April 2020

The hottest craze amongst GTA Online players is donning a green alien suit, picking up a baseball bat, and riding around with their alien friends in a van looking for people to beat up. In a game where death usually comes from some walloper on a hoverbike raining missiles, it’s delightfully silly. But aliens could never hold the streets of Los Santos forever. While attempts to fight them as Men In Black (in black suit with the black Ray-Bans on) haven’t really caught on, a surprising credible opposition has emerged: other aliens. Purple alien gangs have arrived, and they have come to rumble. I dropped into an alien street war myself today.

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Early on in Doom Eternal, you’ll pick up your first weapon mod. These are secondary fire effects and there are a maximum of two per weapon. You can swap them on the fly if you’ve unlocked both of them, so they can make a standard shotgun either throw sticky bombs or turn into a fully automatic shotgun. But there is a way to make them even better.

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When the Oculus Rift S offers a pretty darn great VR experience for £399 / $399, is there really any reason to spend upwards of a grand on a headset like the £919 / $999 Valve Index? Probably not if, like the rest of us, you don’t have a spare mattress full of cash squirrelled away in your back bedroom. However, if you do fall into the category of loaded individuals who want the absolute best VR headset you can buy today, then the Valve Index is definitely the headset to go for over the similarly priced HTC Vive Cosmos Elite.

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Following its teaser-slash-art-project reveal last night, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla finally has a proper cinematic trailer. Beards, axes, longboats and raiding? Yup. It’s Vikings. Down on their luck and out of options, our latest assassin is crossing the sea to live out the ninth-century Norwegian dream – pillaging the ever-lasting christ out of England.

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One of Valorant’s best noises is back

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It’s clearly not even finished yet

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Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Crashlands are free right now on the Epic Games Store

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It’s one of many storyboard animatics featured on the new Criterion release

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Valhalla coming to [deep breath] PC, PS5, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X

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A trailer for the upcoming 2020 entry in the Assassin's Creed saga reveals the new game is called Valhalla--confirming the rumors that the next game will take place in The Viking Age. Assassin's Creed Valhalla will touch on many of the mainline games that came before it, essentially capping the series that first started back in 2007.

"As far as [Valhalla's] story goes, we do continue the story that began in Origins and continued in Odyssey," Assassin's Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt said in an interview with GameSpot. "We take that and we build on it in a big way. We also did a lot of thinking about how to connect all the games, at least the lore of all the games, to make it feel like everything we've done over the past dozen games has little feelers and little entry points into this game."

"So, it's not only the continuation of the Odyssey storyline, it's a really good capper for what has come so far," McDevitt continued. "I don't want to give the impression it's the last game. That's something I want to avoid, but it's a good summation."

The rumors have been confirmed: 2020's Assassin's Creed game takes place during The Viking Age. Called Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the upcoming action RPG's story will continue directly where The Fate Of Atlantis (the second DLC for Assassin's Creed Odyssey) left off.

"We continue Layla's story," Assassin's Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt said in an interview with GameSpot. "We have a lot of interesting new approaches to the present day story that we're excited for people to see. It's something I've wanted to see for many years and we finally had the idea in a way that we could pull it off, which I won't get into. But we definitely continue Layla's story. That hasn't changed."

For those who don't know, the Assassin's Creed franchise is essentially a story about time travel, where people in the present are reliving the experiences of historical figures through the use of a machine called the Animus.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has been officially announced, confirming the rumors that the 2020 entry in Ubisoft's history-based franchise will take place during The Viking Age. Valhalla will continue the story of Layla Hassan and also act as "a good summation" of the franchise as a whole. And according to narrative director Darby McDevitt, how Valhalla tells its story will be "very unique" and "one of the stand-out aspects of the game."

"[The narrative] relied on structuring story experiences in a way I haven't seen in any game as far as I can think of--this will definitely be a unique story structure for Assassin's Creed fans," McDevitt said in an interview with GameSpot. "But I would even dare say it's quite unique for any game. I don't think people have experienced a story in quite this way--how we present it to you, how you consume it--it's very unique."

McDevitt didn't go into detail about what exactly is unique about Valhalla's storytelling, only adding that the game experiments "with a different way of presenting information to players and leading you through the world."

2020's new Assassin's Creed game is called Valhalla and it transports you to The Viking Age to play as Eivor, the leader of a group of Viking raiders, who stumbles into the evolving conflict between the two groups that will one day become the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order. As an action RPG that sees you control someone who believes in the Norse gods, there does seem to be parallels between Assassin's Creed Valhalla and 2018's God of War. However, Ubisoft isn't worried about retreading the same ground as SIE Santa Monica Studio's game.

"God of War is great--yeah, I've played it," Assassin's Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt said when asked about the game in an interview with GameSpot. "It's fantastic. I wouldn't say we're too worried because most games, when they touch this topic, they actually skew very heavily towards the mythology. So that's the front-facing feature--you play God of War so you can go punch Baldur in the face, meet all these characters, and travel to fantastical environments."

He continued: "Very few games actually treat the Norse Viking experience as historically grounded. I think the urge is to always immediately lead with the mythology stuff, but we really want you to feel like you're living in the Dark Ages of England, that you're exploring the Roman ruins left behind 400 to 500 years earlier by the Romans and the remnants of the Britannic tribes before that and even the Saxon Pagans before they all converted to Christianity."

Ubisoft has officially unveiled Assassin's Creed Valhalla and, following a setting reveal stream, published a trailer for the title. Additionally, we also have details on its protagonist, story, release platforms, and more.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with support from Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Montpellier Ubisoft Barcelona, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Bordeaux, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Philippines, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Pune. Additional help was also provided by Sperasoft.

Ubisoft has officially announced Assassin's Creed Valhalla and released its first trailer, and the company also shared the first screenshots--they are stunning.

The screenshots showcase the game's main character--Eivor, who can be male or female--in a variety of unique environments. The loveliest shot, in my eyes, depicts Eivor standing on top of a hill overlooking a village with the sun peeking through the clouds. Another image shows a dramatic battle scene, while others showcase some of the colder and wetter environments that players will visit in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Check out all of the newly released images in the gallery below--be sure to click each one to get a better look.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has officially been revealed and, as the rumors indicated, the Viking era plays a big role. While Viking fiction is common in video games, especially of late with the likes of excellent games such as God of War and Hellblade, developer Ubisoft Montreal is taking a different tact. Norse mythology is well-worn territory, so Ubisoft is telling a more grounded story. Sure, it will undoubtedly feature elements of Norse mythology, but at its core, Valhalla about the struggle of a people trying to find a new home.

Leading that effort is Eivor, a warrior raised on tales of battle, who must carve out a new place to belong for a clan of Vikings pushed out of their battle-ravaged home. To learn more about Assassin's Creed Valhalla we talked to Darby McDevitt, narrative director on the game. Over the course of the discussion, we discuss what it's like to create an entirely new hero for the series and said hero's place within the larger Assassin's Creed mythos. On top of that, we learn about Ubisoft's ambitions for the game, what sets it apart from other games available now, as well as previous entries in the franchise.

GameSpot: What's the general story of Assassin's Creed Valhalla?

2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey allowed players to play as a man or a woman, and 2020's game, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, will carry this feature forward. Unlike in Odyssey, however, this will be the male or female version of the same character rather than one of two siblings.

In Valhalla, you play as Eivor, who is described as a "fierce Viking raider raised on tales of battle and glory." Eivor leads a group of Norsemen that have been driven from Norway by "endless wars and dwindling resources in the ninth century CE." Check out the images below to see the male and female versions of Eivor.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is launching this year across consoles (including Xbox Series X and PS5) and PC. If you're picking up the game on PC, you won't be able to get it on Steam, however, at least at launch. Ubisoft has confirmed that Valhalla will only be sold on only one third-party store, the Epic Games Store. The game will also release on PC through Ubisoft's Uplay service.

Valhalla will become the first mainline new instalment in Assassin's Creed series to skip Steam. 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the rest of the earlier games are available to buy on the platform.

The Division 2 was Ubisoft's first big game to launch as an exclusive on the Epic Games Store. At the Game Developers Conference in 2019, Ubisoft and Epic extended their publishing deal for future titles, and now we know one of them is Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

Ubisoft finally unveiled the next mainline entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Dubbed Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the new open-world adventure will transport players to the Viking Age. In addition to releasing on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, Valhalla will be available on both next-gen consoles: PS5 and Xbox Series X. This means Valhalla will be playable on a whopping six platforms (including Stadia). As an Assassin's Creed game, you can bet Valhalla has multiple special editions to choose from when pre-ordering. All four editions are available to pre-order now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and you can currently get a nice discount at Amazon and Walmart. Because Assassin's Creed Valhalla supports Xbox Smart Delivery, you're basically getting your first next-gen game at a discount if you buy on Xbox One.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is set in the ninth century in a period of turmoil for the Vikings. You play as Eivor, a Viking raider who leads their clan away from the war-torn homeland of Norway on an adventure to England. Eivor can be played as male or female, and Ubisoft promises its combat will take cues from Viking fighting styles, with a reworked combat system that includes dual-wielding and more enemy variety. Like recent iterations of the franchise, Valhalla will have a season pass that grants access to post-launch DLC.

Streets of Rage 4 is now available across PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. You can grab it at a launch discount for a limited time on most platforms, but if you're a member of Xbox Game Pass you can just start playing it as part of your subscription.

The throwback beat-em-up comes from the developers of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and Streets of Fury, and revives the classic brawler series with lovely hand-drawn artwork. This sequel takes place 10 years after Streets of Rage 3 and features classic characters like Axel, Blaze, and Adam along with new additions Cherry and Floyd. You can even unlock pixel characters with their original move-sets from the three previous Streets of Rage games.

Streets of Rage 4 costs $25 across all platforms, but a launch discount takes off 10% on Steam, PS4, and Switch. If you're subscribed to Game Pass on Xbox One, it's included with your subscription price. A subscription to Game Pass costs $10 regularly for the Xbox One or PC version, or $15 for the "Ultimate" subscription that combines them both along with Xbox Live Gold.

NBC Universal Japan will stream the Danganronpa the Animation and some other series for free through Japan's Golden Week holiday.

The post NBC Universal Japan Will Stream the Danganronpa Anime for Free appeared first on Siliconera.

Mario Tennis Aces will be one of the games featured at the Facebook Gaming Stay at Home Slam tournament, featuring tennis stars and celebs.

The post Mario Tennis Aces Hits the Big Leagues with Superstar Players in Facebook Stay at Home Slam appeared first on Siliconera.

After yesterday’s big reveal of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we’ve had the chance to learn much more than the name and setting of the next Assassin’s Creed. Our interview and the trailer (plus screenshots and an official press release) all give us a better idea what to expect from Ubisoft’s new entry in its historical, open-world franchise.

Fans will undoubtedly want to dissect every little detail and speculate for themselves, but if you just want some of the biggest and most interesting points, we’ve compiled this list of the 25 main things we’ve learned about Valhalla so far.

1. Eivor is pronounced “Ā-vōr.”

2. You can choose whether your Eivor is male or female.

3. Customization options let you change Eivor’s hair, clothing, war paint, and more.

Ubisoft has officially unveiled Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a new installment that has players building a Viking settlement and exploring England during the Dark Ages. That premise alone is enticing; the combination of fierce combat and rich history seems like a natural fit for Assassin’s Creed. We interviewed creative director Ashraf Ismail to learn more about the new hero Eivor (pronounced Ā-vōr), the gameplay, and the world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

GI: The name “Valhalla” evokes the Norse setting, but what does it mean in the context of the game’s story?

Ismail: There’s a lot that I can’t get into for spoiler reasons, but overall the idea of this place of glory that you’re trying to reach – this is very meaningful to the personal journey of our hero, Eivor. Eivor is a Viking raider who will leave Norway for the rolling hills of England – this is something that happens very early in the journey of our game – for the goal of settling their people and building a thriving settlement. Norway is beautiful, but it was a very harsh place to live; there’s war, there’s lack of space to grow. The idea of finding a better place to thrive was very important.

The Epic Games Store is giving away another two free games this week including the first-person survival horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Originally released for PC in 2010, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a horror game with no combat, cut-scenes, or time-jumps. Players are in control the entire time and must run or hide from any threats that appear.

A sequel, Amnesia Rebirth, was announced last month and is scheduled for sometime this fall on PC and PlayStation 4.

The other free PC game available from the Epic Games Store this week is Crashlands, a story-driven action RPG. The game also features a huge crafting system with over 500 items and a “self-managing, infinite inventory” that will manage itself and “retrieve your tools when you need them.”

Both games are available to download from the Epic Games Store for free beginning today until Thursday, May 7 at 11 a.m.

The next game to be free from the PC launcher next week will be Death Coming, “a non-linear puzzle game where you must harvest human souls ‘Final Destination’ style.”

The post Amnesia and Crashlands Free on Epic Games Store; Death Coming Next Week appeared first on Twinfinite.

Following the official reveal of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft released a press kit including official screenshots and artwork created for the game.

We get to see a few images officially identified as screenshots (the first five in the gallery below), on top of a look at the different equipment we can wear, and plenty of artwork.

On top of that, we also get to take the first look at the male and female character options for the game.

The first three screenshots feature the male protagonist, while the fourth and fifth screenshots in the gallery feature the female protagonist.

Criterion and EA have announced the release date for Burnout Paradise Remastered for the Nintendo Switch. This remaster will mark the first time that the racing classic will be available on a handheld console.

EA revealed the release date today via its official site along with some features coming to the remaster:

• The Definitive Burnout Paradise Experience – Wreak havoc in Paradise City on-the-go with Burnout Paradise Remastered on Nintendo Switch! Fully remastered and meticulously recreated, Burnout Paradise Remastered delivers the complete original game with eight DLC packs, including the Cops and Robbers pack, Legendary Cars, Burnout Bikes, and Big Surf Island with new locations, challenges, and vehicles to discover.
• The Ultimate Driving Playground – Forget the rulebook as you blaze a path of speed and destruction throughout Paradise City. Smash through traffic and rule the roads in adrenaline-fuelled online races and social challenges with up to eight other players, or pass the controller (or console!) in local party play.
• Full-Throttle Graphics – Optimized for the Nintendo Switch with a range of technological enhancements, soak in the sights of an open world in 60 glorious frames per second, high-resolution textures, and pinch-and-pull map controls.

You can watch a trailer down below:

Ubisoft has unveiled the next chapter in its popular Assassin’s Creed series of open-world action games today with a cinematic trailer. Set in the 9th Century, players take on the role of a male or female Viking named Eivor as they plunder Saxon England with a clan of warriors.

The sequence tees up the game’s story premise, as Viking ships make their way across to England from Scandinavia. We hear a narrator, who is later revealed as the King Alfred of Wessex, lamenting the heathen Vikings, calling them out for their supposedly barbarous ways — his words are noticeably at odds with what is portrayed of the Vikings on-screen.

As the action unfolds, the cinematic presentation seems to allude to gameplay mechanics that’ll be familiar to anybody who’s played an Assassin’s Creed, including naval combat, and the fighting of mini-bosses. You’ll also see the iconic hidden blade, too…

Edit: New information on Valhalla’s gameplay features has been revealed via the YouTube description:

Write Your Viking Saga – Advanced RPG mechanics allow you to shape the growth of your character and influence the world around you. With every choice you make, from political alliances and combat strategy to dialogue and gear progression, you will carve your own path to glory.

Visceral Combat System – Dual-wield powerful weapons such as axes, swords, and even shields to relive the ruthless fighting style of the Viking warriors.

Dark Age Open-World – Sail from the harsh and mysterious shores of Norway to the beautiful but forbidding kingdoms of England and beyond. Immerse yourself in the Viking way of life through fishing, hunting, drinking games, and more.

The Battle for Everyone’s Souls (Nyx Avatar – Persona 3)

The Persona series is well-known for its stellar soundtracks. And this is one of the best video game villain themes you’ll hear in the third installment of the popular JRPG franchise. The Battle for Everyone’s Souls from Persona 3 kicks off this list with a bang.

Death has reached its final form as Nyx Avatar and this metal guitar kicks in to let you know you’re in for a heck of a battle. The way this song balances the heavier parts with lighter piano and then mixes in the velvet room melody will send shivers down any Persona fan’s spine.

The post 20 Best Video Game Villain Themes appeared first on Twinfinite.

San Francisco startup Guilded has raised $7 million in Series A funding to expand its eponymous chat platform for game communities. ...

Netgear Nighthawk X10 | $250 | B&H Photo

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A new livestreaming series called Celebrity Jackbox: Games & Giving will pit some mildly famous people against one another as they play Jackbox party games to raise money for those affected by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

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Now that we’ve spent eight hours watching artist Bosslogic paint a picture of a Viking, it’s time for something more substantial. Here’s the epic cinematic trailer debut for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, along with the first concrete details on the holiday 2020 release.

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Game Pass now has over 10 million subscribers. Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced the stat in a new blog post outlining the downloadable game service’s continued growth. That’s up from 9.5 million monthly users last year. Spencer said subscribers are playing games twice as much since the outbreak of the covid-19…

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Now that Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally out, the team is starting to open up about what the future might bring, and the path that led to its eventual, delayed release.

The key source of information these past few days has come from one giant tome: the new Ultimania book, which has been thankfully translated by Twitter user aitaikimochi. We already learned about how future episodes could pan out, but now we have the goods on another bit of the tome that tells us what went into the thought process of adding "Remake" to the nomenclature of the project.

Responding to the question of why the phrase "Remake" was specifically placed into the title, you can practically see co-director Tetsuya Nomura grinning from ear to ear. Nomura says that it was him who decided to use "Remake," and that there are "two meanings" (oh boy, this is like a Kingdom Hearts ending in real life).

Nomura says the first meaning deals with "quelling the doubt" that it would be a remaster; so he put "Remake" up there in neon lights to people would know it's legit. Nomura says "[he] can't answer" as to what the second meaning is right now, and to "ask [him] again in a couple of years," with a laugh. Boom, there it is.

For a little while there, I wasn't so sure that the Assassin's Creed series could feasibly continue with its ballooning budgets, host of spinoffs and varying quality. Syndicate was kind of a new low point for me (Revelations was the lowest), but dammit, they pulled me back in with Origins and kept with Odyssey. Now, two years later, Valhalla might offer that same reinvigorating spark.

As we found out yesterday through a lengthy seven-hour process, the next game is called Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and will likely deal with a Scandinavian Viking clan that is intertwined with the eternal struggle between the titular assassins and the Templars. While we suspected this theme for some time, it'll be interesting to see if the crew over at Ubisoft maintains the same heavy-RPG feel that Odyssey brought to the table.

[Update: Eurogamer sources also corroborate the GamesBeat story, but with another twist. According to the report, Nintendo specifically needs more time to develop their first party lineup before they're ready for primetime with a Direct. Also, Nintendo has allegedly informed partners to "not wait" for the Direct if they want to just reveal their projects via solo streams.]

E3 is a pretty magical month for Nintendo.

It didn't always used to be, as it hosted some of the worst E3 presentations of the year, but over time they moved to the Nintendo Direct model and generally brought the goods with explosive reveals and a lot of heart and soul from Satoru Iwata (RIP) and Reggie Fils-Aimé. Those goods will not be making an appearance this June.

Although E3 2020 on location was canceled digital events are still a go across the globe. The PC Gaming Show is coming back this year, and many other publishers have hinted that they will still hold "E3" shows digitally. In a sense, the magic of "E3 at home" is still going to be preserved.

Slightly over a year after it first released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Burnout Paradise Remastered is finally making its way to the Nintendo Switch on 19th June - for a heavy price tag.

The Switch version was announced during the mini Nintendo Direct back in March, but now we know the official release date. The action-racing game is already available for pre-order via the Nintendo eShop, although I hope you've been saving up your pennies, as it'll set you back £44.99. That's pretty steep, particularly considering the PC version only cost £17.99 when it released in August last year.

Despite the cost, Burnout Paradise Remastered on Switch may yet be worth your while - as the console version got the thumbs-up from Christian Donlan, who described it as "vast, speedy and gloriously overwhelming".

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Ubisoft knows what you think of Vikings: their reputation in history as bloodthirsty invaders, interested in Britain only to pillage its riches. And so, in today's reveal trailer for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, this version of history is addressed head on.

You see Vikings and their families spending some quiet, quality time together back home in Norway, where Valhalla's saga begins, and that things weren't so (Alfred the) Great in Britain either - where the majority of Valhalla actually takes place.

Of course, this first trailer barely scratches the surface of the game - and indeed how its portrayal of Vikings, Saxons and various other groups living in Britain will actually look (though actual footage arrives very soon). Will good old King Alf really be a moustache-twirling pantomime villain? No, lead producer Julien Laferrière assures me, as we settle down to talk Valhalla in detail. Will all Vikings be good guys? No, again. But what seems certain is how Valhalla has been entirely shaped by this principle Vikings were not only invaders but settlers as well. They were ferocious warriors, yes, but also a group of people with a rich culture, living gods and huge mythology - all of which Valhalla will explore in detail. Central to all that will be a new village settlement hub - a home for main character Eivor and their comrades, a familiar starting point for adventures and a place you'll see your decisions play out.

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