Need for Speed Heat's new 4K trailer shows off DULL, LIFELESS world
EA is injecting some much-needed hype into Need for Speed Heat ahead of its November 8 release... but man, these trailers do not do anything for the game. Both IGN and VG247 have new Need for Speed Heat 4K gameplay videos that you can check out below.
I've watched both of the videos (IGN's goes for 13 minutes while VG247 has slightly less at 10 minutes) and boy is the world of Need for Speed Heat lifeless. There are barely any other cars on the road, no peoiple walking around -- it is just dull, and lifeless. It doesn't look that bad, with the graphics looking actually quite good -- but the world is dead.
I think one of the comments on YouTube summed up Need for Speed Heat perfectly: "EA probably locked away traffic behind micro transactions".
Continue reading: Need for Speed Heat's new 4K trailer shows off DULL, LIFELESS world (full post)
2019's best-selling game? That would be NBA 2K20
You wouldn't think that NBA 2K20 was the best-selling game of 2019 so far, but it is according to the latest North American sales data from the NPD Group.
The sales data shows that in September 2019 the best-selling game was NBA 2K20, which is also the best-selling game of the year so far. Joining the list of best-selling games in the United States for September 2019 is Borderlands 3 and FIFA 20 in second and third, respectively, while The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Madden NFL 20 take fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Another interesting thing to note are hardware sales, with the Nintendo Switch taking out the #1 position while Xbox One and PS4 sales are continuing to dwingle. Hardware sales are down 22% overall, a trend that is only going to continue as we move into 2020 with the next-gen Xbox Scarlett and PlayStation 5 consoles.
Continue reading: 2019's best-selling game? That would be NBA 2K20 (full post)
Huge protest pushing 'full-steam ahead' at BlizzCon 2019
Remember when I said if things couldn't get worse for Blizzard? Remember when I said Activision-Blizzard could (and probably would) pull the plug on BlizzCon 2019 given all this China controversy? Activision-Blizzard already cancelled the Overwatch for Nintendo Switch launch event in NYC, but what about BlizzCon 2019?
Well, to add fuel to that big huge fire -- a huge protest is being planned for BlizzCon 2019 with protest organizer Dayton Young telling GameSpot that Activision-Blizzard's reduction of the penalty against pro-Hearthstone player 'Blitzchung' and restoring his prize money for dare speaking out against China was "a small step in the right direction"... but it's not good enough.
Young said: "That Blizzard has shown a willingness to re-evaluate their decision is a small step in the right direction, but make no mistake; Blizzard continues to punish these individuals despite widespread outrage from gamers around the world. We understand that game publishers and developers have a responsibility to moderate the content that appears on their platforms to ensure that gamers are safe from harassment, threats of violence, and other dangerous behavior. But silencing gamers who speak up about issues that affect their freedom makes us all less safe from oppression and institutional abuse".
Continue reading: Huge protest pushing 'full-steam ahead' at BlizzCon 2019 (full post)
Check out the new 5K 60FPS trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
The return of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare this year is going to be absolutely huge, with Activision and Infinity Ward making the game a real treat for PC gamers in countless ways. Another one of those is the new trailer, which is available in both 4K and get this -- even 5K. Check it out:
The new trailer is also in UltraWide goodness but the 5K trailer with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 is a surprise, as I saw other headlines for 4K until I checked it out myself. I confirmed the trailer is at 5K and a glorious 60FPS, all resolutions: 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K, and 5K offered at 60FPS.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's biggest draw card is that it has ray tracing abilities, a huge boon for NVIDIA and GeForce RTX graphics card owners. Not only that, but Acitvision and developer Infinity Ward & Beenox have built-in a bunch of customization options for PC gamers, too.
Continue reading: Check out the new 5K 60FPS trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (full post)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990WX: 64C/128T for your next desktop?!
I can't believe we're going to be having a day that seems to be arriving very soon, where we will have 64 cores and 128 threads of CPU power inside of our desktop PCs... thanks to AMD's purported Ryzen Threadripper 3990WX.
We started hearing more concrete details on AMD's new Ryzen Threadripper CPUs in the last few days after months and months of rumors, with 'ghost_morley' on Twitter breaking down the naming schemes of AMD's new Zen 2-based Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. It looks like we can expect the following:
He did note that the naming schemes for the higher-end SKUs could change, which is something I firmly believe myself anyway which is why I put it in the headline as the 3990WX. He also adds that he expects the TRX40 and the Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X will launch first.
Continue reading: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990WX: 64C/128T for your next desktop?! (full post)
Overwatch 2 rumors: No new heroes, PVE and PVP play, cross-play
Overwatch 2 will be revealed at Blizzcon 2019, sources say, and it could be a mixture between a sequel and a major expansion.
Blizzard has been working on Overwatch 2 for some time, and now an Overwatch streamer has some details on the sequel. Overwatch 2 will apparently feature a leveling system that fundamentally changes how heroes work, possibly with stats. This new progression scheme compliments Overwatch 2's PVE elements, which will be added in alongside PVP. There's also the possibility of PvEvP antics like Destiny 2's Gambit mode.
No new heroes will be added though. Instead, Overwatch 2 will have the same roster, just with new content. It appears Blizzard is changing how you play, not who you play as. Overwatch 2 might be more of a big overhaul of the existing game that's sold as a new SKU. It might not be an expansion, but not exactly a sequel either--it could sit in between. Cross-play between PC and consoles is also very likely, especially given Activision-Blizzard's restructured business focus on "new engagement models."
Continue reading: Overwatch 2 rumors: No new heroes, PVE and PVP play, cross-play (full post)
Senators slam Blizzard for kowtowing to China
Washington senators and congress chastise Blizzard for stifling free speech in the recent Blitzchung esports China controversy.
Billion-dollar games titan Activision-Blizzard is under fire from Washington officials for the infamous Hong Kong fiasco, which saw the American company ban a professional Chinese esports player for expressing pro-Hong Kong liberation sentiments.
Today Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congressmen Mike Gallagher and Tom Malinowski, and U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Ron Wyden sent a joint letter condemning Blizzard for its decisions. Officials describe Blizzard's decision as kowtowing to Communist China as to not jeopardize access to the overseas region's lucrative gaming revenues.
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Jedi: Fallen Order is finished and ready to ship
After five years of development, Respawn's big new action-adventure Star Wars game is completely finished.
Jedi: Fallen Order could restore balance to the galaxy of Star Wars games. Typically dominated by grindy service games like Battlefront, Respawn's new game is a singleplayer-only adventure that combines Uncharted's exploration and environmental interactivity with Sekiro's suave and stylish swordplay, and a hint of Dark Souls rolling and dodging thrown in for good measure. It's described as a "Jedi power fantasy" by Respawn and takes place in a unique timeline between Episodes III and IV when the Jedi were being ruthlessly hunted down and slaughtered.
Now Respawn says the game has gone gold, meaning it's mastered and ready to ship to gamers across the globe. We'll probably see a few updates released here and there, but the core experience is intact.
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Stadia's mobile streaming will be pretty awkward at launch
Stadia will go through some intense growing pains at launch, and many of its features are limited.
The main reason to buy into Google's new Stadia game-streaming service is to play games on devices you already own without having to buy consoles or a PC. Stadia promises to wirelessly beam hit games to your Chromecast Ultra, laptop/desktop via Chrome browsers, and your Pixel 3-4 smartphones. But there's a lot of catches, especially when it comes to its controller.
The Stadia controller only supports Wi-Fi connectivity at launch. It won't have Bluetooth connectivity (that'll come later, Google promises) so it has to be plugged into your PC or even your phone to play games. That's a massive blow to on-the-go Stadia game streaming--no one's going to carry around an OTG cable and transform their Pixel phone into a bulky/awkward handheld gaming system.
Continue reading: Stadia's mobile streaming will be pretty awkward at launch (full post)
Hacked Switch plays Witcher 3 at 60FPS
The Switch isn't the ideal platform for The Witcher 3. It's locked to 720p 30FPS for good reason: There's lots of visual trade-offs to get the huge open-world RPG to run on the Switch's lower-end Tegra hardware, namely draw distances, lighting effects, and overall graphic settings. Now modders are using hacked Switches to get even more out of The Witcher, hitting up to 60FPS on the handheld-console hybrid.
Of course you need a jailbroken Switch for this to work. By hacking the Switch's firmware via a hardware exploit, gamers and modders can basically turn off the frame limiter and overclock the Switch's Tegra X1. This works for a lot of games, and even unlocks extra post-processing effects in The Witcher 3. Sadly 1080p resolution isn't possible--the game is capped at a hard dynamic 720p resolution when docked.
Not only can the Switch theoretically run The Witcher 3 at up to 60FPS while docked, gamers can adjust a number of extra settings to improve visual fidelity and clarity.
Continue reading: Hacked Switch plays Witcher 3 at 60FPS (full post)