Yesterday Bethesda announced beta registration for its upcoming strategy card game, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, has now opened. The free-to-play game will feature a variety of deck types and strategies, plus game modes including a full solo campaign, quick skirmishes, and arena matches versus other players. Check out the trailer below for an overview of Legends’ gameplay. If you’re interested in participating in the closed beta, then you can sign up over at the game’s official site. Legends will also be playable at Bethesda’s booth during PAX East, which takes place this weekend in Boston.
Legends is being developed for PC and iPad in conjunction with strategy card game specialists Dire Wolf Digital. Other platforms will be announced sometime in the future, along with a release date for the full game. Let us know your thoughts on The Elder Scrolls: Legends over in the forums. Agent 47's next assignment takes him to Italy, and the beautiful coastal town of Sapienza. Silvio Caruso, a brilliant bioengineer, is reportedly working on a DNA-specific virus able to infect anyone, anywhere in the world. It's your job to stop him. Episode 2 promises to be packed with new challenges and opportunities for the creative assassin to explore. Check out the trailer below. New content will include:
20 levels of Sapienza Mastery, with the following unlocks:
Also being added is a reconnect option. If you're playing an online mode and get disconnected during gameplay, you'll have the option to immediately reconnect and resume play without losing any progress, instead of returning to the main menu. Sapienza will set you back £7.99 if you already have the starter pack, or can be downloaded free for those who've purchased the full game. If you've not made up your mind yet, check out our HITMAN - Intro Pack review, as well as Sam’s second opinion piece, before the next episode is released on 26 April. Excited about the new content? Share your thoughts with us in the forums. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst delayed again21/4/2016 Mirror’s Edge Catalyst has been delayed for a second time, although this hold up is not quite as significant as the last which saw the game pushed back three months from its original release date of 23 February. The reason for this most recent delay is because DICE want to make sure the new Social Play features included in Catalyst will be running smoothly upon release day, as well as allowing themselves plenty of time to analyse feedback from the upcoming closed beta and iron out any potential bugs.
Design Director Erik Odeldahl broke the news via a post on the game’s official site, stating: “Taking on Dashes designed by DICE, creating your own Time Trials, climbing the Leaderboards, and connecting with your Runner friends are some of the Social Play features we’re really excited about – and something we want to play flawlessly…To support the Social Play features, we are using a brand new online technology. We also want to make sure we have the opportunity and time to address player feedback from the Closed Beta.” Despite the most recent set back, there is still a chance for fans of Faith’s free running adventures to go hands on with Catalyst in the closed beta, which kicks off tomorrow for those lucky enough to be selected for participation. Let us know your thoughts on Mirror’s Edge Catalyst's latest delay over in the forums. Sony may never release a PlayStation 520/4/2016 In a recent interview, Oddworld Inhabitants’ Lorne Lanning revealed that he asked PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida what the PlayStation 5 would look like. Yoshida replied: "You mean if..." Yoshida’s comments are most likely just more evidence that manufacturers such as Sony could be heading in a new direction when it comes to consoles. Rather than seeing a big upgrade every 7 years or so, we could see smaller upgrades released periodically.
If the recent reports about Sony and Microsoft working on higher spec consoles are to be believed, then this new take on console gaming could be closer than we think. Lanning also said in the interview: "The idea that you're going to release a piece of technology that's going to last for seven years into the future is becoming, I think, less and less viable even though the generations of platforms are lasting longer." Mobile phones are brought out yearly, each new version offering up an improved performance over the last, and a high end PC is only high end until something better comes out. It's understandable that consoles would eventually follow suit. Upgradeable consoles might not be so desirable for developers. With the current systems, specifications are locked, devs know exactly what they're working with and they can become more efficient over time. Pricing could also be an issue as the base model would need to be a lot cheaper if people are expected to constantly upgrade their hardware. Of course, this is all just speculation for the time being and another option is that Yoshida simply meant they were going to be more creative with the new console’s name. Would you rather see manufacturers stick with the current formula, or would you like to see upgradeable consoles become a reality? Let us know in the forums. PS4K, PS4.5 or whatever you want to call it, the rumours will not go away. The latest hearsay regarding an upgraded PS4 comes via Giant Bomb, who claim to have been given new details on Sony’s improved console from multiple sources.
According to those sources the new console is codenamed NEO, and as previous rumours have suggested it will feature more powerful innards (that’s the technical term) than the PS4 currently available, with an improved clock speed, GPU, and higher bandwidth on the memory. The HDD will remain the same as the original PS4, although Giant Bomb note it’s unconfirmed whether ‘the same’ refers to connection speed or capacity. In layman terms, all those fancy new specs mean the NEO will be able to support higher and more stable framerates, as well as improved visual fidelity.
The more powerful console will support 4K image output, with Sony outlining in documents obtained by Giant Bomb and Eurogamer how developers can best achieve a 4K/Ultra HD resolution on NEO mode game builds, and that they must be able to meet or surpass the framerate of the same game on the original PS4. NEO mode refers to the title given to games that will be able to utilise the more powerful console’s specs. In an apparent attempt to avoid dividing the player base, NEO mode games will be exactly the same content-wise as the standard PS4 version, with only the framerate and visuals improved. There will be no NEO exclusive games, but developers will have the option to upgrade their previous games released on the PS4 to NEO standards, should they choose to do so. The NEO will share the same PSN store and online communities with the original PS4, plus any games or peripherals that worked on the older console will be usable/playable on the new one (such as the PS Eye Camera and Move controllers), which is handy with PSVR releasing this year. Despite numerous reports that Sony are indeed working on an upgraded PS4, there has been no official communication or statement from the company regarding the rumours or when any such console would be released. Today’s reports suggest developers will need to start releasing games which can support the original PS4 and the NEO as of October this year, which could point to a potential winter release for the new console. Not to be outdone in the rumour department, there’s a few fresh suggestions that Microsoft could have an improved Xbox One on the way. During Microsoft’s recent Build 2016 event, Phil Spencer denied there were plans in place for an Xbox 1.5, stating he would rather see a substantial change when it came to new consoles rather than smaller improvements: “Not a big fan of one and a half. I think about what happens in most spaces. If I’m going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers… For us, our box is doing well. It performs. It’s reliable. The service is up. If we go forward with anything, I want to make it a substantial change.” Spencer’s rhetoric regarding an improved console may have quashed Xbox 1.5 rumours for the past few weeks, but they now look to be resurfacing following some savvy internet sleuthing. As reported by The Verge, NeoGaf user ekim has stumbled upon a few Federal Communications Commission (better known as the FCC) filings showing Microsoft have recently been testing a new Xbox One wireless chip. Ekim managed to circumnavigate Microsoft’s non-disclosure agreement with the FCC regarding images of the new chip by heading over to their Brazilian equivalent, Anatel, whose stance on NDAs is more lenient. Sources suggest Microsoft has been experimenting with a variety of Xbox prototypes, some of which feature upgraded components similar to those found in PC gaming set-ups. Despite his recent comments discrediting talk of an Xbox 1.5, Phil Spencer has in the past hinted that Microsoft could possibly introduce upgradable hardware options for Xbox One, which would put the console on similar footing with gaming PC's. Much like the NEO reports, these rumours remain officially unconfirmed. Hopefully this year’s E3 will see both companies break silence regarding plans for the next step in console gaming. Let us know your thoughts on today’s speculation over in the forums. 2K Games have released a trailer for the third title in the Mafia franchise; set in 1968, the player controls Lincoln Clay, an orphan and Vietnam veteran who returned home after the war to find a new family in the black mob. You won't be alone in this, as you'll be able to recruit other gang leaders to serve as your lieutenants - including the protagonist of Mafia II, Vito Scaletta. The story sounds intriguing and the graphics looks superb. Feast your eyes on the trailer below. You can easily pre-order Mafia III from a number of retailers, by going to the game's official site and choosing your region, retailer and edition.
All pre-orders will come with the Family Kick-Back, which includes three exclusive weapons and vehicles. The limited deluxe edition comes with the game and season pass, whilst the limited collector's edition has all of that, as well as additional physical content, such as the game's score on vinyl, a collectible art book, art prints, and some other items that have yet to be announced. Mafia III will be available for PC and consoles from 7 October. What do you think of the trailer? Interested in pre-ordering? Let us know in the forums. Insomniac Games certainly aren’t shy when it comes to a challenge, with the studio revealing their plans to release an unprecedented five games in 2016 across PC and consoles, three of which are based in VR. The aptly named studio (there’s no way their staff can be getting any sleep) detailed their four other games coming this year via a special media event held last week, sharing some details and footage of the upcoming projects. Insomniac aren’t bearing the burden completely alone, with Oculus, GameStop and PlayStation all partnering up with the independent studio to publish the various games. The three VR titles currently in development for the Oculus Rift are:
Despite the heavy focus on VR, Insomniac haven’t been neglecting more traditional games. Song of the Deep is a 2D Metroidvania-style adventure game about a young girl searching for her missing father in a vast ocean The result of a partnership with video game retailer GameStop, Song of the Deep will be available to purchase from their stores as well as digitally on Xbox Live, PlayStation Store and Steam on 12 July.
An accompanying novel penned by Insomniac’s Chief Creative Officer, Brian Hastings, will be also be released soon, although so far it’ll only be available stateside in Barnes & Noble stores. It definitely looks to be a busy year for Insomniac with all these games on the way. Let us know your thoughts on the studio's upcoming projects over in the forums. Insomniac's bonkers Xbox One exclusive, Sunset Overdrive, is currently free for Xbox Live Gold members via the Games with Gold programme, so if this just isn't enough Insomniac for you, give it a download via the Xbox Store. Batman Arkham HD collection leaked18/4/2016 The above image comes from Eurogamer who were sent the picture by a GameStop employee. There’s no pricing details as of yet, but the leak shows that pre-orders for the HD collection will go live 19 April and the release date is 10 June.
Arkham Asylum and Arkham City both received positive reviews upon release; Asylum was even awarded a place in The Guinness Book Of World Records as the Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game, before City took the crown. Arkham Origins - whilst not a bad game by any means - is often considered the weakest of the series, although it was praised for allowing The World’s Greatest Detective to engage in more detective work than in the previous titles. The multiplayer mode wasn’t much of a success, but the story was great and featured a brilliant sorrow of villains (we’re pretty sure that’s the collective noun) to face off against. Origins’ exclusion may cause ire for some but there’s still plenty of fun to be had with Asylum and City, as well as the DLC. Are you a fan of the series? Fancy picking up the collection? Let us know in the forums. Utomik announce partnership with SEGA18/4/2016 21 SEGA games have been added to Utomik's roster of PC titles, including Alpha Protocol, The Cave, Empire: Total War, Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai and Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Episodes 1 & 2. SEGA Europe’s Vice President of Commercial Publishing, John Clark, had this to say on the new partnership; “SEGA has always been a pioneer in terms of new and easy to use consumer interaction gaming technologies. We are co-operating with Utomik because it fits our digital strategy and offers a highly effective user-friendly platform. By adding SEGA titles into Utomik’s subscription service, we are opening up a totally new channel for our existing PC games and will reach a broader consumer audience. This first step is important as we believe subscription gaming will become an important component of our business moving forward.”
Utomik’s CEO, Doki Tops, added; “Utomik is excited to welcome SEGA as its partner. We can’t wait to offer our fast growing number of subscribers the chance to play iconic game titles like Total War Empire and Sonic the Hedgehog 4. We are thrilled that SEGA has also decided to join our journey to “Unleash Gaming” designed to bring more games to more people. We are looking forward to a long term partnership with the SEGA team.” Utomik is currently in open beta and the monthly subscription will be discounted to £4.49 for the duration. If you want to know more, or capitalise on a free trial, you can check out Utomik’s official website. Is a partnership with SEGA and a reduced cost of entry enough to encourage you to give Utomik a try? Let us know in the forums. A user on Neogaf posted the above image showing the movement section of the skill tree. In the original Mirror's Edge, Faith had all of her abilities from the off; a number of them had to be performed just to progress through the tutorial level. Neglecting to tuck your feet in as you jumped over an obstacle or failing to execute a roll after a lengthy drop could be disastrous, or at the very least cause you to lose momentum.
It's not just movement abilities that require unlocking; there's also combat and gear upgrades. Combat unlocks will grant damage boosts to specific enemy types, whilst spending points in the gear skill tree will allow you to disable AI drones and provide you access to Faith's grappling hook, among other things. Some see the change in a more positive light. Unlocking each ability separately will permit you the chance to get to grips with the mechanics before moving on to the next. It could also add replayability in the form of hidden rooms, only accessible with a certain gadget or a flawless chain of parkour perfection. Not to mention the inevitable speed-runs that the game seems built for. Next week's closed beta should hopefully allay any misgivings some may have about this new approach. How do you feel about the levelling system? Looking forward to the beta? Let us know in the forums. |
READ MORECategories
All
Archives
February 2023
|
Pass the Controller |
|