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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta starts this week, private Blackout beta coming in September

31/7/2018

 
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Those who pre-order Black Ops 4 on PS4 will get a chance to try out the multiplayer beta on Friday, when the first round of testing kicks off. Xbox and PC owners have their chance to get in on the action the following week.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

The beta is live from 6pm on 3 August and runs until 6pm on 6 August. Players can partake in 6 different game modes, choosing from a total of 10 Specialists, as they do battle across 6 maps, 2 of which have never been shown before.
The modes on offer include Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and the brand new objective-based game mode, Control. Control sees teams alternate between attacking and defending 2 static objects, in a best-of-five match.

The Pick 10 Create-a-Class system returns with a few new changes:

  • Special Issue Equipment is designed exclusively for each Specialist and won't count towards your limit of 10.
  • Gear is an all new feature which can offer cheaper Scorestreaks, faster healing, or increased situational awareness thanks to an acoustic sensor, but only one can be equipped at a time.
  • Weapons now have unique sets of attachments including a powerful new class known as Operator Mods.

The second beta weekend will run from 10 - 13 August and is available on PS4 and Xbox for all those with a beta key.

Things are a little different on PC, as players have access to an open beta from 11 - 13 August, all that's needed is a Battle.net account. Pre-ordering through Battle.net will grant you one day of early access, lining up nicely with the console schedule.

Everyone who takes part in the multiplayer beta will be rewarded with a unique calling card and those who hit max rank get a fancy Permanent Unlock Token when the game releases.

Treyarch and Activision have also promised a private beta for Blackout, Black Ops 4's take on the Battle Royale genre, in September. Expect more details on that in the coming weeks.

You can pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ahead of its 12 October launch to get your beta access key.

Will you be trying out the multiplayer beta? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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Minimalist VR strategy game MoonStrike launching this week

30/7/2018

 
Minimalist VR strategy game MoonStrike launching next week - Pass the Controller

​Big Dorks Entertainment have released a trio of trailers to celebrate the launch of their debut VR game, which will hit online stores later this week.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

The aforementioned Big Dorks are Lee Perry and Tiffany Smith, industry veterans who have credits on such titles as Gears of War, Fortnite and God of War 3.

Check out the launch trailer for a brief overview of MoonStrike.
The objective is to take over as many planets as possible by sending out fleets of battleships, but there are another two players (either human or AI) trying to put a stop to your plans so that they can take those planets for themselves.

The second trailer, taken from the in-game tutorial, dives deeper into the mechanics.
The third and final trailer explains the controls, shows off some of the different map layouts and details the game's five factions, which each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Matches are for up to three players and there's cross-play between Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

MoonStrike launches 2 August for $19.99 but players can take advantage of a 15% launch discount by heading to the Oculus Store or Steam Store.


What do you think of the trailers? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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ENDED: One Piece Burning Blood giveaway

30/7/2018

 
One Piece Burning Blood Steam giveaway header - Pass the Controller

Congratulations to Chris Heijboer (@chris4u89), who was randomly drawn as our winner!

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


This week’s prize is any One Piece fan’s dream, as Burning Blood allows players to pit their favourite characters from the show against one another in dynamic battles.

​
Joining Monkey D. Luffy and more than 40 of his piratical pals, this colourful 3 vs. 3 fighter is developed by veteran Japanese studio Spike Chunsoft and boasts all the bombastic battling you can shake Uranus (one of the series’ powerful Ancient Weapons) at.

If you’re out for stylish fisticuffs, then be sure to get your entries in via the Gleam widget below. If you aren’t randomly drawn as our winner come midnight BST on Friday, you can grab One Piece Burning Blood for £39.99 on Steam, £49.99 on Xbox, or exclusively via the £69.99 Gold Edition on PS4.

Good luck!
One Piece Burning Blood Steam giveaway banner - Pass the Controller
One Piece Burning Blood giveaway
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Latest Strange Brigade trailer promises “post-launch panache”

26/7/2018

 
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With just under a month to go until Strange Brigade hits stores, Rebellion have detailed some of the post launch content for their cooperative shooter.

by Liam Andrews
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@pass_controller

As well as regular drops of free monthly content, the “post-launch panache” included in the game’s season pass features a new three-part campaign made up of the Isle of the Dead, Sunken Kingdom and Pyramid of Bes missions, alongside new playable characters (each with their own unique abilities) plus more outfits, weapons and amulets.
Each of the “intrepid new explorers” highlighted in the trailer look like they’ll be bringing their own personality and style to proceedings inspired by their country of origin.

​These include ‘rebel of the skies’ Tessie Caldwell, ‘gold-hunting daredevil’ Patrick ‘Bash’ Conaghan, the ‘vengeful demon hunter’ Anjali Khan and ‘unyielding hero’ Hachiro Shimizu.

Both the standard and Digital Deluxe editions of Strange Brigade - the latter of which comes bundled with the season pass - include the Secret Service Weapons Pack, containing the Wilkers & White P19 pistol, the Stoudenmire 960 submachine gun and the Gehrig-Delgane S1 rifle.

Strange Brigade is out 28 August on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Are you looking forward to a rip-roaring matinee-inspired adventure next month? Let us know below.​
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This is The Police 2 gets an atmospheric new trailer ahead of launch

25/7/2018

 
This is The Police 2 gets an atmospheric new trailer ahead of launch - Pass the Controller

The sequel to This is The Police launches next week and THQ Nordiq have released an interesting new trailer to build hype.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

Welcome to Sharpwood is described as a "tragicomic, panoramic audio-visual painting." It certainly lives up to that with its haunting soundtrack, as the camera scrolls along through images of the town's cops and criminals, engaged in all manner of shady dealings.
This is The Police 2 has a similar premise to its predecessor. Players have to run the sheriff's department, manage their force, take part in investigations and interrogations, all the while trying to earn a living and stay out of jail themselves.

The new sheriff in town, Lilly Reed, already has enough on her plate attempting to deal with unruly subordinates who aren't used to taking orders from a young woman, but everything changes when a mysterious stranger, known as Warren Nash, appears in Sharpwood with unknown motives.

This is The Police 2 launches 2 August on PC, Mac and Linux, and will be heading to Xbox One, PS4 and Switch later this year.

Did you play the original? Looking forward to the sequel? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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Square Enix Collective MMO Boundless comes to PS4 and PC this September with cross-play support

24/7/2018

 
Boundless

Square Enix Collective have announced Wonderstruck’s MMO, Boundless, will be coming to PlayStation 4 and PC later this year.

by Liam Andrews
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​@pass_controller

In Boundless, travelling between different planets is done by creating portals, offering a “single universe of connected worlds” in which the in-game communities, politics and economy are all run by the players.

​To maintain continuity, PS4 and PC users will both share the same universe to ensure everyone is “
exploring, building, crafting, trading and collaborating within one single ecosystem."
Players start out with nothing but can help build entire civilisations on new planets, with all assets acquired through either player creation or by trading with others.

Here’s some other key features:
​
  • Colonise planets by yourself or join a settlement with others and grow your Beacon into the capital of the world with the Prestige system.
  • Craft hundreds of items including building blocks, tools, weapons, food and much more.
  • Spend your hard earned skill points in the Skill Tree and tailor your character to how you want to play the game.
  • Complete objectives, feats and events to earn rewards and Experience Points to level up your character.
  • Build and maintain a Portal between worlds for you and others to use.
  • Trade items with others or set up a shop to sell and buy items while you’re off adventuring.
  • Seamlessly travel to new worlds and discover different creatures, resources, block colours and user generated creations in an ever-changing universe - each world automatically regenerates areas that are not protected by a Beacon and returns it to its original layout, creating new and much needed resources for you to collect.

“Throughout its Early Access run, we’ve watched players flourish within Boundless’ evolving universe,” says James Austin, Director of Wonderstruck.

“Now, with our full launch in September, we’re excited to see where they take the full game - especially given that PC and PS4 gamers will all be operating within the same space, crafting and creating with each other within the same worlds.”

Boundless is out 11 September on PS4 and PC, while it’s also currently available through Steam Early Access on the latter.

Let us know your thoughts on Wonderstruck’s player-run MMO below or over in the forums.​
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Raiders of the Broken Planet re-branded as Spacelords, goes free-to-play next month

23/7/2018

 
Raiders of the Broken Planet re-branded as Spacelords, goes free-to-play next month - Pass the Controller

MercurySteam have announced that their brawler-shooter will be going completely free-to-play and Spacelords is not just an update, but a new game built on the foundations of Raiders of the Broken Planet.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

These changes coincide with the release of the fourth campaign, Council Apocalypse, which draws to a close the first arc of Spacelords' story. Four unique missions and a new character will be available to everyone at no cost.
“When we launched Raiders September last year, we hoped its low price point of $9.99 per campaign would open it up to a large number of users, but it didn’t work as we planned,” commented Enric Álvarez, Spacelords’ Director.

“Our vision is to see our game enjoyed by millions of users for years to come and putting all of the game's rich content into their hands for free is the way to realize it. We’ve answered our community and hope this removal of any payment barriers will build our devoted community further.”

Spacelords won't change the game's lore at all, promises Álvarez, but instead of focussing mainly on the Raiders, it will tell the story of all the big players - Raiders, Antagonists and each of the invading human factions - as they fight for control of the planet and its highly sought after resource, Aleph.

The big re-branding is due to go live on 23 August but changes are already being made. As of today, the Mission of the Week becomes Mission of the Day, and the amount of in-game Gold needed to rent a single mission has been significantly reduced.

Those who have previously purchased one or more campaigns can expect to be rewarded with exclusive content, details of which will be revealed in the coming days.

In the meantime, you can check out our coverage of the Wardog Fury and Hades Betrayal campaigns.

Are you looking forward to Spacelords? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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ENDED: The Turing Test giveaway

23/7/2018

 
The Turing Test Steam giveaway header - Pass the Controller

‪This week’s giveaway winner is Justin Henderson (@TimelessTrance1)!

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam


This week’s giveaway prize is a Steam key for The Turing Test, a first-person puzzler in which you must uncover the fate of a missing crew stationed on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

​
While The Turing Test is no pushover, it nails puzzle balance to ensure its head-scratching conundrums won’t have you resorting to Google. Not only is the smooth gameplay progression a treat, but the story also blossoms in time, creating a compelling experience deserving of its place in the “Very Positive” review category on Steam.

If it sounds like a test you’d be willing to take, register entry via Gleam below to be in with a chance of grabbing a free copy. If you aren’t lucky enough to be randomly drawn as our winner, then you can always pick The Turing Test up for £14.99 on Steam, or £15.99 on Xbox and PlayStation.

Good luck!
The Turing Test Steam giveaway banner - Pass the Controller
The Turing Test giveaway
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Two Point Hospital is open for pre-order, release date and new trailer revealed

20/7/2018

 
Two Point Hospital now open for pre-order, release date revealed - Pass the Controller

​Two Point Studios' hospital management sim is coming very soon and there's a new teaser trailer to celebrate.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

"The Trials and Tribulations of Trevor" stars the world's sickest man, who is about to undergo an experimental treatment for a bizarre new affliction known as Cubism.

Find out how he gets on below.
Two Point Hospital will see players attempting to run a successful medical centre, balancing doctor and patient needs with a limited budget. You'll be responsible for furnishing the hospital, hiring staff, and researching and developing treatments for strange ailments, some of which you may remember from Theme Hospital.

The title will launch 30 August on PC, Mac and Linux and there's 10% off for those who get in early.

Find the game on Steam or take a look at SEGA's comprehensive list of approved partners to take advantage of the discount.

What do you think of the teaser? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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Shadow of War update improves player experience, adds new content and removes microtransactions

18/7/2018

 
Shadow of War update improves player experience, adds new content and removes microtransactions - Pass the Controller

The latest update for Middle Earth: Shadow of War should now be live, and brings with it a host of new features.

by Chris Brand
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@pass_controller

First up is the removal of the Market and microtransactions. Orcs recruited through Online Vendettas and Ranked Conquests will now be stored in the Garrison, and in-game Mirian can be used to train and upgrade your army.

Gear can also be upgraded by spending Mirian (once the relevant challenge has been completed) allowing players to re-roll abilities.
The level cap for followers has been raised to 80, and enemy captains will max out at 85. You can expect greater XP rewards for Nemesis Missions, defeating captains and Online Conquests to accommodate the changes.

There are more Legendary Orcs to encounter along with more ways to earn Training Orders and their Legendary variants. Followers may even surprise you with a gift every now and then.

The end-game Shadow Wars has been renamed to Epilogue and now features narration by Shelob, the Witch-King and Dark Talion. Finishing the Epilogue will reward players with Masks of the Nazgûl and unlock powerful new abilities to raise the dead, curse enemies and summon more powerful creatures.

Lastly, three new skins have been added; Celebrimbor, Dark Eltariel and Baranor.

Will this update turn you back to Shadow of War? Let us know below or over in the forums.
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