August 2020

‘Rest in power’

Continue reading…

From hard sci-fi to buds in hot tubs

Continue reading…

Today Bandai Namco announced a new DLC coming to Ace Combat 7 as part of the ongoing celebration for the anniversary of the franchise.

We’re getting three aircraft from the past of the series.

This includes the ASF-X Shinden II from Assault Horizon, the CFA-44 Nosferatu from Ace Combat 6, and the XFA-27 from Ace Combat 2.

The DLC will also include plenty of skins and emblems and will release in the fall. Pricing has not been announced for the moment.

A free update coming at the same time will also add a “Casual – Easy-” mode to let people struggling with the difficulty complete the campaign comfortably.

You can check out the announcement trailer below. 

If you’d like to know in detail why  Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is so good,  you can read my full review.

The game is currently available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.  Recently, we also got another update including more cosmetic content.

Sony released its Corporate Report 2020 and it included some interesting information about the PlayStation business.

The report shared on the company’s investor relations site (via Resetera) reiterates via CEO Kenichiro Yoshida that PlayStation Plus has reached 45 million subscribers by the end of June 2020, and the company deems “important” to “maintain and expand this increased engagement” in the future.

We also hear about the plans for PS5 and cloud gaming.

“At the same time, we aim to further revolutionize the game experience for users by launching the PlayStation 5, scheduled for the 2020 holiday season, not only with higher resolution but higher data-processing speeds, three-dimensional audio support and a new controller that advances the players’ sensory experience. With the PlayStation Platform, we want to provide users with both an immersive game experience through the console and the benefit offered by cloud gaming of seamless gaming experiences that can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere.”

We then get a report on the performance of the Game & Network Services business, which includes PlayStation and PlayStation Network.

“G&NS is distinguished by stable recurring revenue streams, including sales of first-party titles, licensing royalties from third-party game software sales companies, and network revenues derived from PSN which account for the growing shares of the total G&NS revenue.

Additionally, earnings volatility, driven by the console cycle, has been decreasing in response to efforts to reduce the cyclical variability of expenses.”

The Kickstarter campaign launched by Rabbit & Bear Studios to fund the development of the upcoming JRPG Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has ended successfully.

As a result of the fans’ support, pledges reached a total of just over $4,571 million. This makes Eiyuden Chronicle the third most-funded game on the platform, behind Shenmue III and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

This means that all the announced stretch goals were achieved, including the following new ones revealed during the last rush.

• Hero Mode – Plumb the depths of special randomized dungeons with your chosen party and take on unique challenges not found elsewhere in Allraan. Plan your team wisely, as certain members will be stronger against specific foes. Be careful though, because your party members will tire over time, making fights harder as you explore deeper into the unknown!
• Asynchronous Mode – At this stretch goal, you will be able to share your party and fortress town as AI-controlled data with other players, allowing them to battle your army without you even being online.
• Fortress Town Asset Pack – This set of visual assets will allow you to customize your fortress in the style of a Japanese or Chinese castle, setting you apart from the rest! This is the third piece of FREE Digital DLC for backers.
• Battle Defense Mode – At this stretch goal, invaders will periodically attack your Fortress Town as the story progresses. Build a Citadel to strengthen your walls, train defensive troops and develop weapons to protect your citizenry from those that would ransack your home.
• Another Story: Seign – In this DLC side story, you will take control of Seign in an adventure told from the empire’s point of view.

On top of that, the developer also announced the planning of a second town-creation RPG in collaboration with Natsume Atari.

Netmarble has released the first trailer for Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, a smartphone MMO entry in Level-5's classic series.

The post Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is a Smartphone MMO Take on Level-5’s Classic Series appeared first on Siliconera.

• The ASF-X, also known as Shinden 2 is a supporting fighter jet with variable wing function that first appeared in Ace Combat: Assult Horizon.
• The CFA-44, also known as Nosferatu, is equipped with a railgun and a launcher that can shoot several missiles at the same time. It first appeared in Ace Combat 6.
• And The XFA-27 was the first fictional aircraft to be added to the Ace Combat series and was inspired by '90s stealth jets like the F-117 and YF-23.

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Ariados!

Read more...

Razer Tartarus Pro Gaming Keypad (Black) | $80 | Amazon
Razer Tartarus Pro Gaming Keypad (White) | $90 | Amazon

Read more...

Daedalic Entertainment - the team behind Lord of the Rings: Gollum - has confirmed the upcoming action-adventure will release on current-gen systems as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X in "late 2021".

As part of a gameplay teaser of Lord of the Rings: Gollum, project manager Saide Haberstroh confirmed that the new game wasn't just earmarked for early adopters of next-gen consoles, but it will also be coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One, too (thanks, VG24/7) .

Here, check out the latest gameplay trailer below:

Read more

After years of releasing almost all of its games as PlayStation exclusives, Sony eventually changed its tune and opted to port Horizon Zero Dawn to PC this year. However, it looks like this won't be a one-off release, as the company is open to bringing more games to PC.

In a corporate report covering many facets of Sony as a whole, the company said it is looking into bringing more first-party games to the platform.

"We will explore expanding our first-party titles to the PC platform in order to promote further growth in our profitability," the report said.

Epic Games' lawsuit with Apple is ongoing, with Apple recently terminating Epic's developer account on the App Store as they fight over profit cuts and Epic's decision to use an alternative payment system in Fortnite. While the case moves through the legal system, Epic is trying to get public opinion on its side with the "Free Fortnite" campaign, and it's now even letting you make your own gear--and even sell it--to show where you stand.

Via an asset pack available on the Unreal Engine site, you can design and sell shirts, stickers, and other merchandise with Epic Games' Free Fortnite logo. The logo is a parody of one of Apple's older designs, and in Epic Games' post on the subject, it appeared to put one of the stickers on a Macbook.

Epic filed a restraining order against Apple to temporarily allow it to continue using Apple's development tools for the Unreal Engine, and this was granted by a judge while its lawsuit is ongoing. However, its request to temporarily reinstate Fortnite on the App Store was not granted, and the game is still unavailable to download on iOS devices as Apple owns the only authorized digital store. It's also unavailable to download through Google Play on Android phones, but there are other storefronts on Android that offer the game.

Epic Games continues a legal battle with Apple over Fortnite's removal from the App Store, and CEO Tim Sweeney is having a little fun while the process plays out. The developer did the unthinkable: promoting a rival game, and all to demonstrate the value of Unreal Engine for Apple users. It looks like this battle is going to get a lot weirder before it's over. That is, if it ever does end.

On August 28, Apple seemed to take a shot at Epic Games by promoting a massive new update for PUBG Mobile on iOS. Typically, Epic Games would see PUBG Mobile as its competition, but because the game does make use of Unreal Engine--which Apple is looking to cut off from iOS and Mac developers--Sweeney promoted the game, as well.

There's nothing quite like seeing justice properly served, and Twitch viewers certainly saw that when a Call of Duty streamer accidentally revealed himself to be a cheater. This caught the attention of Twitch itself, which banned him. Justice has been served, at least in this instance.

While bragging about how good he was at Call of Duty: Warzone earlier this week, streamer MrGolds had his screen showing a Windows task manager, but underneath it was the cheating program EngineOwning. It's bold to be that careless while bragging about how good you are. This didn't go unnoticed, and his Twitch account is no longer available.

EngineOwning advertises itself as an "undetected" cheat system for big-name shooters. That might be true for the game software itself, but eagle-eyed viewers weren't going to let him get away with it. The program has several settings related to "aimbot" tools, making it rather funny that he was bragging about his gunplay in the clip at the time his cheating was discovered.

Fortnite players have jumped on the Fall Guys bandwagon. They've created all sorts of mini-games, including ones copied from Ultimate Knockout and completely original creations, in Fortnite's creative mode.

Players have remade Door Dash, Tip Toe, Slime Climb, and many other games. They come with pink slime that immediately kills your character to make the resemblance with the game show battle royale complete.

Other players have crafted the Fall Guys characters themselves in Fortnite in order to try and replicate the rag doll physics from Ultimate Knockout. Fall Guys is itself something of a battle royale, only with the obstacles on each stage killing players instead of weapons doing the job.

There are two parallel universes within Fortnite now. One just got a new season full of Marvel superheroes like Thor, Iron Man, and Wolverine while the other is stuck in the past. Most Fortnite players have enjoyed Season 4 since it launched earlier this week--Apple and Android players have been stuck in Season 3 with limited to access to most of what the game has to offer.

"Goodbye, comrades," said iOS player and Redditor LegoRuby360. "We will see you on the other side, someday."

The iOS and Android version of Fortnite lost a host of features since Epic Games began feuding with Apple and Google. Mobile players can no longer utilize cross-play, the battle pass, career stats, team rumble, party royale, or tournaments. They can, however, purchase cheaper V-Bucks.

Today Deep Silver Fishlabs revealed a new trailer of its upcoming space combat shooter Chorus.

The trailer showcases gameplay and development commentary from creative director Marek Bereka, studio development director Tobias Severin, and senior game designer Christian Oberle as they talk about the game in-depth.

You can check it out below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Chorus, you can read an official description below.

“Take control of Nara, once the Circle’s deadliest warrior, now their most wanted fugitive, on a quest to destroy the dark cult that created her. Unlock devastating weapons and mind-bending abilities in a true evolution of the space-combat shooter. Along with Forsaken, her sentient starfighter, explore ancient temples, engage in exhilarating zero-g combat, and venture beyond our waking reality.”

Housing has been an issue in Final Fantasy XIV for a long time, with limited plots basically impossible to purchase for new players on crowded servers.

This, of course, is a consequence of the game’s success, but that doesn’t really change the fact that many are locked out of a relevant feature.

Square Enix plans to mitigate the issue by adding new wards in update 5.35 (as announced in a recent Lodestone post), which should come around September if the timing of previous X.X5 updates is any indication.

While travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are preventing the publisher form physically expanding the servers, optimization on the software side is allowing the addition of six wards per housing district (The Mist, The Lavender Beds, The Goblet and Shirogane), or more precisely, three wards and three subdivisions.

This means that there will be 24 new wards give homeless players a chance at least until the much-teased ward in Ishgard opens.

Plots will be immediately available for free companies and single players at the same time.

The post also included a warning that the timing of the implementation of the new wards may change depending on the progress of development.

On top of that, we also hear that Skybuilder Ranking titles will remain the same for the new round of the Ishgard Restoration, but there will be new achievements.

Bandai Namco will release more Ace Combat 7 DLC aircraft from past series titles, such as the CFA-44 and XFA-27, in Fall 2020.

The post Ace Combat 7 Original Aircraft DLC Launches in Fall 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.

During Thursday's gamescom Opening Night Live presentation, developer Proletariat offered up an impressive trailer for its free-to-play magic melee title Spellbreak, which launches September 3 on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The hybrid cinematic/gameplay trailer featured a cast of mysterious magic-weavers, battling it out with an array of mystic attacks, substituting the typical gun-and-grenade play of such battle arena titles with an altogether more ethereal arsenal of spells, hexes, and curses.

Imagine you are visiting a quiet little inn or village out in the countryside. The sun is up. The sky is clear and life is good. You are happy. And then you round a corner and you see a dead body just lying in the middle of the place, with people walking around and going about their day as if there isn’t a damn corpse…

Read more...

Today Nacon and Cyanide Studio announced the third game of the Blood Bowl series of fantasy football games inspired by Games Workshop’s tabletop franchise.

Blood Bowl 3 will release in early 2021 for basically everything that has a chip inside, PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch.

Below you can check out the announcement trailer alongside artwork and screenshots.

During a Reddit AMA today, DotEmu and Lizardcube confirmed that more Streets of Rage 4 content is on its way, though nothing is set in stone.

The post More Streets of Rage 4 DLC Is On Its Way, But Nothing Is Set in Stone appeared first on Siliconera.

Gotta get back, back to the past, Samurai Jack

The post Samurai Jack Battles Through Time With an Arsenal of Cool Weapons appeared first on Siliconera.