target players – look for the telltale sizzle to know when to move.

Superstar Cole will be also be added to the game through an upcoming Gear Pack this month. In addition, new events will be made available for players this month, including Raven Down 24/7.

Forza 7 Vs GT Sport Video Compares Xbox One X Vs PS4 Pro Graphics

2017-07-06T09:33:10+00:00

Two and a half minutes worth of footage comparing Forza Motorsport 7 and Gran Turismo Sport. Both games were on display during E3 2017, and both games were supposed to be representing the pinnacle of processing power from Microsoft and Sony’s mid-gen refresh consoles.

The YouTube outlet Madz Gaming compiled the two games.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the sounds are vastly different between the two games. Gran Turismo Sport supposedly has completely overhauled audio design for the cars, but they sound extremely soft in the clips above.

Additionally, the physics – and I didn’t think I would say this – but Forza Motorport 7 completely trounces Gran Turismo Sport in the physics department. The slight rattle of the spoiler and wings at high speeds, the rock of the body frame from the g-force during sharp turns, and the aerodynamics of the vehicles absolutely stood out in Forza 7.

In Gran Turismo Sport the cars are stilted and boxy, and there’s practically no weight distribution during turns or shunts, which completely breaks the racing immersion.

A second video of Gran Turismo Sport continues to show the same problems from the first video. Stilted physics, static environments, practically no environmental ambiance, and low quality dust kick-up. Check it out below.

Graphically there’s almost really no comparison.

The ambient occlusion is more pronounced in Forza Motorsport 7. There are denser shadows in Forza Motorsport 7. The physics are more dynamic in Forza Motorsport 7. The sound is surprisingly clear and very realistic in Forza Motorsport 7.

The whole thing is just completely weighed in favor of Microsoft’s Xbox One X and Forza Motorsport 7.

Polyphony Digital looks like they’re just out of their league this time around, but I suspect some part of that may be due to limiting Gran Turismo Sport to run within the confines of the PlayStation VR headset.

It looks like Xbox One X fans will be in for a real treat when the game launches on October 3rd, 2017.

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX Review

2017-07-06T02:23:00+00:00

I recently reviewed the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founder’s Edition, which I dubbed “The Beast” because it was by far the fastest GPU I had ever tested, destroying every benchmark that stood in its path and demonstrating a shockingly smooth gaming experience at 4K resolution. At that time it was known that once the Founder's Edition was launched, Nvidia's partners would begin to deliver their take on the GPU with extreme cooling and aggressive overclocking, and I waited with bated breath for those to arrive.

The first of them, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX is here (See it on Amazon), and yes, this bad boy’s performance is everything I expected, and the version I tested isn’t even the fastest 1080 Ti card EVGA offers, as there's a FTW3 model that sits slightly above it in the EVGA product stack, and one below it too dubbed the Black Edition. That makes the $750 SC2 with iCX model EVGA's midrange offering, and it costs $50 more than the Founder's Edition, so let's see if it's worth it.

Design and Features

The biggest difference between EVGA’s SC2 card and the Founder's Edition (FE) is the cooling apparatus and the resulting clock speeds. First off, the SC2 has what EVGA calls iCX technology, which is the result of the company fixing an issue it had on its previous generation of cards. The TLDR version of this situation is EVGA's previous GPUs had inadequate cooling on its VRM modules, and that lead the company to come up with iCX, which is an array of temperature sensors all over the card instead of just the usual single temperature sensor. EVGA’s iCX has 10 sensors total to monitor the GPU, the back of the GPU, the power controllers, and the memory modules.

All that data is used to control the speed of the two fans (one for GPU and one for memory modules and power) separately, and you can see more temperatures in its PrecisionX software too. Combine that with a more efficient VRM heatpipe design and this card is one cool cat. Even after overclocking I never saw temps above 72C, whereas the Founder's Edition regularly ran at 84C.The big difference between the Founder's Edition's "blower style" cooler and the SC2's dual fans is the FE card exhausts the heat outside of your chassis whereas the SC2 card circulates it inside the chassis.

The iCX sensors displayed in PrecisionXOC

The card's audacious cooling allows it to run at higher clock speeds than the Founder's Edition, generally speaking. The GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX is tuned for a 1,556MHz base clock, compared to the Founder's Edition 1480MHz, and the SC2 has a 1,670MHz boost clock, compared to 1,582MHz. This boost clock is impressive enough, but keep in mind that before I even overclocked the GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX I saw it hit 1,920 MHz under heavy benchmarking load, so as always the specs of these cards are somewhat irrelevant once Nvidia's GPU Boost 3.0 gets to work.

The EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX hardware itself is solidly constructed. Nvidia removed the DVI-D port on the Founder's Edition in order to make room for additional cooling, but EVGA added it back since it's cooling was sufficient as-is. The card also sports a nifty illuminated logo that offers RGB lighting with the traditional options for having it be static, breathing, etc. There are also blue LEDs in the fans but they are hard to see unless you look underneath the card.

Pouncing on Benchmarks

I tested the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX on IGN’s shiny new test system equipped with an Intel 4.2GHz Core i7-7700K, 8GB RAM, a 500GB Intel SSD and an Asus Prime Z270-A motherboard running Windows 10 Home.

Benchmarks were run at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 (4K) resolutions in full-screen mode and always set to maximum or ultra quality. In all benchmarks, the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX outperformed the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition roughly by five percent. More importantly, games looked amazing. Rise of the Tomb Raider, a gorgeous game to begin with, was absolutely stellar with its graphics settings maxed out. Shadow of Mordor at 4K set on Ultra was almost mesmerizing.

Speaking of mesmerizing, I could sit and watch the Heaven benchmark at 4K all day. The scene where the camera angle swings down over the dragon in the courtyard showed off the texturing and lighting capabilities of the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX, with the light glistening off the dragon’s veiny wings looked stunning. Also, as I mentioned above, though the GTX 1080 Ti SC2 was only about five percent faster than the Founder's Edition, it achieved this feat while running noticeably cooler, with the delta averaging roughly 12C under load. If you're the type of gamer that gets nervous seeing your precious parts running over 80C, the SC2 will help keep your mind at ease a bit.

Overclocking

I used EVGA’s Precision XOC utility to overclock the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX. I held the power limit at 100 percent and kept the temperature target at 84 degrees C, not that it matters because the card never approached that temperature. Then I edged the GPU clock speed up in 25 MHz increments to +100 MHz to 2025MHz. I increased the memory clock speed in 100 MHz increments to get to +300 MHz or 5805 MHz. Fans, set to auto, barely sped up, and GPU temps stayed between 58 and 72 during testing. This is a very slight improvement over what I was able to do with the Founder's Edition card, but it's basically a tie as that card got up to 1987MHz.

In my experience most of these high-end GeForce cards can get quite close or even slightly over 2GHz, so there's not too many surprises here. One thing that is cool, pun intended, is you can see temps for power and memory in PrecisionXOC as opposed to just GPU temp, thanks to the iCX sensors.

Purchasing Guide

The EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX has an MSRP of $749.99, and since it was just released that's price window it sells for on Amazon and other retailers:

• See the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX on Amazon

Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

The Verdict

Overall the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX outperformed the GTX 1080 Ti Founder's Edition at every opportunity and did so while running about 12C cooler too, which is quite a feat. I saw a performance delta of about 5 percent faster before overclocking, and with overclocking I was able to squeeze out a bit more. Either way, I was more than impressed by the ability of the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX to handle any 4K benchmark with all the graphics options set as high as they can go at more than 60 FPS (except for Heaven which was a mere 56 FPS).

This is the first EVGA card I’ve tested with iCX cooling and the benefits are clear. Even under the most demanding workload the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX was a cool cat. This is remarkable given the two slot design as other manufacturers have gone up to 2.5 or even three slot width to handle this powerful GPU’s heat. Moreover, the dual fans remained quiet as they efficiently cooled the card throughout testing.

Cool, quiet, flexibly tweakable, and (relatively) modest in stature are all great things when it comes to a graphics card. Combine those with excellent performance and you’ve got a winner with the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 with iCX. There are more reviews like this to come, but for now the EVGA SC2 is easily one of the best GPUs I've ever tested.

GT Sport pit stop video confirms mechanical damage

2017-07-05T06:05:10+00:00

GT Sport was present at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed event which gave lucky attendees the chance to sample the very latest build from Polyphony Digital.

One such attendee "aderrrm3" captured some gameplay showing a pit stop in action, which actually confirms the existence of mechanical damage. Upon entering the pits you will trigger a somewhat awkward looking animated pit sequence (see below).

Once you've decided on tyre choice, you are given the option to repair “Engine”, “Suspension” and “Aero”, a fourth “Do Not Repair” option is also available. This all but confirms the existence of mechanical damage which is fantastic news and should help massively to improve the realism of GT Sport which currently doesn't punish players for crashing into others and exploiting track barriers and whatnot.

Gran Turismo Sport is currently scheduled for an Autumn 2017 release, we'll have more on the title shortly.

Forza Motorsport 7's Weather Effects Are Frighteningly Real On Xbox One X

2017-07-05T05:52:18+00:00

Certain types of genres tend to showcase what a console can do more than others. Personally, racing games have always been go-to’s for visual buffets. For its time, Driveclub showed how marvelous PS4 games could look on the system. Ever since Xbox One launched, Forza has brought remarkable visuals to life.

Whether you’re talking about Forza Motorsport or Forza Horizon, both brands look breathtaking on Xbox One. Insert Xbox One X and say hello to dramatically improved visuals. Many of you out there may not expect a third party game to deliver a truly maxed out Xbox One X experience.

I don’t expect that either. Its the first party games that will shine. To kick everything off, I’m fully expecting Forza Motorsport 7 to blow the lid off of Xbox One X capacity. Xbox’s head of operations Dave McCarthy spoke about how Forza Motorsport 7 runs on Xbox One X, as well as the breadth of games they showed at E3 2017.

“I think that for a racing simulation, like Forza Motorsport 7, it takes it to a whole new level. You [can almost] feel the heat coming off the cars and the weather effects are frighteningly real.

“You saw [that] in the diversity of game types we showed. We showed community games, indie games, triple-A games, games from around the globe. There are all these different types of games for different types of gamers now. It has never been more diverse,” McCarthy told MCV.

I can remember playing Forza Motorsport 6 and thinking how amazing the game looks. This brand has always been a visual showcase for Xbox One and I fully expect that trend to continue. Of all the upcoming Xbox One exclusives, Forza Motorsport is the most important in my mind. It is the one game that can truly show off Xbox One X right away and I think it will.

Xbox One X is going to release this coming Nov. 7 for the price of $499. Games like Crackdown 3 and Forza Motorsport 7 will be available at launch. Other great games will arrive on Nov. 7 and in the months after.