Tag Archive

Survival Mode Added To Metal Gear Solid V Online

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

The latest patch for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain adds a brand new online survival mode that can be played on all platforms. Somewhat buried in the official patch notes is mention that the new Survival Mode is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC – players must use a consumable item called “survival tickets” to access this new mode. Each player is given 10 survival tickets per weeks during weekly maintenance and the free tickets do not rollover from week to week. By purchasing the “Cloaked in Silence” expansion DLC for $4 players can try out survival mode as much as they’d like – in addition to the new maps & Quiet skin.

Here are the official patch notes from Konami:

[SURVIVAL]
– New “SURVIVAL” mode has been added.
*You can play SURVIVAL even if you don’t have the EXPANSION PACK “CLOAKED IN SILENCE”, as long as you have a minimum of one (1) SURVIVAL TICKET.
*10 (non-stackable) SURVIVAL TICKETS are distributed during the regularly scheduled maintenance each week. SURVIVAL TICKETS do not carry over week upon week.

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Xbox One Version of ARK: Survival Evolved Gets A Major Update

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Ark: Survival Evolved

Studio Wildcard have released a major update for the Xbox One version of their popular prehistoric survival game Ark: Survival Evolved. This latest update brings  three new dinosaur types: The Wooly Rhino,  Dunkleosteus and the Eurypterids. It also brings the game up to parity with the PC release V238.3 which was released for PC players back in January. Add to all of this new options for game hosts and you’ve got one hell of a patch that will ensure that ARK doesn’t go extinct any time soon/

Improvements from PC V238.3 carried over to the Xbox One include the addition of new Cave-Dungeons for the Snow and Swamp biomes. Server administrators who host open multiplayer matches can now set an “administrator” class allowing other designated players to access the console commands, just like they can on the PC version. Single player sessions will also give players access to the console commands which can be accessed via the game’s pause menu.

In regards to the three new Dinos, here is how Studio Wildcard describe them:

Coelodonta utiliserro: Known as the Woolly Rhino, the Coelodonta is usually a large, friendly herbivore but can turn into a dangerous creature when charging its attackers. The Coelodonta builds up momentum as it charges, and depending on its ultimate impact speed, players can skewer the largest creatures in just one single gore

Dunkleosteus loricaruptor: Known simply as Dunkleosteus, this fairly large fish is covered head to tail in armored plates and has incredibly powerful jaws that make great work of stone and oil formations in the ocean’s depths.

Jaekelopterus eurypterus: Found only in the deepest watery depths on the ARK, “Eurypterids” are dangerous, adaptable Arthropods that, while not smart enough to be tamed, are rich in chitin and provide a debilitating poison that quickly renders its opponent unable to defend itself.

The developers have also released a new trailer for this Xbox One patch which you can check out below:

[youtube id=”tItAw8ECFP0″]

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Brand New Overwatch Short ‘Alive’ Debuts

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Overwatch Alive Short

Blizzard’s marketing blitz for their upcoming team shooter Overwatch with the release of a brand new 6 minute self contained animated short. This time things focus on the French assassin Widowmaker, as she moves in for the kill on a VIP in Kings Row. It’s really cool to see Blizzard using the in-game levels as the setting for their animated shorts. Does Widowmaker get the kill? You’ll have to keep watching until the end to find out!

This short’s narration opens with the chilling “When I was little I had a fear of spiders…”, just how do the arachnids factor into Widowmaker’s character development?

Overwatch’s last animated short, , was an Xbox exclusive so it was only fitting that “Alive” debuted on PlayStation’s official YouTube channel.

Overwatch will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC on May 29th and has an open beta earlier in May.

[youtube id=”ZyBUMabtslI”]

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Mass Effect Andromeda Animation Reel Leaked

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Demo animations from the next Mass Effect title may have leaked thanks to an animation reel from “a certain developer” who previously worked on the next installment of Bioware’s futuristic space opera RPG series. According to this very brief animation reel this particular animator worked on fire effects for objects like barrels, rain / fog and other environment weather effects, pollen plumes and a jet pack animation.

According to well known industry insider – shinobi602 – this particular footage is from a 2014 build of the game and the game “doesn’t look like that anymore”. As any long time video game fan knows the style and even mechanics of a game can change during years of development.

Adding to the legitimate of this leak, the in-game HUD matches the one teased by Bioware last year on Twitter:

Bioware_MassEffect_Hud

The original video of the Mass Effect: Andromeda has been taken down but for now a mirror exists here. If you can’t get the video to load here are some GIFs that the community has created:

Mass_Effect1

Mass_Effect2

As soon as more information about Mass Effect Andromeda is available we will be sure to bring it to you.

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New Playable Final Fantasy XV Demo Released, Full Game Releases September 30th

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

In case you haven’t heard the earth shattering news, Final Fantasy XV – the now decades long in development entry in the FF series, formerly known as Versus XIII – has a release date! As announced during the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event, retail / digital copies will be playable on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 30th of this year.

Alongside of the reveal of the release date, and a whole pile of tie-in multimedia projects, Square Enix also unleashed a brand new playable demo for the game. Titled Platinum Demo, this short glimpse into the world of the 15th Final Fantasy game is actually a stand-alone story staring a young Noctus.

Final Fantasy XV

Here’s the official game synopsis from the PlayStation Store:

PLATINUM DEMO — FINAL FANTASY XV whisks players away to a fragmented dreamscape, introducing an original story with a few unique twists. Join young Noctis and his magical guide as you explore the fantastical world of his dreams.

Surely fans will be tearing this demo apart for the coming days.. Or weeks… or months until the full game’s release. You can watch a trail for the Platinum Demo in the embedded player below.

[youtube id=”2pWlmyEvc2U”]

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Microsoft Brings Its AAA Games With April’s Games With Gold

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Microsoft is bringing it’s AAA games, literally, with April 2016’s Games With Gold line-up. Heavy hitters from the likes of Insomniac, Deep Silver, Telltale Games and Vicarious Visions make next month possibly one of these best months to be a subscriber to Microsoft’s online platform on either Xbox One or Xbox 360.

Xbox One owners can enjoy last year’s critically acclaimed, colorful & punk inspired third person shooter Sunset Overdrive from Insomniac from April 15 – May 15th. If you’re on next generation hardware but looking for something a little bit more store driven, the complete season of Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us will be free from April 1st thru April 30th.

Players who are still hanging on to their Xbox 360 (or want to play these games thru backwards compatibility on Xbox One) can enjoy Vicarious Vision’s 2008 horror title Dead Space from April 1st thru the 15th on the house. From April 16th thru April 30th the President of the United States is re-elected for another super powered term in Saint’s Row IV. 

Check out the sizzle reel MS released alongside the announcement below. What do you think of this month’s Xbox Games With Gold line-up? Perhaps it is time to jump on that $1 Xbox Live Gold trial (US only) before it runs out.

[youtube id=”c-cvEPkF1D0″]

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GDC 2016: Sherlock Holmes: The Devils Daughter Preview

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sherlock Holmes: The Devils Daughter is an action-adventure game that transports players once again back to Victorian London on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC. This latest iteration improves upon previous entries in the franchise by bringing features and gameplay elements from previous games like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment. I got the chance to check out the title at a demo booth at this year’s Games Developer Conference, here are my impressions.Read More

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GDC: Everything From The Future of Xbox Development On Windows Panel

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Microsoft held a one hour brief for developers interested in their software development platform for the Xbox One console this morning at GDC. This talk was delivered by the head of the ATG (Advanced Technology Group) and not only served as a recap of some of the major advancements on both the Xbox One platform & Windows 10 Platform but also reconfirmed Microsoft’s vision of a unified development environment with a streamlined pipeline for the delivery of digital games.Read More

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Cross-Platform Gameplay Is Finally A Reality On Xbox One, PS4/Xbox Cross-Play A Possibility

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Xbox One

Yesterday at GDC 2016 Microsoft announced that Xbox One players will finally be able to play online with their friends on other platforms starting this year. Developers will be able to bridge the platform gap between Windows 10 and Xbox One and the first game to support this new functionality is none other than last years’ surprise hit Rocket League.

Potentially the most shocking news is that Microsoft appears open to allowing players on longtime rival Sony’s PlayStation Network to play against one another at some point in the future. In the official blog post on the Xbox.com News Wire, Chris Charles the Director of ID @ Xbox, described the possibility of cross-console online gameplay as an “open invitation”.

Here’s his full section regarding the possibility of cross-platform play:

Cross-Network Play
First, in addition to natively supporting cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 games that use Xbox Live, we’re enabling developers to support cross-network play as well. This means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be able to play with players on different online multiplayer networks – including other console and PC networks.
Of course, it’s up to game developers to support this feature, and Xbox Live players will always have the option of choosing to play only with other Xbox Live players. We’re thrilled to confirm that Psyonix’s Rocket League will be one of the first games to take advantage of this new capability by enabling cross-network play between Xbox One and PC players, with an open invitation for other networks to participate as well.

Rocket League launched on PlayStation 4 in July of 2015, the Xbox One version went live last month on February 17th. The game across all three platforms (PS4, Xbox One, Windows PC) has sold over 4 million units and earned developer Psyonix over $70 million.

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The Division Has The Potential To Get Quite Repetitive

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

The Division

Yesterday saw the launch of one of the most anticipated new gaming IPs in some time, Tom Clancy’s The Division. Like many other eager players I set aside time in my schedule to try out the full version of the game after putting several hours into the two betas that Ubisoft held earlier in the year and I was psyched to see what the full version had to offer. I woke up yesterday morning at 4 AM and after a few false starts I’ve logged just over 4 hours in the game as of the writing of this post.Read More

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The Division Day One Patch – V 1.01 – Details

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Ubisoft’s upcoming MMO/third person shooter, Tom Clancy’s The Division doesn’t even go live on consoles or PC for another 17 hours but the development team has already detailed the game’s day one patch.

No file size for the mandatory patch has been given but we do have a complete list of all the changes and upgrades it brings. After the patch has been applied agents will be able to set custom “outfits” – allowing them the swap between pre-defined sets of equipment. A new help system allows players to see which interactive tooltips they’ve viewed and also allows them to be reviewed. Subtitles were added to the audio logs hidden throughout the game. Also several issues with the game’s lighting system have been addressed including the fact that traffic lights did not cast lights correctly.

Below are the full patch notes as per The Division’s launcher on Windows PC

APPEARANCE MENU HAS BEEN UPDATED

  • Now displays as a grid making it much easier to browse items
  • “Outfit Sets” option added to quickly equip all the items in a set
  • “Inspect” feature added

VISUAL IMPROVEMENTS

  • Fixed several lights that did not cast global illumination
  • Fixed missing volumetric lights on traffic lights
  • Illuminated signs now cast actual light
  • Improved atmospheric haze in several time and weather combinations
  • Improved night time lighting and contrast
  • Adjusted exaggerated rim light shader on characters
  • Improved car window reflections
  • Improved Screen Space Ambient Occlusion to be more pronounced

MEGA MAP AND OPEN WORLD UPDATES

  • New “Mission Overview” has been added to the Mega Map
  • Contaminated zones will now display the required filter level on the Mega Map
  • Field data with audio will automatically play when you pick them up
  • If you start listening to Field Data audio from the menu, you can keep listening outside the menu
  • Subtitles added for all Field Data that plays audio
  • Mission entrance menu usability has been improved
  • Significantly increased the number of crafting materials obtained from loot crates
  • The icon for landmarks in the Dark Zone has been changed and now indicates if non-player enemies are present or not

GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS

  • New “Help” menu is now available in the Settings menu. It stores all the loading screen and context sensitive tips
  • New tutorials added for certain gameplay features and mechanics (these can be switched off in the Options menu)
  • Added information to the in-game loot pickup UI that displays why an item can’t be picked up
  • The deployable turret no longer targets non-rogue players and doesn’t damage neutral players caught in the line of fire
  • Skill modifiers have been added directly to gear (previously only available on gear mods)

FIXES AND GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

  • Fixed glitches that could be exploited by players to gain an unfair advantage in the game (such as invisibility, shooting through walls, etc)
  • Extended server-side checks to detect any illegal actions from the game client, limit their impact in the game and track down the perpetrators
  • Fixed an issue on character select screen that resulted in getting stuck with a specific combination of inputs
  • Fixed a progression blocking issue caused by accepting a group invite at a specific moment during the Base of Operations unlock sequence
  • Players will no longer return all the way back to start screen after creating or logging in to their Ubisoft Club account
  • Fixed remaining bugs that prevented log-in attempts when non-essential services were offline
  • Overall stability increased
  • Further backend improvements and optimizations
  • Localization adjustments and bug fixes
  • Additional minor bug fixes and polish

Source: U-Play Launcher

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Phil Spencer: There May Be Room For Large Hardware Upgrades For Xbox One

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phil Spencer

Microsoft’s Xbox One platform was center stage last week when the software giant held a games’ centric press event in San Francisco to show how exclusives on Xbox One and Windows PC could be developed & released simultaneously. Sure demonstrations like Remedy’s upcoming Quantum Break and Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport 6: Apex running on both platforms showcase how titles can run great on both platforms, but what happens when the available PC hardware outclasses the nearly three-year-old Xbox One?

The answer, according to Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer is how in how Microsoft looks at the Xbox One platform as a whole. Rather than looking at things through the traditional 5 – 7 year console generation framework that has existed since the 1980s, Microsoft is thinking about the Xbox One similar to how consumer mobile phones are approached. This could potentially mean substantial hardware updates without breaking backwards compatibility thanks to Xbox One’s universal application structure that was introduced alongside Windows 10.

Speaking to Polygon Spencer had this to say about where the future of Xbox One’s hardware may be heading:

“We look at these other ecosystems out there like mobile, tablet and PC and we see that they have a very continuous evolution cycle in hardware, whereas between console generations most of the evolution is making it cheaper and potentially making it smaller.

 Both are meaningful but don’t make the games play any better. If you look at PC specifically and see the evolution that happens there, there’s no reason why console can’t ride that same curve.”

No solid details in regards to what we could see from a potential Xbox 1.5 in the future. Perhaps it will be powered by the next generation Polaris APUs from AMD? Right now it’s all speculation but here’s hoping that Microsoft has paid attention to previous attempts to supercharge existing consoles with add-ons, lest the next Xbox One iteration become Microsoft’s 32X.

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Forza Motorsport 6: Apex Coming For Free To Windows 10

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Forza Motorsport

Microsoft held a behind closed doors press event last week to showcase upcoming games & technologies coming to Windows PC and Xbox One. Among the announcements, set to be unveiled later today at 9PM EST, is the fact that a free version of last year’s Forza: Motorsport 6 will be coming to Windows 10 for free.

In a now removed Seattle Times article which was accidently posted before the event’s embargo reporter Matt Day summarizes Forza Motorsport 6: Apex as a “a slimmed down version of its Xbox cousin, will be released free to users of Windows 10 this spring.” Day continues that Microsoft hopes that Forza Motorsport 6: Apex will be a showcase for what Windows 10 powered gaming rigs can do.

Forza isn’t the only previously Xbox One exclusive franchise to make the jump to Microsoft’s longest running product.  Killer Instinct season 3, the third batch of add-on content for the 2013 Xbox One brawler, will make the leap later this month. Developer Iron Galaxy Studios recently unveiled that Halo’s The Arbiter will be playable once Season 3 releases.

Expect more news from the Microsoft press event when the embargo drops in a few short hours.

 

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Titanfall 2 Retail Displays Deploy Without Notice – Reveal Soon?

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Take this with a grain of salt but fans of Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall have begun to hype themselves up for the supposed incoming reveal of the game. All of this kicked off this morning when NeoGaf noticed that a twitter user by the name of Niall Maher noticed a “Titanfall 2” display box in the PlayStation 3 section of a local retailer.

A few hours later it was found that the game is also listed on Amazon.co.uk for the PlayStation 4 although it currently it has no description is simply filled with “to be determined”.

Could the reveal of Titanfall 2 be only a few days away? Perhaps Microsoft revealed it at their recent closed doors media briefing in San Francisco, the embargo from that event drops tomorrow morning (March 1st). We will of course update this story if anything official is announced.

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Report: Rise of the Tomb Raider PC Sales Beat Xbox One Threefold

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Superdata -a research group that tracks and analyzes digital sales numbers across almost all platforms – have announced that sales of Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider on Windows PC were almost triple those of the Xbox One version during it’s first month on both platforms.

Rise of the Tomb Raider was an Xbox One exclusive when it launched this past November. The Windows PC version launched last month on the Windows Store and Steam. Rise of the Tomb Raider is the direct sequel to 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot.

Here’s the original quote from Superdata:

“The newly-released PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider surprises at release. As one of Square Enix’s most visible franchises, the Tomb Raider franchise performed in January, receiving both strong industry recognition and benefitting from a seasonal lull of triple A games. Initial sales numbers on digital console for Rise of the Tomb Raider were soft, due to sharing its release date with Fallout 4 and its exclusivity to Xbox One. The game sold almost three times as many units on PC than it did on console during its first month.”

[Source]

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