August 2021

Bethesda has released a behind-the-scenes look at three locations set to be featured in Starfield, its upcoming sci-fi RPG.

Concept art for the space port of New Atlantis, colonial city of Akila and pleasure hub of Neon lie below in three brief videos narrated by design director Emil Pagliarulo.

Let's start with New Atlantis, a melting pot of a spaceport with towering buildings and a diverse cast of characters to interact with.

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EA's Skate series will come to PC for the very first time via its upcoming new entry.

To date, Skate has stuck solidly to PlayStation and Xbox for its past main entries, with spin-offs also for mobile and Nintendo DS.

But, happily for PC owners, that will all change with the upcoming Skate 4, or Skate, or whatever it ends up being called.

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Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: base-building, measureless caverns, and creatures that get meaner in the dark.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

I dropped back into Rymdkapsel for a few minutes this week just to remind myself of how it worked. This was a mistake, of course, because I was drawn in for hours.

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Overwatch's fan-favourite cowboy character Jesse McCree will be re-named, Blizzard has announced, following the departure of the real-life Jesse McCree from the developer.

Blizzard's veteran of the same name left earlier this month in the wake of California's lawsuit which alleges sexual harassment and a "frat boy" culture at the company, although no specific reason was given for his exit.

The real-life McCree was one of several men apparently pictured posing together on a bed with a photo of disgraced US comedian Bill Cosby. The disturbing picture allegedly showed the interior of the "Cosby suite" - a hotel room once used at BlizzCon for partying.

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The indie developer behind horror title Summer of '58 claims Steam refund abuse has torpedoed its future plans. ...

App Store developers will soon be able nudge customers over email to make them aware of alternative payment options and perhaps avoid platform fees. ...

Back in 2015, Ubisoft announced that it was going to create a 10,000 square-meter indoor theme park in Kuala Lumpur.

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Last month, parts of Japan were hit with devastating torrential rain. Game maker Square Enix has donated 5 million yen ($45,000) as part of an effort to help out.

Japan’s rainy season is typically between May and July. This year, the rains were particularly heavy in parts of the country.

In an official release, Square…

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I had my first go of turn-based tactics-'em-up Cantata more than two years ago, when it was barely more than an incredibly shaky tech demo. Even back then, with a build so rudimentary I could hardly fathom how to play it, the game stood out thanks to its astonishing colour palette and its esoteric sci-fi aesthetic, which I described as "Advance Wars with an Ann Leckie glow-up". Now, with the news that Cantata has a publisher in Modern Wolf, whose portfolio already holds a few games that are up my street, I've been given a new build. And this time, it's looking a lot more polished: the demo is a whole level from the single-player campaign, complete with a script, objectives and everything.

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I've played a fair few MMORPGs in my time, but I've never played a TMORPG, or "Tiny Multiplayer Online RPG" as Book Of Travels calls itself. It's a gorgeous looking adventure where you'll bump into only a handful of players on your wanderings, and communicate entirely in symbols. Unfortunately, developers Might And Delight have had to delay its early access release indefinitely to iron out those pages.

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Looking for a strong M60 loadout to bring into Warzone? The M60 is a generally famous LMG, partially thanks to the Rambo movies, which might put it on your list of guns to use in Warzone. It features the highest headshot damage of any LMG and a hefty 100 round magazine by default, but it's far from being one of the best LMGs in Warzone. The slower rate of fire and and strong horizontal recoil put it at a disadvantage in more than a few scenarios. As such, you'll want to compensate for those weaknesses with the right attachments, Perks, Equipment, and strategies.

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We've had to branch out for this episode of our weekly quiz. The rivalry has dominated Earth, so now it's time we looked to our cheesy friends on the moon.

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This feature will allow users to keep an eye out for Free Company or Cross-world Linkshell recruitment.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Community Finder Now Features a Watchlist appeared first on Siliconera.

Get mounts, cosmetics, and Phials of Fantasia at a discount for a limited time.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Online Store Sale Will Last Until September appeared first on Siliconera.

If you’ve had your eye on French publisher Microids‘ upcoming 3D action-platformer, The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf, then we may have some good news for you. Yes, the company dropped a brand new trailer today outlining the new kit you’ll be wielding while exploring the world of The Cursed Land.

Feel free to feast your eyes on said gameplay footage down below:

Indeed, the Smurfizer sounds like it won’t be simply used as a projectile-spewing weapon of mass destruction. Instead, it appears to come in handy for other utilitarian things like spraying, sprinting, gliding, splatting, sucking things up and spitting things out. Pretty useful, no?

Today Izanagi Games released another gameplay trailer of its upcoming escape game/bullet hell shoot ’em up hybrid Yurukill: The Calumniation Games.

The trailer showcases more gameplay and more specifically focuses on the “Sly Stalkers” duo, Hanaka Ichirin and her superfan Keiichi Oka.

If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s written by Homura Kawamoto, whom you may know for creating Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler, and by his younger brother, Hikaru Muno.

You can check out the trailer below.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, here’s how the developer describes it.

Solve Puzzles

Investigate attractions and uncover clues to help solve the puzzles you encounter.

Apple has agreed to let iOS App Store developers email their users and mention alternative payment options outside of the company's App Store.

This means, for example, a game company who holds a user's email address could then contact that person to suggest they buy a season pass or in-game currency directly from them, rather than via the App Store where Apple takes its cut.

Until now, Apple did not let developers use any contact information obtained from within an app to contact their users outside of the app. A class-action lawsuit said this was unfair, and blocked the ability for them to inform customers of cheaper purchase options (thanks, Ars Technica).

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In the game that will never die, Rockstar has added a brand-new game mode into GTA Online, but rather than being a throwaway update that will be forgotten about in a month, this one genuinely is quite fun.

Kart Krash: Full Auto sees players fight to be the last one surviving in teams or chaotic free-for-alls, using the weapons attached to their go-karts and assorted power-ups scattered about the map to take their opponents out. It's a bit like Mario Kart's Battle Mode, except there's tanks and machine guns.

Go-karts aren't new to the game, having arrived back in December with The Cayo Perico Heist. But the new game mode dedicates these vehicles to their own arena.

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Well, I'm very glad I don't have to keep this a secret any more. We were lucky enough to be invited for an extended gameplay preview of Elden Ring this week, followed by a chat with From Software's Yasuhiro Kitao - who answered questions about what we'd just seen. Now, I am sorry to report that we aren't allowed to actually show that gameplay - we just have a couple of new screenshots to share with you instead - but, what I am going to do is try my best to to paint as detailed a picture of that gameplay as I possibly can for you, because there are a lot of new details to share - and some of them are pretty huge.

In typical From fashion, Elden Ring's story is fragmented; the studio hasn't changed its basic principle of providing players with an ambiguous narrative and a world they can choose to interpret for themselves. But it also feels like From was hinting that Elden Ring's story would be perhaps more character-based than From's previous titles, where most of the lore is gleaned offscreen from fragments and relics found after the fact, rather than seeing it played out in front of you.

"We're often told that our games have stories that are difficult to understand, but this time we feel that, rather than focusing on just the world itself, the characters and the drama surrounding them will paint a clearer picture of the mainline story and help players become more immersed in the story than ever before," Kitao told us.

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Look, Nintendo, I was already pretty sure I would play Metroid Dread after that last trailer which teased new details on the series' mysterious Chozo race.

But, fair enough, today's trailer is even better. Metroid fans will be delighted at some of the previously-unseen stuff this video reveals - and to save spoiling it first, I'll just let you watch.

Phew, okay. So, picking up from that last trailer, clearly here we have a very living and angry Chozo who Samus must fight. Why are they living? Why are they angry? I am looking forward to Metroid Dread providing answers to these questions.

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One noteworthy absence from Gamescom's Opening Night Live show was any gameplay footage of Halo Infinite's campaign.

Instead, we got a fancy cinematic introduction of the game's first season, along with the leaked 8th December release date.

But in a post on 343's Inside Infinite blog, lead writer Joseph Staten explained that the team is currently in "shutdown mode" as they polish the game for final release.

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Assetto Corsa Competizione - one of the very best racing sims available at the moment, if you've got the right set-up - is getting a next gen upgrade next February for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.

It promises to bring stable 60fps performance, private lobbies and updated liveries for the 2021 GT World Challenge series, and there'll be a free update path for owners of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions to their respective next-gen upgrades.

Assetto Corsa Competizione first came out on PC in 2018, with its sole purpose being to replicate the GT World Challenge series (the series formerly known as Blancpain GT), which sees the Spa 24 Hours as its centrepiece. The initial console port was decent if lacking in some areas - areas which this next gen update would seem to address.

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In a new video, Bethesda has shown a behind-the-scenes glimpse at three of the locations that players will be able to visit in Starfield. Narrated by design director Emil Pagliarulo, the videos show off the United Colonies capital city of New Atlantis, the pleasure city of Neon, and the capital of the Freestar Collective, Akila.

New Atlantis is described as a metropolitan melting pot of cultures set in a spaceport, where players can interact with a diverse cast of characters.

On the other side of the galaxy, there's Akila, a city on the frontier inhabited by people who believe in the sanctity of personal freedom and individuality. Akila is a walled city and for good reason, as beyond its borders lie predators that have been described as being a cross between wolves and velociraptors.

Despite how little we've seen of Elden Ring, those familiar with From Software's catalogue will have a good idea of what to expect. Surprising absolutely no one, Elden Ring is a dark fantasy action RPG set in an intricately constructed world. It delivers its narrative in fragmented pieces, leaving the player to make connections, fill in the gaps, and draw conclusions. Its gameplay marries the tension of venturing into the unknown with the joy of discovery and, most importantly, it emphasizes a sense of accomplishment that comes from conquering seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Elden Ring is the exact kind of game that From Software is known for creating, but it's also an exciting evolution that takes the best of what came before and extrapolates it out onto a much grander scale, potentially realizing that open-world Soulsborne fantasy that many fans have been eager for.

According to From Software's Yasuhiro Kitao, however, the team didn't set out to make an open-world title. In fact, From Software isn't even sure if it has the correct definition of what encompasses an open-world experience, and so isn't quick to call Elden Ring one. When watching the gameplay, the reticence to categorize Elden Ring as what it seems to be begins to make sense. To be clear, it is unmistakably an open-world game, but one that is cut from the same cloth as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, rather than any of the recent Assassin's Creed titles. The distinguishing factor between them, for me, is how deliberate the construction of the world feels and what the moment-to-moment experience of adventuring is like.

Call of Duty: Vanguard's alpha test kicks off today, August 17, on PlayStation consoles. To get you primed and ready for the 48-hour test, we're rounding up the key details like how to download and what to expect as you try out the new Champion Hill mode.

How To Download Call Of Duty: Vanguard Alpha

The Vanguard Champion Hill alpha is available only on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, per the ongoing timed-exclusivity deal between Sony and Activision. Pre-loading has been available for some time already, but if you haven't done that yet, you can find the Champion Hill alpha client in the PlayStation Store on PS5 and PS4 and get started that way. The test begins today, August 27, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and runs for a period of 48 hours, ending at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on August 29.

Anyone who already has Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone, or Black Ops Cold War will find the Vanguard Champion Hill alpha in the main menu of those games once it's downloaded. You can then navigate to the Alpha blade on the far left to get started.

The PS4 (and even the PS5 so far) has been defined by its exclusives. While Sony's PlayStation consoles have had notable exclusive games over the years, a significant number of the very best games on modern PlayStation consoles are exclusives. From sterling action games like God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man to brilliant RPGs such as Final Fantasy VII Remake and Persona 5 Royal, recent PlayStation exclusives have been mightily impressive. We've rounded up the best PlayStation exclusives for PS4 and PS5. While most of these games are playable on both PS4 and PS5, we've included a few PS5 exclusives as well.

If you own a PlayStation console, we'd consider all of these to be must-play experiences. A few of these titles were later ported to PC, but for the purpose of this list, all PlayStation console exclusives are eligible. The 20 best PlayStation exclusives are listed in alphabetical order, and some of them are free to play on PS5 if you're a PS Plus subscriber.

For more PlayStation game recommendations, check out our roundups of the best PS5 games so far and best PS4 games. First-person shooter fans will notice that this list doesn't feature any in the genre, but we do have a roundup of the best PlayStation shooters, too.

Sleeping Dogs earned plenty of praise in 2012 for creating a sandbox that was heavily influenced by Hong Kong's action films, and it wasn't long before the game caught the attention of one of the biggest names in martial arts movies, Donnie Yen. For years now, Yen has been looking to get an adaptation of the game onto the big screen, and in a new interview, the action star sounded confident about the project finally getting off the ground.

"I'm still hopeful. I mean, every day they tell me it's going to happen," Yen said to Collider. "I'm co-producing and collaborating with [producers] Neil Moritz and Toby [Ascher], with their company, and currently talking with a couple of big platforms. And they tell me every single day it's going to happen, so we'll see. Like I said, I believe in destiny. So, if it's going to happen, hopefully, it will happen the first half of next year."

The original game had players take control of undercover cop Wei Shen, who was tasked with infiltrating the Triad gangs operating in Hong Kong and gathering evidence on their various illegal activities. Sleeping Dogs drew a lot of inspiration from the action films that were produced in Hong Kong, as Shen's arsenal of martial arts skills was complemented by parkour, gunplay, and car chase sequences.

Yen currently owns the filmmaking rights to the game, and when its production does eventually begin, the plan is to make "more of a modern, updated version" of Sleeping Dogs instead of a full adaptation, he added. Back in July of 2020, Yen teased that production was going to begin soon.

343 Industries has clarified how Halo Infinite will handle XP. Community manager John Junyszek said on Twitter that XP progression happens through challenges, and you'll get more XP by playing and winning matches. There is no "per-match XP."

"Playing and winning matches will be challenges, which will help players progress through the Battle Pass," Junyszek said on Twitter. "Even though this means no per-match XP at launch, you're still always progressing through challenges and therefore the Battle Pass."

Junyszek's "at launch" comment about per-match XP suggests that this might change in the future, but that remains to be seen.

The developer acknowledged that the recent Halo Infinite beta had an issue that caused players to run out of challenges to complete. However, this likely won't be an issue for most people when the game launches due to the sheer volume of challenges available.

"The Tech Preview had an issue that caused people to run out of challenges. Our current plans for launch, while not 'infinite,' mean it's extremely difficult to run out daily challenges. I won't say 'impossible,' cause there are some grinders out there, but I'd be impressed," Junyszek said.

Following all the big Halo Infinite news this week, Microsoft has released a Halo Infinite dynamic theme on Xbox, letting you spruce up and customize your console in a new way.

The dynamic theme is free, and it's notable because it is the first time Xbox has released a game-based dynamic themes (something that has been common on PS4). We can only hope that more will be released over time.

Installing the Halo Infinite dynamic theme is pretty easy. Just follow these steps and you should be good to go:

To Change Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S Background:

Microsoft's Joseph Staten has explained why developer 343 Industries did not show any campaign footage for Halo Infinite at Gamescom. In a blog post, Staten said he "definitely hear[s] the disappointment about not seeing campaign gameplay" at the showcase.

Explaining why campaign was a no-show, Staten said the development team is now in "shutdown mode," which means work on the game's main features for launch is finished and the studio is now fixing the highest priority bugs. This is a big job that takes a lot of time and resources, and creating a new campaign demo or trailer to show off campaign would have slowed things down.

"We're spending lots of time playing the game, verifying fixes, and generally doing all we can to ensure Campaign (and Multiplayer!) plays great on all platforms--from an original, 8-year-old Xbox One to a brand new, ultra-spec PC. This is a very challenging task, even for a large and experienced team," Staten said.

"In many ways, shutting down a game is like being on final approach to landing an airplane. And if you'll forgive a bit of aviation-geekery, the entirety of the team is essentially in a 'sterile cockpit,' which is to say: We're at a critical phase in the flight that is Halo Infinite, so it's extremely important to avoid distractions and stay focused on mission-critical tasks only."

Creating a new Halo Infinite campaign demo or a trailer takes a "huge amount of effort to do well," Staten said, adding that any work on something like that would "take cycles away from bugs and other shutdown tasks."

The developer’s vast new open-world game offers new levels of player choice

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Warning: Will not teach you the Jack-O' challenge.

The post Learn How to Play Jack-O in Guilty Gear Strive With a Starter Guide appeared first on Siliconera.

Sega opened a website for its TGS 2021 Sega Atlus Channel presentation and also asked people to share images with #Love_Sega for the event.

The post Sega Atlus Channel Will Be Held During TGS 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Collection of SaGa won't be a Switch exclusive anymore, as Android and iOS versions are coming next month and a PC port on Steam after that.

The post Collection of SaGa PC, Android, and iOS Versions Coming appeared first on Siliconera.

The first story takes a look at the relationship between Yugiri and Hien.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Short Stories to Be Released Leading up to Endwalker appeared first on Siliconera.

A series of unique merchandise will be available to obtain through the Square Enix Tokyo location.

The post NieR Reincarnation Square Enix Cafe Collaboration Announced appeared first on Siliconera.

DeNa has continued its impressive support of Pokemon Masters EX over the past two years, having recovered after a wobbly launch to produce a unique, content-rich mobile Pokemon experience that boasts a thriving community of players.

Today, and as expected, the developer is celebrating the milestone with a huge 100 sync pair giveaway, the launch of three new sync pairs, and other redeemable goodies, both physical and in-game. A new press release today, though, firms up the details of the in-game event.

By far the most notable opportunity for players is the game’s biggest ever giveaway, adding up to 100 sync pairs to their teams just by logging in. Players that log in to the game from now until Sept. 29 at 10:59 p.m. Pacific Time will obtain a 10-Pair Scout Ticket, which can be exchanged for 10 sync pair scouts. Players that log in to the game on ten separate days throughout this period can obtain up to ten total 10-Pair Scout Tickets, good enough to scout 100 sync pairs. 10-Pair Scout Tickets must be used by Oct. 6 at 10:59 p.m. PT.

Here’s the full overview of the festivities:

Exclusive Pokémon Trading Card Game Playmat: Players can win an exclusive Pokémon Trading Card Game playmat that celebrates the Two-Year Anniversary of Pokémon Masters EX and the 25^th anniversary of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The playmat features the Anniversary-themed sync pair of Lillie & Lunala and will be awarded to 250 randomly selected participants. More information on how to enter the sweepstakes will be available in the in-game news and game’s official Twitter account (@PokemonMasters). The entry period for the exclusive playmat will be available from August 27 at 11:00 p.m. PT until September 19 at 7:59 a.m. PT.  

Third-party developer PilotPlus just released Bristol Airport (EGGD) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, adding another relevant destination in the United Kingdom.

As the eighth busiest airport in the country, Bristol is definitely a much-needed addition to the sim, especially for those interested in low-cost and charter airlines like Easyjet, Ryanair, and TUI. That being said, it’s also perfect for light general aviation and business jets.

The add-on is now available on Orbx Direct and on the developer’s own store for $18.84. With the former, you can use the handy Orbx Central client to install it and keep it up to date. The latter option comes with its own installer.

If you’d like an extensive look at the scenery, you can watch an ILS approach and landing on runway 09 in the first video below, and a full flyover in a variety of lighting and weather conditions in the second video.

City-builders are compelling for a reason: it’s fun to build a little hamlet from scratch, then watch as it slowly grows into a village, a town, a city, and before you know it, it’s a whole damn kingdom. It’s incredibly satisfying when things go your way, and you can just sit back, relax, and watch as more people flock to your kingdom hoping to find a spot there to settle down. Until it’s not. City-builders can also become a bit of a nightmare if you’re careless in your resource management, though it’s always possible to bounce back with time. Patron, however, shows no such mercy.

Developed by Overseer Games, Patron is a beautiful medieval city-building game that isn’t afraid to punish the player for being overly ambitious or careless with expansion.

During my first run, I was excited by the prospect of building proper houses and shelter for the homeless people milling about my lands, so I did that. Then, I started gathering resources by cutting down trees and mining the rocks in my surrounding areas. Soon after, I started looking into building even more facilities and houses to grow my population. After all, the more people you have, the faster you’ll be able to gather resources, right?

Right… except I’d completely forgotten about that one note in the reviewer’s guide. The note that told me not to get too greedy with expansion when I was just starting out, and that I should focus on preparing for the first winter. Yeah, about that. By the time winter rolled around, I found that I was woefully underprepared for the harsh conditions. My people starved, they were unhappy, and eventually, my population dwindled.

As it turns out, it’s pretty difficult to make a comeback once your population has shrunk in Patron. It was a nightmare situation, and my only option was to just start a new game and do better than I did my first time around.

Metroid Dread is shaping up as one of the Nintendo Switch’s most exciting exclusives this year, marking the welcome return of a beloved franchise in the original side-scrolling, 2D design that first earned its reputation back in the 1990s. Now just over a month away from its anticipated launch, Nintendo has revealed a brand new trailer.

As you’ll see below, we get a sneak peek at some of Samus’s new abilities, which are likely to prove essential in dealing with what appears to be some terrifying enemy encounters throughout her adventure on planet ZDR.

For those not up to speed with Metroid Dread, it was first announced back in June and is the first side-scrolling Metroid game to launch in 15 years. The events of the story take place after those of Metroid Fusion. Here’s the story synopsis via the developer:

Samus’ story continues after the events of the Metroid Fusion game when she descends upon planet ZDR to investigate a mysterious transmission sent to the Galactic Federation. The remote planet has become overrun by vicious alien lifeforms and chilling mechanical menaces. Samus is more agile and capable than ever, but can she overcome the inhuman threat stalking the depths of ZDR?