Just like Friends left Netflix and Fringe abandoned Hulu, Xbox Game Pass is on the brink of two high-profile departures: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Shenmue I & II. According to a recent update on the Microsoft Store, both games will leave the popular games-on-demand service in the next two weeks.
We’ve been anticipating some of these albums since we published our 2020 preview, but some of March’s upcoming releases are full of surprises. From Stephen Malkmus’ new folsky infusion to Pearl Jam’s unexpected ’80s synth sound to NCT 127’s sophomore growth spurt, these are the 11 albums we can’t wait to hear this…
Twitch clips are one of the streaming platform’s best features, allowing any viewer to quickly save a section of a stream and share it elsewhere. The system is engineered to help them go viral. A simple interface makes it easy to cut only the best bit, with a maximum length of 60 seconds. The clips tend to autoplay by…
Surprise! With little warning, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary launched on PC today. This is the remake of Bungie’s very first game in the first-person shooter series, the one which started Master Ian Chief’s adventures on Xbox way back in 2001. I never played it but my god, the things I’ve heard about its powerful pistol… maybe I’ll finally see for myself. It is only £7, after all. You can snook a look in the launch trailer below.
The “roguelike” mode touted as a stretch goal on the 2015 Kickstarter campaign behind Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night will not be made, the developers have announced, to be replaced with a smaller feature. Roguelike Dungeon was the stretch goal for $5m (£3.9m), and the campaign hit that. The mode would rebuild the Castlevania ’em up as a a roguelikelike, sending players to plunder procedurally-generated dungeons. But now, eight months after the finished game launched, the devs say they can’t make that and have binned it. Instead, they plan to make a Randomizer Mode shuffling item locations. The mode doesn’t sound bad in itself but ditching a funded stretch goal isn’t great.
Photo: Mark Pokorny/Warner Bros. Pictures
Contrary to reports, I am actually a very cool person
Click to watch embedded media Yesterday, Ubisoft unexpectedly dropped the newest expansion for The Division 2 and we dove right in on our livestream. While players could somewhat explore the desolate New York City, the story missions were glitched and we were limited on what we could show. With today being the actual release day and the bugs taken care of, Leo Vader and I are diving back into Warlords of New York live and taking a deeper look at all the new story content.
We went live earlier but you can still catch the show in the archive above. Enjoying our streams? You can subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, or Facebook to get notified when we go live in the future! Thanks for watching!
Valve has been incredibly bullish on virtual reality. The company has not only created VR headsets, it's taken one of its premier franchises and created an entire game built around the technology. While many are still hoping for a traditional Half-Life shooter, we’re also thankful that Valve is creating the kinds of long-form VR experiences that might draw new users to VR. So to get a better understanding about how this project came to be and what this means for the series’ future, we talked to Valve developer Robin Walker.
Tell us about the origin of this project. How did you settle on VR?
After several beta trials, 343 Industries has ticked off another milestone today as it slowly integrates the entire Halo collection to the PC version of the Master Chief Collection. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition is the latest game added, following on from Halo Reach. As noted in the blog post today, the entire collection is available as a standalone purchase or via Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a remaster of the original Halo, and it allows players to switch between the classic and enhanced (60FPS (or greater) gameplay, and support for 4K UHD) experience according to preference.
Several new features have been added to the game thanks to a collaborative development effort between 343 and its partner Saber Interactive. These are as follows:
A new trailer today celebrates its arrival, teasing some of the improved visuals and streamlining of gameplay mechanics for the PC version of the remaster. You can check it out below.
Capcom is bringing its acclaimed and nostalgia-fueled platformer DuckTales: Remastered back to digital storefronts today, the publisher has announced over on its official blog page. After a hiatus of just over six months, the game is now once again available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC via Steam. Thanks for Backwards Compatibility, it’s also playable on Xbox One, too.
Modeled on platformers of old, DuckTales harkens back to the golden age of 8-bit platformers, even if it doesn’t handle quite as precisely as the Marios and Mega-Mans of the era. What it does offer is oodles of charm and pretty visuals, though, thanks to crisper performance, which further enhances its pretty hand-painted aesthetic.
Further adding to the Disney-magic-factor, the original voice talent reprise their roles from the cartoon, too.
Capcom tees up the game with its own description:
“Keeping with the gameplay of the 8-bit classic, you can platform and pogo-jump your way through fantastic locales while enjoying modern touches and gameplay improvements as Scrooge and family search for the five Legendary Treasures.”
You can check out some screenshots of DuckTales: Remastered below.
Today Bungie released a new gameplay trailer that reveals a bit more of what is going on with Rasputin and Season of the Worthy’s story beats, in addition to showing off new guns, armor, emotes, exotics and lots of other goodies.
Let’s watch it first shall we?
A lot going on there. First we learn that The Almighty, the big star destroying ship that threatened the Solar System way back in vanilla Destiny 2 is on a collision course with Earth thanks to the Cabal. The only thing we can think up to stop it is to finally fully arm Rasputin and, if I had to guess, blow it the F’ up.
While we sort of did that in the Warmind DLC back in Year 1, I guess this time around we’re doing for real. Maybe we just turned Rasputin back on, and now we’re giving him all of his toys back.
The new Season of the Worthy landing page and roadmap provides a little more insight as to what players can expect. It looks as though that the “seasonal activity” for this month is going to be Seraph Tower and Bunkers, which appears to be an advanced or updated version of Escalation Protocol that will take place across Earth, Io and the Moon over the course of the season.
One Punch Man’s protagonist Saitama is cursed with incredible strength, able to kill most any foe with a single strike. Video games are home to their fair share of overpowered characters though, and so in honor of the release of One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows, we’ve compiled a totally serious list of 10 video game characters who could take Saitama in a fight.
If there’s any video game character with experience taking down beings vastly stronger than himself, it’s God of War‘s Kratos.
Today Xseed Games released Cygames’ and Arc System Works’ fighting game Granblue Fantasy Versus in North America and it’s celebrating with new trailers.
The new trailers feature DLC characters Beelzebub and Narmaya, which have been released at the same time as the game.
It’s worth mentioning that they were not day-one DLC in Japan and Asia, where they have been released today as well, while the game hit the shelves on February 6.
Beelzebub costs $2.99, while Narmaya is priced at $6.99. They are also included in the first character pass, which costs $29.99.
The reason behind the difference in price is due to the fact that Beelzebub can actually be unlocked for free if you clear the game’s RPG mode (and there really is no reason why you shouldn’t).
The rest of the Character Pass includes Soriz and Djeeta, while the fifth fighter is Zooey, as leaked this morning by Sony itself.
You can watch the trailers below.
FIFA 20‘s Update 12 is available now and makes an often requested change to an over-powered gameplay tactic, Overload Ball Side.
With the d-pad, you can select an option that makes your whole team shuffle over to the side of the pitch that the ball is in when defending, with the aim being to suffocate the team in possession and pressure them into turning it over.
However, when combined with drop back, one depth, and high press tactics, it made it almost impossible to counter and it had almost no downside, but hopefully that changes today. The changes outlined in the patch notes are:
Otherwise, Update 12 doesn’t make many changes, as you’d historically expect from a post-new year FIFA patch.
An issue with the displayed quick sell value of Squad Fitness items has been fixed, CONMEBOL competitions have been added to Career Mode and Kick Off, as well as giving it a mode of its own, and 17 new Star Heads have been added.
Other than that, there’s very little of note. You can see the full patch notes here.
The update can be downloaded in FIFA 20 now on PC and console and comes it at around 5GB, thanks to the Copa Libertadores content that’s included.
The post New FIFA 20 Update Reduces Effectiveness of Overload Ball Side Tactic appeared first on Twinfinite.
Today Square Enix announced a neat little bonus for fans of the Final Fantasy series looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
If you pre-order the remake on the PlayStation Store and you also own Final Fantasy XIV’s digital version, you can unlock the theme.
The offer was launched a few days ago in Japan, and made available today in North America and Europe.
The European PlayStation Store listing also mentions exactly the products eligible.
For Final Fantasy VII Remake one of the following:
For Final Fantasy XIV one of the following:
You can see what the theme looks like below.
Are we about to witness a new renaissance in arcade games? Enter the Gungeon: House of the Gundead is taking a huge risk and following in the footsteps of games like Killer Queen, launching into the physical world of arcade cabinets before it ever makes it to consoles. Jonathan Holmes and I got a chance to play together on the floor at PAX East and surprisingly didn't do too awful!
Instead of a top-down view of the gungeon, you're playing in first-person and shooting your way into various rooms of your choosing. Occasionally, you can warp back to the main room, picking up chests with new guns along the way, and eventually unlocking the boss room. The bosses and enemies are still ridiculous and fun as they are in the original Enter the Gungeon, and the dodge element is still present as well, making the game a little more dynamic than a normal shooter.
I'm a little curious to see how the game does -- given that it comes with a hefty cost of $4,999 (which is about average for an arcade cabinet of this caliber) coupled with the wilting arcade industry.
Although we couldn't confirm it, I'm sure after its initial launch, House of the Gundead will make its way to consoles, but for the time being you can hopefully play it in your local arcade this year!
We're just a few weeks away from the return of boomerang-swinging hero TY the Tasmanian Tiger, as the HD remaster of the 2002 platformer launches on Nintendo Switch March 31, following a very successful crowdfunding campaign.
The Kickstarter - held by developer Krome Studios back in August 2019 - saw a grand total of over $130,000 USD raised from an initial target of $50,000. The success of the crowdfunding campaign has also guaranteed ports on PS4 and Xbox One, which are expected to arrive in the very near future. You can check out a fresh trailer for the retro remaster below.
The free Fire Emblem Heroes A Hero Rises unit will be either Altina or Sothis.
The post Fire Emblem Heroes’ A Hero Rises Event’s Final Round Pits Altina Against Sothis appeared first on Siliconera.
The PlayStation Now March 2020 lineup includes both Toukiden games, both Nights of Azure entries, and more.
The post Dead or Alive 5, Nights of Azure, and Other Koei Tecmo Games Appear in PlayStation Now March 2020’s Lineup appeared first on Siliconera.
Bungie has slowly been adapting its action MMO game Destiny 2 to better fit its resources now that the game is a self-published title. ...
Games come and go, that's the nature of Xbox Game Pass. The popular games-on-demand service will witness three high-profile departures in the next two weeks, as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Shenmue I & II will be leaving Game Pass on Xbox One according to a recent update on the Microsoft Store.
Deux Ex: Mankind Divided is the sequel to 2011's excellent Deux Ex: Human Revolution. The cyberpunk RPG follow-up puts you back in the augmented boots of Adam Jensen, as you explore dense sandbox environments with the freedom to approach objectives in myriad ways. Edmond Tran gave it a score of 8/10 in GameSpot's review, saying, "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided refines and reinforces the defining foundations of the series. It creates challenging situations and gives players the tools and flexibility to deal with them in a multitude of ways, all within an absorbing cyberpunk world. Although not a significant departure from Human Revolution, Mankind Divided is still a uniquely fulfilling experience, one which feels rare in games today."
Battlefield V's upcoming free 6.2 update for PS4, Xbox One, and PC has been delayed due to the developers uncovering a bug in the final release, but the patch notes are here. For the most part, the update is focused on balancing the game's different weapon types by increasing the amount of damage that most weapons deal, as well as dampening damage dropoff for the game's longer-range weapons.
The update also adds tank customization, allowing players to personalize their vehicle's paint job, turret, or chassis. This is a feature that the community has sought after for some time, to the point that DICE is adding a "coming soon" chassis for the Sherman tank as a joking reference to its long time in the pipe. It also includes minor changes to some maps, including Solomon Islands and Wake Island, which were both added as part of the game's recent Jungle update. This added a bundle of new things to the game, including new weapons.
Update 6.2 is now scheduled to release on all platforms on Thursday, March 5. It will see a staggered rollout across each platform, with the patch rolling out beginning at the times listed below.
Continue Reading at GameSpotBungie has released some details outlining much of what's coming with Destiny 2's Season of the Worthy when it kicks off on March 10. One big and interesting item: Guardian Games, a new event that'll run for three weeks in the middle of the season.
The Season of the Worthy's roadmap provides a fairly minimal description of the event, but does give a bit of an idea of what to expect. Bungie calls the Guardian Games a "class competition," which will include new Legendary armor as rewards. The name "Guardian Games" sounds like it might have an Olympics feel, and since the 2020 Summer Olympics are running in Tokyo this July and August, that makes thematic sense.
Last year, Destiny 2 saw a different seasonal event around this time--the Revelry, which took on a springtime theme and included timed events and special rewards. Apparently, Bungie is ditching the Revelry this year for the Guardian Games, which definitely sound like they'll have a more competitive flair than the Revelry, which was a largely PvE event.
Continue Reading at GameSpotAs Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's second season kicked off on February 11 and the first-person shooter received a bunch of updates since then, developer Infinity Ward is back with another quick patch for the Modern Warfare reboot on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. We've compiled the full notes below--just don't expect the rumored Warzone battle royale mode to be waiting for you next time you boot up the game.
The full patch notes reveal some minor changes made to Modern Warfare, includes adjustments to the uzi, updates to the playlist, a quick PC fix, some late additions that didn't make it in a previous patch, and more. Most exciting might be what's not in the patch notes but is now available from the in-game store: a Tamagotchi.
Shoot the Ship has replaced Dirty Old House Boat as the game's 24/7 map. The 3v3 snipers only version of Gunfight has been replaced by the more traditional Gunfight while retaining the same number of players. However, all Gunfight maps can be played in a new "1v1 Me Bro" format, where the UAV is always on and the speech of enemy players can be heard. Lastly in the playlist update, Ground War has been updated to a boots-on-the-ground version where there are no tanks and the realism rules no longer apply.
It can be hard to find the perfect gift for someone who's into tech, especially one that's both affordable and great. iPads go for hundreds of dollars, gaming laptops can cost thousands, and gaming PCs can be even more expensive depending on the parts you decide to go with. Thankfully, there are quite a few tech gadgets out there that you can get for no more than $50, and a lot of them are absolute must-haves for nearly every type of person--excellent Bluetooth headphones, video-streaming devices, and even tablets. Whether you're shopping for a birthday, holiday, graduation, or some other occasion, these tech gadgets under $50 all make for a thoughtful gift that won't break the bank.
Somehow, Nintendo Switch is already three years old. It launched on March 3, 2017, and it's proven to be a truly fantastic system, with an extensive library of great games, including a few with PC cross-save support that effectively turn Switch into a portable extension of your gaming PC. We've already had one of the hardware revisions you'd expect from a Nintendo system, and system updates released over the past few years have introduced some new functionality. However, none of those updates have brought with them an essential ingredient that's been missing since Day One.
I'm speaking, of course, about the lack of music on the Eshop. This may not be as practical as another of the Switch features that I've also been asking for over the past few years--folder support--but that's not what's important. Part of what made everyone love to shop on the Wii Shop every Wednesday, aside from the presence of the Virtual Console, was that truly catchy groovin'... like a bossa nova beat that accompanied the experience. Wii U had its own shopping music which actually changed at times, signaling that someone at Nintendo did actually care about this.
Final Fantasy XIV brought back its springtime seasonal Little Ladies' Day event. It'll run from March 2 to March 16, and like any in-game event, it comes with special quests and unique items.
You can head on over to Ul'dah and hit up the Royal Seneschal for the "Pretty in Peaches" quest. Upon completion, you'll receive the Princess's Peach Corsage and a Seneschal's Monocle. They can't be traded, which means they can only be obtained during this seasonal event. The quest itself is a non-combat one and consists primarily of talking to NPCs.
The shop also offers seasonal furniture like a pink-cladded Eastern Stage and a sakura-decorated Little Ladies' Day Banner. You can also purchase Peach and Cherry Confetti for cool effects. Certain items from previous years' Little Ladies Day will also be available.
Continue Reading at GameSpotDevelopers 343 Industries and Saber Interactive have announced that the 2014 enhanced remake of Halo, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, is now available on PC via Xbox Game Pass for PC, Windows 10, and Steam as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection
343 community director Brian Jarrard shared a blog post detailing the new features in this extra-enhanced reimagining of Master Chief's first adventure. With this new PC release, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary comes fully optimized for the platform with a 60 FPS frame rate (or greater if your machine can handle it) and support for 4K UHD displays. In addition to these improvements, Halo: CE Anniversary for PC allows you to fine-tune your experience by giving you free rein over a variety of customization options. This includes things such as variable frame rates, native mouse and keyboard support, the ability to rebind controls, support for ultra-wide displays and different aspect ratios, updates to texture and shadow quality, and more.
To take it all even further, you can switch between the "classic" game graphics and audio and the newly-enhanced version to create a fully-immersive experience. The audio options also extend to multiplayer, and 343 said it has made "improvements to Spartan customization" as well.
Continue Reading at GameSpotIn recent years, Capcom has made a concerted effort to introduce classic Mega Man games to a new generation of players. To date, five Legacy Collections compiling beloved Mega Man games have been released for modern consoles, including the recently released Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection. The Switch is the perfect console for these collections, and right now you can save up to 50% on both the Mega Man and Mega Man X Legacy Collections until March 9 on the Eshop. Mega Man 11, the most recent mainline entry in the action-platforming series, is also on sale for a steep discount.
Mega Man Legacy Collection features the first six 8-bit games in the mainline series, all of which originally appeared on NES. Regularly $15, you can grab it for $10 right now. Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 compiles Mega Man 7-10 and is discounted from $20 to $10.
Mega Man X, the spin-off series set after the events of the mainline franchise, originally debuted on Super Nintendo and is easily the most popular of the numerous Mega Man offshoots. You can grab the first four games in the series for $10 with the Mega Man X Legacy Collection, and the final four games compiled in Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 for the same price as well.
Continue Reading at GameSpotSony has announced another slate of PlayStation Now games coming to the service in March, and it includes some recent heavy-hitters from big franchises and critical hits. The 11 new games are now available to stream or download for PlayStation Now subscribers.
The headliners for the month include Control, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. Control is the latest game from Remedy and was named one of GameSpot's Best Games of 2019. Tomb Raider and New Colossus are the latest entries in their respective, beloved franchises. You can see the full lineup of March games below.
As part of the announcement, Sony also announced that PUBG will remain available on PS Now, letting you stream the popular battle royale game. And be sure to play Horizon Zero Dawn and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy before they rotate out of the service on April 7, 2020.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
The YouTube algorithm is responsible for many a video-viewing rabbit hole—one that critics have pointed to as an effective digital megaphone for spreading wonky conspiracy theories. In January 2019, however, YouTube announced it would begin cracking down on “borderline content” in its recommendations. Well, a new study
Apex Legends gets a new limited-time mode today, called Deja Loot, as well as a host of changes to inventory, heirlooms, and—at last—a reduction to muzzle flash.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Tom Hardy’s starring performance and its importance for Star Trek: Picard are good reasons to revisit the film
Click here to watch embedded media It's been 26 years since we last saw Axel, Blaze, and the rest of the Streets of Rage crew beating up seedy city-dwellers, but 2020 marks the return of the classic brawler franchise. Join Leo Vader, Ben Reeves, Matt Miller, and me as we play Streets of Rage 4 and delight in the chaotic mayhem of its four-player co-op.
If you're craving a classic brawler, rejoice because you don't have long to wait. Streets of Rage 4 releases on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 this Spring.
Potentially one of the most exciting games of the year, Final Fantasy 7 Remake takes a beloved, stone-cold PS1 classic and revitalises it with the power of current generation console technology. What were once basic polygon models overlaid on pre-rendered backgrounds, interspersed with full motion video CG sequences has evolved - with full real-time rendering at a quality that far exceeds what Squaresoft could even dream of, let alone achieve back in 1997. The excitement is palpable - stoked still further by the surprise 'drop' of a demo early on Monday morning.
In an age of often colossal downloads, it's refreshing to see the demo clock in at just 8GB - a drop in the water next to the 100GB install size understood to be listed on the retail box. Still, the demo packs a real punch, offering 45-60 minutes of action, depending on how you tackle it, covering Cloud and Avalanche's route up to the first Mako reactor core. You learn the basics of combat, evade laser beam traps and end it all with a boss battle against a Scorpion boss.
It's literally the first hour of the game, but obviously, it's not final code - PSN hackers were able to access the demo months ago, after all. With that in mind, gameplay elements can be altered and story elements tweaked by the time the game launches on April 10th. Technically though, what we've got right here with this Unreal Engine 4-powered project is already extremely polished on PS4 and PS4 Pro, to the point where if Square-Enix ships the title like this, we'd be perfectly happy.
Image: 343 Industries/Microsoft Studios
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo