Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard will name Armin Zerza as its new chief financial officer following the retirement of Dennis Durkin. ...
The second part of a discussion on 'subverting player expectation,' focusing on the creation of a unique workbench event in The Last of Us Part II. ...
A new Xbox wireless headset was released earlier this month, and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive regarding the comfort and audio experience offered. Now, a new limited series has been shown off with a special Xbox Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Xbox wireless headset.
Alex Nunn, senior business and strategy lead over at Xbox, shared our first look at the new headset, saying, "At Xbox, we believe providing choice to our players is critical in delivering quality gaming experiences across all our products and services. We know how important immersive audio is to keep you connected, and being connected is more important now than ever. Whether you are gaming with your friends around the world, listening to your favorite music, talking on a conference call for work, or binging the latest shows, audio plays a vital role in your everyday experiences."
With quite a few headsets already available, Microsoft aims to give players more options with the new Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal wireless headphones specifically made for Xbox. This also marks the first peripheral for the Designed for Xbox Limited Series program that offers premium products for gamers to enjoy.
The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is an interesting remaster prospect.
For many, they'll be experiencing the entire trilogy for the first time. Others just prefer the first: an absolute classic in the action genre, even still. Some may also dig the second game, which isn't quite as beloved, but still has its merits. Others will want to relive the polarizing third entry as a flight of fancy of sorts.
In any case, it's a collection that's worth talking about. And we did just that with the game's producer, Fumihiko Yasuda. Even though the third game was their first major project at Koei Tecmo, they mused with us on the past, present, and future of the series.
Team Ninja says data from some Ninja Gaiden games may be forever lost
The epic fantasy adapts multiple books in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse
Shadowverse: Champion's Battle will appear everywhere, as XSEED picked up the Switch CCG and will release it digitally and physically.
The post Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle Will Head to the Switch This Summer appeared first on Siliconera.
The Kingdom Hearts PC versions of games are now all on the Epic Games Store and on sale, and the discounts apply to pre-orders too.
The post Kingdom Hearts PC Games Sale Begins to Celebrate Their Debut appeared first on Siliconera.
The Hitman 3 Free Starter Pack temporarily lets you visit Dubai in addition to Hawke's Bay and The ICA Facility.
The post Hitman 3 Free Starter Pack Temporarily Takes People to Dubai appeared first on Siliconera.
Dabble in esports and meet people you might get close to in the new Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers demo.
The post Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers Demo Debuts appeared first on Siliconera.
The PC rendition of Game Pass received a boost last week when it was reported that its revised ports of Platinum Games' Nier Automata and Tango Game Works' The Evil Within were actually improved over the Steam equivalents. It was seemingly good news for PC gamers: two critically acclaimed titles received sub-optimal PC versions, and while limiting improved versions to Game Pass only is problematic, at least it's a step in the right direction... or is it? In our tests, we noted some content improvements on The Evil Within - albeit with a huge caveat attached - while the underlying performance issues do not seem to be any different at all on the Game Pass builds. Nier Automata also new features, but performance issues unresolved since launch remain untouched.
Let's begin with Nier Automata, where the story is relatively simple. It's a game designed to be ran at 60 frames per second, but the original PC version has a broken frame-rate limiter, meaning that frame drops are commonplace throughout the entire experience and a locked 60fps is impossible out of the box. On top of that, anti-aliasing is actually controlled by the ambient occlusion setting, which actually features a bunch of post-processing effects, including (bizarrely) temporal anti-aliasing.
For a few days last week, the world felt a bit brighter thanks to the work of one boat. After getting caught up in high winds, the Evergreen Marine Corporation's Ever Given wedged itself rather firmly in the Suez Canal, disrupting an estimated 12 per cent of global trade in the process (via The Guardian). Not so funny for the captain or the hundreds of ships waiting in line to get through the canal, perhaps.
Still, it gave many of us a good chuckle, and the boat has at last been freed - opening up the canal and world trade once more. Yet the infamous boat now lives on in digital form, as Microsoft Flight Simulator modders have been hard at work adding it to the game.
Made by FlyBoyRez1 (and inspired by the work of Zepingouin35), the Suez Traffic Jam mod does exactly what it says on the tin... which is plonk a big old boat in the middle of the canal. Traffic will also appear around the boat from both sides, and you'll find some boats parked in the Suez Gulf. Several tug boats will try to free the ship (in vain), and you can also recreate that digger meme thanks to the inclusion of a pair of excavators.
Marvel Cinematic Universe-inspired outfits coming to Marvel's Avengers will exclusively be sold in the game's marketplace, developer Crystal Dynamics has now confirmed.
An earlier Twitter post from the official Marvel's Avengers account was read by some fans as suggesting that they'd be given as free event rewards - something which the developer has now clarified.
"We'll be introducing the Red Room Takeover event this spring!" the account tweeted over the weekend. "Features rewards like animated nameplates, outfits inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a deadly HARM Room hacked by Yelena Belova, and more secrets to decrypt."
Sure, Brothers and A Way Out director Josef Fares has made some good games. But he'll also be forever known for that moment at The Game Awards 2017 where he let the world know his opinions on the Academy Awards.
Now, Fares fans have found he snuck an audio clip of the moment into his new game It Takes Two, as part of a bizarre Easter egg. Here's a video captured by The Games Awards host Geoff Keighley, who presumably signed off on the audio being included:
When scanning the airwaves for clues on where to go next in The Pillow Fort chapter, turning your radar all the way around and tuning into a certain point will unlock the above audio clip.
What was rumour has now been confirmed, with Sony announcing it's to close the PS3 and PSP stores on July 2nd, with the Vita store to close soon after on August 27th, taking with them a whole bevvy of games that were only available via digital download. It's bitterly disappointing news, and while Sony confirmed you'll be able to re-download games in your library for an undisclosed time after - because who needs details? - for many there's now a limited window to pick up some true gems. What follows isn't meant as a comprehensive list of what's going to be lost - it'd be too depressing, for one - but rather a guide to what's worth picking up before it disappears.
What a beautiful, challenging thing this is: a game about moving an octopus between one wall and the next, collecting stuff, avoiding stuff, and marveling at the sheer variety on offer as the levels fly by. With simple controls and a fiendish design, this would work so beautifully on the Switch, but that's a hope for another day. For now, remember the many hours it spent bringing gorgeous frustration to Sony devices.
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After spending a year in your own lair working on your own ploys and plans to fend off the outside, surely you'll be a whizz at Evil Genius 2: World Domination. Released today, it's the surprise sequel to 2004's villainous lair-building management game. Once again, we're put into the executive chair of a Bond-esque villain to build a base and team able to execute our dastardly plans while fending off would-be heroes. Except your in-game fortress will be built of concrete and muscle, not Argos boxes.
When AMD launched their Ryzen 5000 series last year, it quickly became apparent that throwing more cores and threads at a game didn't necessarily result in significantly faster frame rates. Indeed, unless you regularly use your gaming PC for other intensive desktop tasks such as editing videos, running virtual machines or you're a full-time streamer, you're usually much better off opting for a mid-range CPU like AMD's Ryzen 5 5600X than spending loads of cash on something more upmarket like their Ryzen 9 5900X. The same can be said for Intel's new Core i9-11900K, their latest flagship CPU in their 11th Gen Rocket Lake family.
After their 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs got well and truly whomped by AMD's Ryzen 5000 series at the end of last year, Intel have come back fighting with the launch of their 11th Gen Rocket Lake CPUs. With proper PCIe 4.0 support across the board, memory overclocking available on more motherboard chipsets than ever before, as well as some welcome improvements to its instructions per clock performance, Rocket Lake finally feels like an Intel platform that's worth upgrading to - especially when the ongoing hardware shortages have put quite the premium on their Ryzen rivals. Indeed, with Ryzen 5 5600X prices currently hovering around the £350 / $375 mark, the £250 / $270 Intel Core i5-11600K certainly looks a heck of a lot more attractive by comparison for new PC builders at the moment.
Apple Watch Nike Series 6 (40mm) + 6mo Fitness+ | $349 | Best Buy
Apple Watch Nike Series 6 (44mm) + 6mo Fitness+ | $379 | Best Buy
Annual charity speedrunning festival Summer Games Done Quick will return as an online-only event, running from July 4 through 11.
Spring is here, and I’ve been thinking a lot more about my wardrobe—and how sick I am of it. Even though I cleaned out my closet fairly recently, I still counted at least 25 clothing items that I don’t wear regularly anymore. But what should I do with all my tired sweaters and dresses?
Doing even the smallest of actions can have a big impact on our environment. While we aren't here for a long time, the time we are here can be shared with ensuring a brighter future for tomorrow. Many gaming companies are taking steps to "go green," and among them is Razer.
Razer is known for its gaming peripherals and laptops but what they also want to be known for is contributing to a greener future. The gaming brand has outlined a 10-year environmental roadmap under the #GoGreenWithRazer banner to realize these conscientious goals.
“Through our #GoGreenWithRazer campaign led by our Sneki Snek mascot, the Razer community has been insanely supportive and passionate,” said Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “Awareness of how we impact the environment is incredibly important. Hence, Razer has planned out a sustainability roadmap to continue fighting environmental and climate changes. We’re determined to make the world a better place for all of its citizens to game and live in.”
Lil Nas X has been in headlines this week once more after the release of his music video for Montero on Friday night. Following the "outrage" centering on the video's satanic imagery, the singer raised the stakes with a new "Satan Shoes" collaboration. Through all of that, one person decided to elevate Lil Nas X's godlike clap back by making him an actual god with Hades fanart. Even if you aren't a fan of his music, the art is undeniably incredible.
The art was shared by Antonio Demico, a concept artist that works in video games and the creator behind Dragon Stew. When revealing the fanart, he said, "What if Lil Nas X in Montero, but he's a god in Hades?" Don't let your dreams be dreams, because this artist did exactly that, which you can seen below:
What if Lil Nas X in Montero but he's a god in Hades pic.twitter.com/d7bqDJqsWE
— Antonio Demico ⚜ making Hexbound! (@antodemico) March 28, 2021
This Hades take is an incredibly on-the-nose replication of the art style that helped make this game the treasure that it is. It's easy to see Lil Nas X in the game's setting because this makes him a part of the game's setting. While unofficial, it's impressive nonetheless.
Last week, the latest video game adaptation was announced with a Ghost of Tsushima movie from the director of John Wick. While the executive roles were revealed, nothing has been shared yet about potential casting choices. That being said, Jin Sakai's voice actor said he's down to play his character in the Ghost of Tsushima movie, which is perfect. Who better to play Jin than Jin himself?
The actor, Daisuke Tsuji, took to Twitter after fellow voice actor Bryan Dechart (Detroit: Become Human, Cyberpunk 2077) tweeted at him and PlayStation about reprising his role as Jin Sakai. The actor's response? "If I get to play Jin in the live-action Ghost, let it be known that I fully agree to doing butt nudity."
Welp. There you go.
If I get to play Jin in the live action Ghost, let it be known that I fully agree to doing butt nudity. https://t.co/WJBPP9gkgb
miHoYo has released a trailer introducing us to Sister Rosaria, the next character headed to PS4, PC, and mobile phenomenon Genshin Impact. Rosaria will be added to the gacha pipe during the next banner event, which is expected to launch on or around April 6.
Rosaria is a high-ranking Sister in Monstadt's Church of Favorius. Despite her important position, Rosaria is relatively bored of her holy lifestyle, flitting around in an aloof manner and often failing to show up for her duties. But even with this apathetic attitude toward her chores, Rosaria remains wholly dedicated to defending Monstadt and the church - facilitated by her femme-fatale nature and highly-adept spear-fighting skills.
The trailer also spotlights both Rosaria's English and Japanese voices. Her English localization is provided by Elisabeth Maxwell, perhaps best known for her roles as Persona 5's public prosecutor Sae Niijima and Hyrule Warrior's Gerudo fighter Urbosa in. For Japanese VA fans, Rosaria is voiced by Ai Kakuma, who also voices Edelgard in Fire Emblem, Yuri Sakazaki in The King of Fighters, and is a mainstay of anime. The fact that Rosaria is not a hammer-wielder, therefore robbing me of a "Sister Sledge" headline, will bother me for the rest of the day.
Although I didn't find the first season of The Witcher show hard to follow, it boggles the mind why the showrunners decided it was a good idea. The editing and pacing was incredibly off, so it makes sense why a lot of folks got mad about it. The discourse around the second season should be a lot more focused, especially since the narrative is reportedly more focused.
That second season narrative, mind, will seemingly also involve the Wild Hunt. More of a legend than a major plot point (depending on the medium), it looks like Netflix literally ponied up for some horses and armor, so they're likely not going to have the crew show up for a few seconds in some inconsequential dream sequence.
The pictures (below) come courtesy of the Netflix Witcher fan Twitter account, which show off Wild Hunt filming in North Devon, England. One of my absolute favorite parts is the epic shot of them all riding on the beach together contrasted directly to the one with the cast and crew, and the filming trucks.
There's some real "end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail" energy there!
Netflix Witcher [Twitter]
Earlier this week, a boat got trapped in the Suez Canal, an important waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. And while this usually would have nothing to do with gaming-oriented content, Redditors took it upon themselves to make some hilarious memes based on the debacle.
From Pokémon to Minecraft to even Flight Simulator, here are some of the best gaming memes we found that make light of the Suez Canal incident.
Hazelight Studios is quickly developing quite the reputation for creating amazing couch co-op games. As you can see in each of our reviews, A Way Out and It Takes Two have both thrived, delivering two cooperative experiences unlike any other.
To celebrate that success, we decided to compare the two with multiple different categories, seeing which one’s story, gameplay, and replayability wins out. With that said, it is time to settle which couch co-op game is better: It Takes Two or A Way Out.
The second season of Dr. Stone is all about the Stone Wars between Senku’s Kingdom of Science and the Tsukasa Empire. In order to celebrate the season ending, we thought it would be fun to put you to the test and see where exactly you belong.
Do you have the brains to add to the Kingdom of Science’s quest to restore the world they once knew; or, would you rather put your skills toward building a new world in the Tsukasa Empire?
Take this quiz to find out exactly where you belong in the world of Dr. Stone.
(All images credited to TMS Entertainment)
With Amnesia: Rebirth Adventure Mode, people who normally would avoid it because it's scary can still have a way to experience its story.
The post Amnesia: Rebirth Adventure Mode Removes Its Scarier Elements appeared first on Siliconera.
