Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is out on Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This standalone sequel to last year’s Dishonored II also provides Billie Lurk with the starring role as the playable protagonist for this entry in the Dishonored franchise.
Billie does not have “the mark of the outsider”, instead she has her own unique set of abilities allowing her to plan a bank heist, enter underground fight clubs and ultimately take down the Outsider and bring a close to the plotline of Dishonored II.
Content Warning: Bethesda’s recently released launch trailer does mature content including graphic violence and at least one beheading.
The battle royale formula should be pretty familiar to anyone who has watched/played popular games like Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, H1Z1 or even the most recent Grand Theft Auto V online expansion. 100 players parachute down onto a small section of the map and must scavenge for supplies and be the last person standing before a toxic cloud or plague wipes them from the face of this earth. It is a successful formula and can lead to moments of tensions almost unrivaled from other action sub-genres.
Epic Game’s currently buy-to-play survival/tower defense hybrid Fortnite joins in on battle royale fun with an upcoming addition – ‘Battle Royale PVP’. Hoping to stand out from the rest of the pack with its unique building mechanics – surviving in Fortnite’s best of 100 player matches might just come down to building the right structures along with a little bit of luck and picking the right supplies.
Anyone who owns Fortnite can try out the Battle Royale PVP mode for themselves thanks to the Public Test which runs from today until the mode officially drops on September 26th. In addition to the Public Test, both the Standard and Founders package is 25% off. That means that the Standard package is $29.99 USD, Rare Starter Pack (with 8 heroes) is $44.99 USD and the Legendary Edition is $149.99 USD.
The Australian crime duo of Roadhog and Junkrat star in a hilarious animated short designed to promote the upcoming map, Junkertown. A mix between the stylish post-apocalyptic aesthetic of Mad max and the comedic tomfoolery of a character like Junkrat, these two pieces of media provide our first in-game glimpse of the Australia wasteland that has been teased since the game’s release.
I think my favorite part of the whole trailer has to be Junkrat’s continually revised plan and of course the gold crown on Pachimari – because if any Overwatch character deserves some swag it is Pachimari.
Here is a bit about the founding of Junkertown curotesy of the Overwatch Wikia:
“After the Omnic Crisis, the Australian government hoped to restore peace with the omnics by granting them a large area of land surrounding the Australian omnium. In doing so, many residents of the outback were displaced, and some of them, including Roadhog, formed a group of rebels they called the Australian Liberation Front. The ALF eventually managed to sabotage the omnium’s fusion core, which blew up the omnium, irradiated the area, and scattered scrap metal across the outback.
Survivors would go on to build Junkertown in the ruins of the destroyed omnium. The town’s residents, called Junkers, make a living scavenging parts from the omnium’s skeleton. In the center of town is a gladiatorial arena called the Scrapyard where the Queen of Junkertown oversees mech battles.”
It is unknown if both the upcoming free for all and team death match modes and Junkertown will launch on the live servers simotanously as one update or if they’ll be spread across two updates over the course of September. FFA and TDM are already available on PTR.
Now updated for current generation consoles, acclaimed survival horror title Resident Evil Revelations is making its way to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2017. The game features longtime veterans Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they investigate the reportedly abandoned “Queen Zenobia” cruise ship.
This new version will feature a smoother 1920×1080 resolution, an improved framerate, increased environmental detail and refined creature movement, defining the best-looking version of the game to date. All previously released downloadable content is also included in the game as unlockable rewards.
Resident Evil Revelations was originally a Nintendo 3DS title and was released in February 2012. A home console re-release of the game followed in May 2013 for PS3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii U.
The Final Station is the base game coming to you from development team Do Our Best games and publishers Tinybuild Games . This game is quickly gaining fans and it is easy to see why; with a story that is full of intrigue, interesting game play that challenges you and plenty of content it’s hard to not see why so many are enjoying this game and why it is starting to get add ons and DLC to add to the experience. Do Our Best has definitely delivered something special and the team is definitely passionate about this project. After watching the trailer, the game definitely grabbed my attention and I am happy it did not disappoint.
The Only Station throws you right in the middle of the scene. You are conducting a train in the middle of what appears to be some sort of illness or epidemic going around. In the beginning it is simply your job to keep passengers safe and healthy and of course to find the key code for the next train to continue. This could entail something as easy as asking a coworker for the code, to having to travel and perform a favor for it or find it hidden somewhere. As the game progresses, the mystery begins to reveal itself. There are monsters and an illness and you caught in the middle just trying to get passengers to safety. You may have to fight your way through hordes of enemies, but you are on your mission to get that train to its next stop and find the next code that keeps the train running. You can choose to continue saving these passengers or you can let them die and loot their bodies for money and supplies. As for the deeper nuances of the story, you can explore and read fan theories and speculate, but some parts are left a purposeful mystery to add to the fun.
The aesthetic of this game is entirely pixelated retro style. Everything is very blocky without much detail in the design, but that can work to the game’s advantage. I found the silhouetted enemies to be quite alarming at times along with the survival aspect of the game. You need to budget your ammo and tactically plan your way around the world and not waste your resources. I found it took some getting used to when it came to aiming your gun to shoot down your enemies, as when you are moving your arm to aim your gun, it can be slightly sensitive and make it more difficult to aim and hit your mark and it can make you waste bullets. If you can get past the less than perfect combat and hordes of enemies, what you have is truly something special. Discovering this world, finding secrets and unraveling the mysteries of this game are what really make this game worth playing. It is clear the team behind this spent a lot of time weaving this story for their audience with care, making sure to carefully place all the hints, easter eggs and answers deliberately.
Overall, The Final Station base game is truly something special. It is an indie gem that deserves the following and attention it has gotten and then some. I look forward to playing the DLC and continuing the story and learning more about this dystopian world and what it has to offer. You can play it now on Steam or XBox One. If you enjoy eerie atmosphere, mystery and pixel art, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Each level is short enough for those who don’t have long periods of time to play games or you can binge the game, it’s up to you. All aboard and enjoy the ride of the Final Station.
Overwatch’s 25th hero, Doomfist, has finished his testing phase on the PTR and is now live on the PC and console versions of the game. Alongside the release of Doomfist – who has been adjusted considerably since his initial reveal – this latest patch brings a number of changes to player mobility across a number of heroes and voice lines for both D.VA and Genji.
Doomfist
I’ve covered Doomfist in the past two weeks a couple of times. So to get a quick impression of what he is capable of, here is a summary of his abilities that I posted a few weeks back. Primarily his adjustments on the PTR involved how far his rocket punch and uppercut abilities launched opponents and moved. The actual functionality of the moves hasn’t really changed.
Doomfist Abilities:
Hand Cannon – Fires short ranged projectile from the knuckles of his smaller hand. Ammunition is automatically regenerated over time. Seismic Slam – Doomfist leaps forward into the air and smashes down to the ground affecting any foes below him. Rising Uppercut – Launches enemies that are in front of Doomfist into the air. Rocket Punch – A powerful charge forward that completes with a massive blow from Doomfist’s mechanical arm. Meteor Strike (Ultimate) – Leap into the sky and then come crashing down to deal damage and stun opponents. The Best Defense (Passive – Gain a temporary shield when dealing ability damage to opponents.
Movement Changes
Mcree’s flash bang now slows targets considerably faster than before. This means that a swift striking Genji can’t dodge the slowing effect of the Flash Bang’s stung.
Graviton Surge, Zarya’s ultimate ability, now stops all hero movement for those in the affected area. This means that using Genji’s Swift Strike or spending all of Tracer’s blink charges are no longer viable strategies to escape the Gravity well. Ditto for Mercy’s shift ability which allows her to fly towards a friendly target.
Highlight System
Remember that highlight system that Jeff Kaplan talked about during a recent developer update? It is now live on PC! Overwatch will now curate your top 5 daily clips and store them for a full 24 hours. Players are also now able to generate 12-second clips by using a new bindable record button. One thing to remember about these highlights is that they are only valid until the next patch – regardless if it is a major or minor addition to the game. Make sure to export your highlights often!
“The game will continue to automatically generate highlights for you based on your recent gameplay. These auto-generated highlights—now categorized as “Today’s Top 5”—will be surfaced on a daily basis and persist for a full 24 hours (or until the game client is patched, whichever happens first).
Players can now generate their own highlights! The ability to capture 12 seconds of your own gameplay has been added to the game, and can be bound to a single button of your choice (or a button per highlight slot) in the Options menu under “Request Highlight.” These player-generated highlights will be saved under a new section called “Recently Captured” and will persist until the game client is patched. Players can have up to 36 recently-captured highlights stored at one time.
With the above, players can now record any of their “Top 5” or “Recently Captured” highlights, exporting them as a video file to their gaming platform’s designated media library (on console) or directory (on PC). On PC, players will also have the option to select the quality at which these highlights are exported, supporting up to 4K for Windows 8 or higher operating systems, and up to 1080p on Windows 7.”
Get A Video Rundown
Want to know more about the latest Overwatch Patch? Check out the handy video recap in the player below or read the official notes on Blizzard’s site.
The next hero to join Overwatch, the much hyped Doomfist, will be making his way onto the live servers this coming Thursday, July 27th. Ahead of his debut in the live version of the game Blizzard hosted a panel yesterday at the San Diego Comic Con where they talked about the development behind one of Overwatch’s most mysterious heroes.
Filming doesn’t appear to have been allowed at the panel, as every YouTube video discussing the panel is an original work rather than a recording of the panel itself. Luckily for those of us not in California right now GameSpot was able to attend the panel and grabs some cool photographs of early concept art for Doomfist.
Early concepts for Doomfist allowed him to pick up enemy combatants and use them as human shields – blocking damage. Doomfist players could also simply throw their opponents off of clips, which I’m sure made for some hilarious deaths during the opening stages of Route 66. Blizzard also experimented with making him a melee only character and at one point in development, he was even considered for the tank role. Like the Overwatch’s early experiments with a melee only version of Genji, melee only Doomfist simply was too difficult to balance around the other heroes so they added the shotgun knuckles that he posses in his final iteration.
How do you feel about Doomfist’s beginnings? Would you have liked to see him as another Tank rather than the DPS role her currently fills? Excited to play him in competitive? Let us know in the comments section.
The developers responsible for the Guilty Gear and Blazblue series of fighting games has announced their latest project – a colorful crossover between Person 4 Ultimax, Blazblue, Under-Night: In-Birth….. and RWBY! So this tag-team fighting title is not only a “best of” when it comes to characters from some of the more recent non-Capcom Japanese fighters out there, but characters from Rooster Teeth’s popular web series will also jump into the fray as well.
A list of confirmed character so far is scant at best – Hyde Kido from Under-Night (which was developed by Melty Blood devs Ecole Software), Yu Naraukami from SEGA / Atlus’ Person 4, Ragna the Bloodedge from Blazblue and of course Ruby Rose from RWBY.
No word on if the game will be a simultaneous international release or if it will hit Japanese arcades first followed by home consoles later. Arc has been silent on any sort of date or even confirming platforms for their latest brawler.
At the D23 Expo Square Enix dropped a brand new 5-minute trailer for the conclusion of Sora’s adventures, Kingdom Hearts III. For the first time in franchise history players will guide Sora & friends through a world based off of a Pixar property – fittingly enough it is based upon the first film to put Pixar on the map, 1995’s Toy Story.
Watching Buzz and Woody interact with Sora, Donald and Goofy is a treat in itself but this new footage has so much more to offer us. Sora using a hand drill to launch spikes out of the ground? Check! Sora piloting two different kinds of toy mecha in a toy store? Double check! Release window?… wait for it!
Yup at the end of the D23 trailer Square drops the bomb KH fans have been waiting for – a “release window” – note, I didn’t say the exact date. We now know that Kingdom Hearts III is intended to be released sometime next year.
With such a huge event happening, this wasn’t the only Kingdom Hearts related news to drop at D23. IGN.com had a chance to ask long time series developer and KH3 co-director Tetsuya Nomura a couple of KH related questions. The most pressing question asked of him – I feel – is the possibility of Kingdom Hearts III coming to Nintendo’s widely popular Switch platform.
Here is what Nomura had to say:
“The Nintendo Switch is definitely a very interesting piece of hardware, but if we lightly say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll be on the Nintendo Switch,’ I’m sure people will come back and say, ‘But what about the PS4 and Xbox One? We want them out first. Don’t focus on other platforms,’” Nomura told IGN. “So for now, we want to focus on what platforms we’ve already announced we’re going to be releasing Kingdom Hearts 3 on. And so after, perhaps, maybe we can start thinking about other possibilities.”
IGN also asked Nomura about the possibility of the previously released Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 collection coming to Microsoft’s Xbox One / Xbox One X platforms, so if that is of interested definitely check out their article.
What else is there really to say? I’m super stoked to see Kingdom Hearts III finally be released. As a latecomer to the franchise, I’ve still got quite a few games to beat before I’m caught up – specifically Dream Drop Distance, Birth By Sleep and 2.8: A Fragmented Passage. Despite the fact that it feels like I’ve beenwriting about this gamefor years – and I have since its’ 2013 reveal – we might finally get to play the fabled KH3!
After teasing the existence of the third Doomfist since the original cinematic reveal trailer back in 2014, one of the leaders of Talon has finally come to the world of Overwatch in playable form. Today’s reveal comes alongside the release of a developer update featuring game Director Jeff Kaplan, an animated anime short featuring Overwatch Vs. Doomfist and the availability of the mighty fisted fighter on the Public Test Region!
Let’s get the bad news for dedicated followers of Overwatch out of the way – for whatever reason (be it character related, overall direction, perhaps they never considered him for the role) – Terry Crews does not worse Doomfist. Blizzard chose to go with the talent of Sahr Ngaujah – who is known for roles in 2007’s The Signal & Stomp The Yard, as well as last year’s Money Monster.
Jeff Kaplan outlines Doomfist’s key abilities, including his colossus of an ultimate, and goes on to explain that Doomfist is designed as a front line brawler who excels at taking on one or two enemy heroes. He is able to launch heroes into the ground and any time Doomfist gets some air he can slam down dealing damage. Players who are successful at mitigating damage and dealing blows will be rewarded with a temporary shield, extending their survivability, thanks to Doomfist’s passive trait.
Jeff Kaplan outlines Doomfist’s key abilities, including his colossus of an ultimate, and goes on to explain that Doomfist is designed as a front line brawler who excels at taking on one or two enemy heroes. He is able to launch heroes into the ground and any time Doomfist gets some air he can slam down dealing damage. Players who are successful at mitigating damage and dealing blows will be rewarded with a temporary shield, extending their survivability, thanks to Doomfist’s passive trait.
Here are Doomfist’s abilities:
Hand Cannon – Fires short ranged projectile from the knuckles of his smaller hand. Ammunition is automatically regenerated over time.
Seismic Slam – Doomfist leaps forward into the air and smashes down to the ground affecting any foes below him.
Rising Uppercut – Launches enemies that are in front of Doomfist into the air.’
Rocket Punch – A powerful charge forward that completes with a massive blow from Doomfist’s mechanical arm.
Meteor Strike (Ultimate) – Leap into the sky and then come crashing down to deal damage and stun opponents.
The Best Defense (Passive – Gain a temporary shield when dealing ability damage to opponents.
If you are a fan of Blizzard’s origin shorts – such as The Last Bastion or Infiltration (Sombra) then be prepared for a massive treat – OVERWATCH IN ANIME!!! – poor Tracer gets absolutely clobbered by our newest villain however.
So what do you think of Doomfist and his almost fighting game-like ability to send opponents flying upwards and then crashing them into the ground? For me, it brought back memories of infinite air combos from Magneto in MVC2 and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Sentinel after hearing that one of his abilities was called “Rocket Punch”. If you want to have a go as Doomfist he is currently available on PTR, no word yet on when we can expect a release on the non-test version but this usually happens within a week or two.
Great job Blizzard, thanks for not dragging this reveal out for months!
Zenimax Online Studios will launch a log-in campaign for The Elder Scrolls Online that includes bonuses for both existing subscribers and users who chose to play without a recurring monthly free. Starting tomorrow at 7 AM PST non-subscribers can gain access to a 5-day trial that will give them all of the benefits of the ESO + subscription. Current ESO+ subscribers will be given 1 free Dwarven loot box (valued at approximately $5 USD per) for each of the five days of the promotion, provided that they sign into the game. ESO’s log-in campaign will come to a close on July 10th at 7 AM PST.
Here is a rundown of the benefits of ESO+, which is available for a number of different price points depending on the # of months purchased in advance:
Full access to all DLC game packs, including Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Shadows of the Hist – that’s a bunch of new zones, hours and hours of new quests, additional dungeons, and more!
1,500 Crowns per month to spend on the in-game store (paid members only – the Free Trial will not reward 1,500 Crowns)
Unlimited storage for crafting materials
Double bank space for your account
A 10% increase to Experience and Gold acquisition, Crafting Inspiration, and Trait Research
Double Furnishings and Collectibles space in player housing
Exclusive ability to dye costumes
Dwarven Crown Crates contain a number of exclusive items such as themed costumes, bonus experience scrolls, riding training scrolls, crafting boost and of course the ever coveted epically rare mounts. ESO’s Crates are much more expensive than other buy to play (B2P) games – CS GO’s crates are given out as rare round rewards for free put require keys that sell for as little as $2.50 USD on the community market. Overwatch also charges for additional loot boxes starting at $0.99 USD per or earned for free by playing the game and earning levels.
As an avid player of The Elder Scrolls Online I think the ESO+ log-in campaign is an excellent idea. ESO’s base game contains access to 10 provinces, multiple guilds and almost 1,500 fully voiced quests that could keep players entertained for hundreds of hours – there is a lot of content to be had. That being said ESO+ provides access to the add-on DLC that adds Elder Scrolls staples like the thieves guild, the Imperial City and a fully PVE focused questing zone. ESO is perhaps one of the best deals around in terms of dollars per hour of content – check out my full review if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on the base game.
Studio Wildcard will be bringing the prehistoric survival game ARK: Survival Evolved out of the Early Access age with the release of the retail version on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on August 8th. ARK on personal computers will be available for multiple operating systems including Microsoft Windows, MAC OS and various flavors of Linux.
Three different editions of ARK: Survival Evolved will be available for Xbox One and PS4 and are available for pre-order the company announced. They are:
ARK Survival Evolved Standard Edition – $59.99 USD
Includes the base ARK experience.
Access to all free content and updates that have been released to date.
Survival Evolved soundtrack as performed by the Philarmonica Orchestra.
Studio Wildcard development team poster.
Leather- bound Explorer’s Notebook.
With three different versions it might get a little confusing for new players to know exactly which version of ARK to pick up. Surely only the hardest of hardcore fans will choose to purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition since, as the name implies, it will be manufactured in limited quantities. Early Access backers such as myself seem to be funneled into the Standard Edition, this makes sense – Scorched Earth has always been add-on DLC since day one. Studio Wildcard promises that even the base ARK experience will provide players with 100s of hours of entertainment.
State of Decay 2’s trailer asks us the hard questions about surviving in an urban post apocalyptic hell-scape like: “who do you decide to save?” and “do you kill a friend or do everything you can to save them?”. Player choice, player action and the consequences of both of those are front and center during the gameplay reveal trailer shown at Microsoft’s E3 press conference earlier today.
We see the survivors make choices like where to build their settlements, whether or not to give a party member the last remaining antidote and whether or not to take revenge against the creature that just ripped your friend in two. Literally, there is a visceral scene near the end where we see a survivor get picked up by a large hulking zombie and then torn in half at the waist with visceral levels of entrails spilling onto the floor. Clearly State of Decay 2 is not for the faint of heart.
State of Decay 2 will release on both the Windows 10 Store and Xbox One Store in Spring 2018. It will feature enhancements for the newly announced supped up Xbox One X as well.
As an MMORPG Black Desert Online is known for being drop dead gorgeous and if you have a PC with high enough specs to run the game on ultra settings, you’re in for a treat. Microsoft announced at their E3 press conference that the game will be coming to Xbox One later this year and will be enhanced by the power of Xbox One X (formally “Project Scorpio”).
Here is how the game’s Steam Page describes the game, which I feel gives a good rundown of how Black Desert Online differs from other Buy To Play MMORPGs. Also the PC version has native support for Xbox One controllers, so it makes sense that Kakao Games would bring it to the Xbox One family of consoles.
“Black Desert Online is a sandbox, living-world MMORPG. Experience fast-paced, action-packed combat, hunt monsters and huge bosses, fight with friends in a guild to siege nodes and region castles, train your life skills such as fishing, trading, crafting, cooking, and much more!
Players will enjoy jaw-dropping graphics, intuitive skill-based combat, and an immersive story encased in our expansive world that’s just waiting to be explored. Accompanied by a Black Spirit, a companion whose destiny is intertwined with their own, players will discover the secret of the Black Stones and the history of their corrupting effects.”
Shown during Microsoft’s E3 live press conference it was confirmed that an enhanced version of 2016’s Lucky’s Tale will be coming to Windows 10 and Xbox consoles. Super Lucky’s Tale looks like a whimsical and charming platform adventure where players guide the titular Fox, Lucky and a bug companion through colorful worlds.
Lucky’s Tale minus the previously required VR headset looks like it could be a very fulfilling and enjoyable romp. It will be out this November, check out the debut trailer below.
