Gaming News - Page 277

Diablo Immortal is indeed an intensely grindy, pay-to-win F2P game with intricately-designed layers of monetization. One YouTuber has uncovered the odds of endgame progress, and they're not good.

Diablo Immortal's endgame is gated off by a big paywall. The probability and chances of progression are so low for free-to-play users that it's almost entirely necessary to spend money unlocking Legendary Crests, which infuse Elder Rifts--special portals to enemy zones--with guaranteed chances of finding an endgame Legendary Gem.

So what makes Diablo Immortal's monetization so incredibly controversial? The short answer: An infinite RNG system based around astronomically bad odds. YouTuber Gregg2G did an excellent breakdown on Diablo Immortal's progression and microtransaction systems, complete with probabilities provided by whale-trackers.

SEGA is interested in making Saturn and Dreamcast mini consoles, but the costs are way too high.

SEGA just announced the Mega Drive Mini 2, a new mini console that packs in more Genesis-era and even some SEGA CD games. So what's next on the horizon? A SEGA Saturn mini, or maybe even a Dreamcast Classic re-release? Maybe...once chip production costs start to drop.

In a recent interview with Famitsu, SEGA producer Yosuke Okunari confirms that his team looked into recreating Dreamcast and Saturn micro-consoles but the projects fizzled out early on because they would be too expensive to manufacture because chips are so scarce.

What did Ocarina of Time look like way back in 1996? Not much different that it did on release, actually,

The Old Net.com opens up a temporal wormhole to a distant time far ago--a time when games were feature-complete at launch, and a time when 3D was brand new. It was November 1996, the Nintendo 64 had released months ago, and we just got to see a prototype in-development version of Ocarina of Time at Nintendo Space World in Shoshinkai, Japan. Ah, those were the days.

Using the Old Net website, I was able to travel down a little rabbit hole to the past and uncover some interesting Zelda 64 screenshots from 1996, which was two years before Ocarina of Time launched. It's a fascinating look at one of the best games ever made before it was technically one of the best games ever made, and honestly, the prototype doesn't look much different than the final game.

Love horror movies like The Thing and Even Horizon? Then you should keep The Callisto Protocol on your radar.

Dead Space developer Glen Schofield leads Striking Distance Studios, a team that's making one of the most horrifying video games in recent memory. It's called The Callisto Protocol, and it's a great singleplayer spiritual successor to the Dead Space trilogy that's dripping with a foreboding, haunted atmosphere set amid a madcap scramble for survival.

The game is decidedly cinematic in scope, plunging players into the "dead moon of Callisto" that brings to mind the wasteland of LV-426 from Alien. Tucked away on Jupiter's moon is a high-tech prison that turns upside down as brutal alien monstrosities annihilate everyone around them. Beset by impossible odds, players have to fight their way out tooth and nail in a grisly, terrifying spectacle that blends third-person action with seamless cutscene sequences for a genuine movie-like experience.

Fans asked for it, and Capcom is delivering: Resident Evil 4 is getting fully remade in the powerful RE Engine.

First Resident Evil 2, then RE3, and now the legendary fan-favorite Resident Evil 4 is getting completely rebuilt in Capcom's proprietary and advanced games engine. Resident Evil 4 is being built from the ground up for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, meaning it won't be held back by outdated hardware from 2013. That means ultra-fast loading times, higher-end graphics, effects, and lighting, and possibly even raytraced visuals.

Capcom is targeting a firm March 24, 2023 release date for the fan-favorite sequel which will help kick start game sales for its following fiscal year.

SEGA is releasing a new mini console that includes 50 games across Mega Drive and SEGA CD generations.

Back in the day, there was nothing like SEGA. The console just had its own mystique; it was so bombastic and in your face. Things got even more intense when SEGA started rolling out its expansion consoles. Instead of releasing separate systems, SEGA turned the Genesis/Mega Drive into a Frankenstein's monster abomination, attaching add-on modules like the SEGA CD and the 32X to the base unit. The result was a curious, bewildering, and captivating experiment in gaming technology.

Now that the console wars are behind them, SEGA can joke about the Mega Drive, SEGA CD, and 32X. The new Mega Drive Mini 2 is a humorous nod to a simpler time, an awesome nostalgic throwback that features a bunch of games from the Mega Drive and SEGA CD generation, including Sonic CD Shining Force CD, and arcade hit Virtua Racing. The console will eventually include 50 games but only 11 have been announced.

Guerrilla Games is developing a new update that adds new higher-end optimizations to its new next-gen Horizon game.

Horizon Forbidden West will soon run better than ever on PlayStation 5. The devs plan to release a new patch for Horizon Forbidden West that adds Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support for the game on PS5, which will allow more consistent and smooth frame rates on compatible TVs and monitors. VRR greatly improves sync rates between the console's output and a display's refresh rate. There's also a mysterious 40FPS mode coming soon.

"We've revamped Temporal Anti-Aliasing to improve the visual fidelity of our Performance mode on PS5 and rendering on PS4 Pro. We're already working on an upcoming patch which will include VRR support and a 40FPS Mode, so stay tuned for more," Guerrilla Games wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

Modders and emulation tinkerers are breathing new life into Nintendo 64 classics using higher-end modern technology.

Dedicated modders and coders are adding nifty effects like 60FPS+ frame rates, ray tracing, and HD textures to old-school N64 games. The latest development comes from software developer DarioSamo, who added high-end optimizations like ray-traced lighting effects, motion blur, widescreen, and DLSS support to a handful of N64 titles like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario, and Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards.

Dario used RT64, a path tracer behind sm64rt, to add these effects. The tool is slowly evolving into an actual emulator plugin.

AYANEO has just unveiled yet another portable gaming console that'll find its way into your hands, with the introduction of the AYANEO 2 Geek handheld. Check it out:

The new AYANEO 2 Geek handheld comes in two variants: the first packs an AMD Ryzen 5 6600U + 512GB of storage for $699, while the higher-end variant packs an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U + 512GB of storage for $799. There's a 7-inch 1200 x 800 resolution display, 512GB + 1TB storage options + 16GB of RAM, 3 x USB 4 Type-C ports, fingerprint readers, and even built-in joysticks.

You'll have support for both AYANEO's in-house AYA Neo OS, as well as Windows 11 for operating system choices. As for when it'll be in your hands, if you're in China then it's up for pre-order now, but there'll be more details on pre-ordering outside of China next week.

If you've been waiting for the first game ever made that took playing a cat seriously, you don't have much longer to wait -- Stray is nearly here.

Stray is being made by developer BlueTwelve Studio, and had its release date unveiled at Sony's recent State of Play event: July 19. Stray will debut on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on July 19... but it'll also be available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members on the same day.

How did Stray come to be? It all started 7 years ago now that was called "HK Project" internally between BlueTwelve Studio co-founders Koola and Viv. The team explained on the official PlayStation Blog: "It really is amazing to see that it is now an actual full-fledged game and will be experienced and hopefully enjoyed by so many players all across the world very soon. We have developed and learned so much along the way. Of all the unexpected challenges and discoveries we found, creating an interactive cat was definitely the most tricky one!"