Starting today guardians who visit the universe of Bungie’s Destiny can participate in a six-person death race on a brand new Sparrow. The next major patch – which goes live today – Destiny 2.1 – will add two new NPCs to the tower. By speaking to Tess Everis Guardians will have the option to purchase new in-game emotes, similar to the one’s that were made available during the Halloween event. By speaking to the second NPC, Amanda Holliday, players will be able to earn their Sparrow Racing League License and complete bounty for new gear.
The Sparrow Racing League will go live on all platforms starting today and will run until December 29th. Fans got their first chance to check out this brand new, time limited mode, at the PlayStation Experience this past weekend in San Francisco.
According to Bungie here’s everything you do when speaking to Amanda Holliday:
Obtain your SRL Licence Quest and SRL Bounties
Earn a new Sparrow as part of the SRL Quest
Upgrade your reputation by completing SRL Bounties
Each Race is a chance to earn SRL gear and Shaders
The higher your reputation, the better the post-game drops
Helmets and Class Items can drop with up to 320 Light
Helmets and Class Items with Light can be used for Infusion
All other SRL gear has no Light, but features racing perks
Here’s everything Tess has to offer:
New emotes to celebrate the thrill of speed and competition
ToolKits that include stylish (but equally fast) Sparrows
ToolKits that include Horns to let you signal your approach
A new Record Book to provide more challenge and reward
It’s important to note that a copy of The Taken King is required to participate in The Sparrow League.
Earlier this week I got the chance to attend Idea Factory International’s second annual press-event in San Francisco California where the publisher announced a very robust line-up for the first quarter of 2016. Not only will the long running Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise make its first leap to the 8th generation of consoles with the North American release of Hyper Dimension Neptunia V. II (pronounced “Vee two” .. it’s not a seven) but also brand new titles for the PlayStation Vita and a whole slew of games making the jump from PS Vita to Windows PC.
If you weren’t some of the lucky few able to attend the event, don’t worry, Broken Joysticks has you covered not only with a rundown of all of the major announcements from this past Thursday but also a breakdown of what attending the event was like and some exclusive video – showcasing exactly how IFI announced their brand new titles.Read More
Previously released on the Playstation 4 in September, indie game Zombie Vikings from Swedish developer Zoink Games is being released on Monday, December 7th for Steam. For those not familiar with the game it’s an entertaining adventure of up to four undead Vikings on a quest though Norse soil to retrieve Odin’s lost eye. With the Steam release coming around the corner, also comes a major update for the game, which will also be available for the PS4 later in the month. Among the updates are-
A unicorn pig named Oink for Single Player, which not only will accompany your viking, but also has the ability to carry items on it’s back and eventually strap a cannon onto it!
New Enemies
A weapon progression system where the player can unlock weapons by completing levels
Weapon improvements across the board, including special abilities for every weapon and stats in the store
Combat improvements including target hints, better damage stat tracking, mini health bars for enemies, and directly rolling
In addition to that, the Steam release will be including Steam Cloud Saving, and Steam Trading Cards.
The Steam version releases on December 7th at 7:00AM PST and includes the update for $19.99USD with a 20% launch discount for the first week, so if you’ve been wanting to get it, now’s the chance! In addition to that, a bundle containing DLC characters Frostbjörn and Raybjörn along with the game’s soundtrack will be available for $24.99USD.
Zombie Vikings will be available for purchase on Steam and is currently out for the Playstation 4
Ubisoft has given the GO command on both the Rainbow Six Siege open beta and the game’s launch trailer. Titled ‘the breach’ this brand new one minute trailer – narrated by a British special forces member – outlining some of the emotions members of the Rainbow team might feel when participating in one of the game’s multiplayer-centric matches.
Rainbow Siege’s open multiplayer beta went live this weekend – featuring 14 different operators and three different maps – on all major platforms (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows PC). The open beta was delayed by two hours on Friday and is scheduled to close tomorrow night before the final game becomes available via retail and digital distribution on December 1st.
For more Rainbow Siege coverage check out our full coverage of the game’s closed beta from earlier this fall.
The cast of Sony’s long running Uncharted franchise as well as the creative director of developer Naughty Dog, Neil Druckman, will be headlining a panel at next weekend’s PlayStation Experience (PSX) in San Francisco.
Nolan North the voice of series protagonist Nathan Drake, Laura Bailey – whom has a secret as of yet unknown voice part in the game as well as other returning series stars. This whole deal will feature behind the scenes clips, brand new gameplay footage and will be moderated by long time PlayStation fan / former IGN PlayStation editor Gregg Miller.
Here’s most of the pertinent details from the PlayStation Blog:
What: Uncharted 4: Stories from the Performance Capture Set Where: San Francisco, CA — Moscone West Hall, 3rd Floor When: Saturday, December 5th. 3:00PM Pacific Who:
Microsoft has already made it extremely clear that in Windows 10 you can play your Xbox games. It now seems Sony will follow suit with the PS4. I myself have experienced the majesty of game streaming while sitting at my on computer. Sony, while late to the party, it seems is finally joining in. Shuhei Yoshida said today on twitter
“Some people asked if we plan to provide Remote Play function to PC, and yes, we are indeed working on an official application for PC/Mac. :D”. This is particularly awkward after at least on competitor announced last week they would be releasing a third party tool which would be doing the same thing.
If its like the Xbox version of streaming we can expect to see it working with low-latency, and not very much by way of extra features. The majority of my time with Xbox streaming has been spent on the high intensity multiplayer of Halo 5, and I can say I really was surprised, there is no latency, the games perform well, and I can frag just as well as I could sitting in front of the console. Full disclosure this is with a Netgear nighthawk and both the streaming console and PC hardwired. Hopefully Sonys addition of console to PC streaming will re-invograte my play on my PS4 which is currently just gathering dust.
It’s starting to happen and I can slowly feel it: even though I know there’s better games out there, much less in my PlayStation 4 collection, alone, I find myself coming back to Fallout 4 every single time. There are days where, in spite of the fact that there is an autosave and dedicated saving features, I simply refuse to turn the game off. These are all signs that this game has its hooks in me, hardcore: kind of like McDonald’s, you know there’s better food out there and you’d enjoy it much, much more, you find yourself hankering for their food every so often in spite of that. This game’s like a drug. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, or not, because I’m still scared of doing certain things due to glitches that haven’t been addressed, but I keep going anyway.
“This Gun is the Best Gun Ever.”
So, I have to admit that building settlements and modifying weapons and armor are probably two of the best parts of this game, mostly because the materials, weapons, and armor you find out on your own are… how to put this… crap. However, though, in being rather obsessive about collecting legendary weapons and armor, I’ve been able to find and modify my daily drivers: a legendary shotgun whose bullets explode on impact, doing 15 points of AOE damage, modified to the point where it’s doing 139 base damage, has a fire rate of 181, a range of 53, and accuracy of 42, meaning this bad boy can tear up a close range battle in no time, flat; a legendary sniper rifle that boosts base damage by 25%, with a base damage of 102, a fire rate of 3, a range of 197, and an accuracy of 98, meaning unprotected and unwary enemies may be dead before they even see me; and, finally, almost a full set – I’m only missing the right arm piece – of Heavy Combat Armor modified to be deep pocketed and have the BOS paint for added radiation protection. I’ve gotten rather crazy about my modifications and, as perks allow, things will only get better. I mean, I can even use this shotgun in long range situations as each bearing in the shotgun shell explodes on impact, meaning that even if you miss by a fairly large margin, you would still do some nice damage, especially if there’s explosive barrels in the vicinity. I am blowing through the game now and taking names now that I’ve modded that shotgun.
Sony has revealed the December games for PlayStation Plus subscribers ahead of next weekend’s PlayStation Experience. PlayStation Vita owners are in for a real treat with the JRPG hit from last year – Freedom Wars. PlayStation 4 owners can experience the 2014 reboot of the arcade classic Gauntlet free of charge and finally PlayStation 3 owners will be receiving EA’s 2012 reboot of the SSX franchise and Ubisoft’s Far Cry: Blood Dragon!
Here’s the full line-up:
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, PS3
Freedom Wars, PS Vita
Gauntlet: Slayer Edition, PS4
King’s Quest — Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember, PS4
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, PS Vita
SSX, PS3
Do any of these games excite you? I’ll probably try Gauntlet at least for a little bit and it’ll be nice to have a digital copy of Freedom Wars in my library despite the fact that I already own the game on a physical cartridge.
All of these games are expected to go live next Tueday, December 1st, when the PlayStation Store updates.
Please note that this review covers the PS4 version, and some features are not available for the PS3/Xbox 360 versions
Treyarch does an amazing job once more with another installment in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 3. The series has come a long way from the World War II era setting of World at War, to Cold War settings of Black Ops 1, and the more recent near future settings of Black Ops 2 and now 3. Just like Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch tries to keep the Call of Duty fresh and engaging for it’s fans, and I feel that it has succeeded with those objectives.
Upon starting up the game and getting the necessary content downloaded to be able to play single player, I brought up the menu and happened upon the Identity section and was immediately taken aback when I explored further into it. I was taken aback due to the fact of the sheer level of customization that can be done with individual weapon setups. A new feature in the franchise is the ability to customize optics, attachments, camos, and paint jobs. In addition to that, the player can save multiple variants of individual weapon setups and use them across Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies, provided that the weapons and attachments are unlocked though each mode. One thing to note is that similar to the emblems, paint jobs add an individual flair if one wants to take the time to make use of a whopping 64 layers for the left and right sides, and the top of the gun. All of that can be done within Gunsmith or Paintshop sub-menus. Also making returns are unlockable calling cards and customizable emblems, franchise staples introduced in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops 1, respectively. Expanding upon those two features you are now the abilities to unlock calling cards via Campaign, Zombies, and from Supply Drops found in Multiplayer.
The desolate wastes have been calling out to me ever since the anticipated reveal of Fallout 4 this past E3. Like the game’s main character, I too hid underground although figuratively speaking. For the past few months I ignored any small gameplay snippets, cell-phone videos and plot details that leaked out of Bethesda ahead of the game’s release. With the large steel doors of Vault 111 finally open as of yesterday I’ve finally got the chance to spend nearly ten hours in the Boston wasteland. Here’s a brief journey of my character’s journey from the relative safety of Vault 111 to the streets of Diamond City.Read More
A lot’s happened in a short amount of time. In the first couple of hours I’ve put into the game, introduction included, I’ve already got my first companion, racked up my first set of power armor and used it to take on my first Deathclaw. It seems as though Bethesda is coming up to me and going “you remember this stuff? Yeah? I bet you remember this stuff.” Can’t say that I’m entirely surprised but it’s nice. I’ve already experienced my first set of graphical glitches, mostly people falling and dying on platforms that don’t seem to exist and people sitting and standing on these said magical platforms. It’s to be expected and, if we’re being honest, quite amusing. The game feels and plays, very much, like an improved version of Fallout: New Vegas and you can certainly feel the Skyrim showing in this as the movement and environment certainly shows it.
It’s not exactly the prettiest game and it does have its fair share of visual and audio shortcomings – one of which is a personal pet peeve of mine: I sometimes have a hard time hearing things and I require subtitles and sometimes the subtitles I’ve set are either not appearing at all or they’re stuck – but it’s nothing that takes away from the fun the game has to offer, so far. I’ve done my fair share of wandering and getting into trouble and I gotta say the experience is not far removed from previous entries at all.
Story seems solid, so far. Voice acting has improved quite a bit, too, which is awesome. Music is mostly not present but during some of the story-based moments, it was nice.
My huge concern is this, so far: if I know Bethesda at all, they have this habit of fooling you into what to expect from the challenges out there. Greatest example in my memory is when you faced a Behemoth earlier on in the game in Fallout 3 and I thought to myself “holy hell, if it took myself and that many Brotherhood members to take this down, there can’t be much that’s more difficult in this game to take on alone” when I later found out that there are many other threats much worse than that Behemoth. Deathclaws are a great example of a threat that was incredible alone and in packs they were nigh unstoppable. Every time I even heard one my heartbeat skyrocketed. Within the first little bit of the game I played today I was already paired up with Dogmeat, plopped down into my first set of power armor, and then faced up against a Deathclaw. Now, that was, by no means an easy battle, tension was high and the adrenaline was pumping but the point remains that it only took one try to down the thing and I’ve already got a suit of power armor. Of course, it requires a power supply in order to get going and the suit you get comes to you damaged so you can’t exactly abuse it early on but… still… power armor! I remember not even being able to wear a suit of power armor until late into Fallout 3 due to not having the perk so I could wear it and, at that, I didn’t have a suit, period, until a little bit before I put a point into that perk. I’m just wondering how the difficulty will scale from here: are things going to get bigger, badder, and more dangerous from here, or are Deathclaws still going to be the prominent threat in Boston and are they being nerfed slightly? I guess only time will tell.
Aside from all that business, very typical Fallout business: things haven’t changed that much and, honestly, that’s a very good thing. I’m already glad I picked it up.
This month provides a little bit of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly on the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection front, this month, and I’m here to provide you a little insight on what you’re getting, this month, in case you didn’t rush out and get the games already or missed out on them.
With only a few days left on the clock, the Friday the 13th project by relatively new studio Gun Media has managed to inch past its 700.000 dollar goal on kickstarter. The game, which will be a multiplayer focused title pitting one player controlling Jason against seven camp counsellors, is set to be released in October of next year for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
This game is very similar in concept to a Kickstarter project that more than doubled its much more modest goal of 50.000 dollar called Last Year. Ironically, if both are going to launch during their planned window, Friday the 13th will beat it by a month. Whether or not they took inspiration from this smaller title we’ll never know, but it’s still a very novel idea and I think it can support two games if both are decent. The Friday the 13th series has never been my thing, having hit its apex before I was even born, but I adore asymmetrical multiplayer when it’s done well. The concept is certainly solid, and I hope they can find a way to build it out into a solid game.
Blizzard’s surprise reveal from BlizzCon 2014 turned recent internet sensation, OverWatch, will be heading to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One alongside the Windows PC version Blizzard announced today.
It seems that several retailers – namely GameStop USA – put out store displays for OverWatch: Origin Edition ahead of tomorrow’s BlizzCon 2015 opening ceremonies. The Origin Edition of the still in closed beta First Person Shooter will include a number of goodies and will be priced at $60 USD – although reports of at least one redditor scoring the Origin Edition for $40 USD have surfaced.
Overwatch-themed content for several Blizzard Entertainment games:
Heroes of the Storm™ – Tracer Hero
World of Warcraft® – Baby Winston Pet
StarCraft® II Portraits
Hearthstone® Cardback
Diablo® III – Mercy Wing
As of press-time OverWatch is not listed on any major retail website checked by us – including GameStop USA, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or BestBuy.com. Presumably all of the individuals that have reported pre-ordering OverWatch before the reveal have done so physically in-store.
We also don’t know anything the monetization strategy for OverWatch. Whether it will be a purely buy-to-play title with optional micro-transactions, similar to Counter Strike: Global Offensive or free-to-play similar to Blizzard’s own Heroes of the Storm.
Blizzard has also released the official pack shot for all 3 retail versions of Overwatch: Origins Edition:
Final Fantasy XIV patch 3.1 – the first major content drop since this past June’s release of Heavensward – arrives in just a week’s time and the devs have given us a small glimpse at the brand new extreme version of Thordan’s Reign.
Spoiler warning for the end of FFXIV: Heavensward follow
As players who have finished the main story question know the game ends with a pretty epic encounter between the Warrior of Light, King Thordin – now in his primal form – and the Knights of the Round. Based upon this epic final encounter Eorzya’s Minstrel Bard has constructed an even more fantastical tale of survival with the extreme version. This 8 player encounter will require you to have at least ilevel 190 – so make sure you have all of your drops of Alexander collected or gear from the Tomes of Essoterics before taking on Thordin EX.
Still no details on what Thordan’s Reign Extreme will drop… perhaps an ilevel 210 weapon? We’ll find out once FFXIV 3.1 drops on November 10th. Until then check out some screenshots from the encounter that Square Enix released.
