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Japanese 'Star Wars: Rogue One' trailer shows new scenes
Following last week's release of the well received trailer for this year's much anticipated 'Star Wars' anthology feature 'Rogue One', the Japanese arm of the Walt Disney company has released a new trailer which features elements from the new trailer, the previous teaser - and some new shots.
Set just before the events of 'A New Hope', 'Rogue One' is set to follow the band of courageous Rebel troops who stole the plans for the first Death Star, which allowed the alliance to pinpoint its weakness. Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn and Donnie Yen, the film will serve as the first film outside of the numbered episodes which make up the Skywalker saga. Recent behind the scenes chatter has suggested that not all was right with the project, with lengthy re-shoots and final cut rumors casting doubts, but hopefully that will all be forgotten when the final film wows audiences. Hopefully.
'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' hits 2D, 3D and IMAX screens worldwide on December 16th.
Continue reading: Japanese 'Star Wars: Rogue One' trailer shows new scenes (full post)
Radeon 16.8.2 driver is optimized for No Man's Sky
AMD's Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.8.2 drivers are here with a few issue fixes, and support for the Paragon open beta as well as No Man's Sky. The latter game has suffered a bumpy launch, to say the least, so hopefully these drivers improve the experience for those in the AMD camp.
Issues fixed include the Overwatch hero gallery crash, Freesync-related flickering while the system is idle, and Windows 10 Anniversary Edition installs not doing what they should while secure boot is enabled.
Hit the source or boot Radeon Settings to grab the new drivers.
Continue reading: Radeon 16.8.2 driver is optimized for No Man's Sky (full post)
Battlefield 1 desert gameplay debuts, beta date set
Gamescom 2016 - DICE is well-known for being among the best in the business for great gameplay trailers, and the newest for Battlefield 1 is a reminder of that. Straight from Gamescom, it features desert gameplay, horses, and a train as gameplay as promised, all on the new desert map (known as Sinai). It is, in a word, glorious.
With the trailer comes news of the open beta which will launch August 31 and earlier for Battlefield Insiders (the official Twitter previously stated August 30, but has since given out more vague information, so possibly that will change).
The beta will feature both Conquest and Rush modes, the latter of which will be tweaked over previous games. Among the changes: an official 24-player count, and the inclusion of "telegraph posts" which can be destroyed by attackers by arming the posts with explosives; defenders can use the posts to call in artillery strikes and can disarm the explosives.
Continue reading: Battlefield 1 desert gameplay debuts, beta date set (full post)
Overwatch Season 2 will introduce skill tiers
Season 2 of Overwatch's competitive mode will feature major changes. Some of them you may already know (like the removal of Sudden Death), but some are just coming to light with today's developer update.
Most notably, Blizzard is replacing the current skill rating system with a more Starcraft 2-like system, complete with a 1-5000 scale, and Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum (our guess), Diamond, Master, and Grand Master tiers. And rather than go up or down notches and sometimes ratings, each match will see you go up or down whole numbers (e.g. from 4000 to 4002 or 334 to 330).
The reason, according to game director Jeff Kaplan, is to de-emphasize the specific number and to get players to care more about their general skill level, as well as to make top tier players feel more like they're top tier.
Continue reading: Overwatch Season 2 will introduce skill tiers (full post)
Final Fantasy 15 takes up almost 1/10th of PS4 HDD space
Final Fantasy 15 will take up 45GB of hard drive space on PS4, which almost equates to 1/10th of the console's base 500GB storage.
According to Japanese pre-order cards, Final Fantasy 15 clocks in at approximately 45GB on PS4--just 5GB shy of the dreaded "one-tenth of my console's HDD is already full" tickbox. If you own a console you know exactly what I'm talking about--and it's actually more than that because your hard drive isn't really 500GB to begin with. Following Square Enix issuing a two-month delay for FF15, this bit of info could disappoint some gamers.
After everything I've seen and heard about Final Fantasy 15, I'm not surprised the RPG clocks in at almost 50GB. I mean, Square Enix has confirmed FF15 takes 200 hours to completely master, so we know it's going to be huge. And it's been in development for almost a decade, standing as Square Enix's flagship iteration of the beloved Final Fantasy series. So it's definitely going to be big in more ways than one.
Continue reading: Final Fantasy 15 takes up almost 1/10th of PS4 HDD space (full post)
Lenovo debuts new curved 27-inch 144Hz FreeSync display
Lenovo has just announced its first-ever FreeSync-enabled display, packing in an impressive refresh rate and an immersive curved screen.
The Lenovo Y27f Curved Gaming Monitor costs $399 and rocks a 144Hz refresh rate with 4ms response times, and comes with AMD's FreeSync technology enabled. The Lenovo Y27f sports a 1920 x 1080 Full HD TFT panel at R1800 curvature that provides a 178-degree viewing angle, and has holes for a 100mm VESA1 mounting bracket on its back. As far as ports, the display alsoHDMI1.4 and DP1.2 connectors and features a USB 3.0 hub with USB Battery Charging 1.2 (BC 1.2).
"Our latest monitor, the Lenovo Y27f Curved Gaming Monitor, is optimized for gaming. AMD FreeSync technology along with a fast 144 Hz refresh rate eliminates screen tearing, and minimizes display stutter, input lag and motion blur to display more natural movement. Combined with full high definition 1920 x 1080 resolution and the most extreme curved display to date, the monitor provides our customers with the smoothest possible gaming and a great experience," said Lenovo exec Li Jun Su.
Continue reading: Lenovo debuts new curved 27-inch 144Hz FreeSync display (full post)
PS4 finally gets folders in new firmware 4.00 update
PlayStation 4 owners will soon get folders, a UI refresh, and small tweaks to the quick menus and share options.
Ask any PS4 owner what they want most from a firmware update and I guarantee the first thing they'll say is "folders like the ones PS3 uses." Sure it only took Sony a little over two years, but they're finally bringing this feature to the console with the new PS4's "Shingen" v4.00 update. Before you get too excited, the firmware patch only goes into closed beta testing in the next few days and won't be released until the quality assurance is done.
Given how firmware can brick consoles (Microsoft's own updates bricked my Xbox One) it's a great idea to let users beta test Shingen before it's released, especially since it fundamentally changes the software.
Continue reading: PS4 finally gets folders in new firmware 4.00 update (full post)
Did the NX cause NVIDIA to nix new Shield Tablet?
NVIDIA might've cancelled its upgraded Shield Tablet K1 handheld so it didn't compete with Nintendo's new NX transforming hybrid handheld/console.
A few days ago we reported that NVIDIA has apparently nixed its plans for a new beefier Shield Tablet because of "business reasons." Codenamed "Hawkeye," the new Shield Tablet purportedly rocked 3GB of RAM, 1920 x 1200 native resolution, 32GB of onboard space and, most notably, leveraged the company's Tegra X1 mobile processor.
But what are these specific business reasons that caused NVIDIA to scrap the tablet? Digital Trends posits that NVIDIA made this move so the tablet didn't compete with Nintendo's new NX handheld/console hybrid. This makes sense considering that the NX is likely built around similar Tegra-based hardware, and the two systems are quite similar to one another.
Continue reading: Did the NX cause NVIDIA to nix new Shield Tablet? (full post)
Fallout: New Orleans trademark spotted
A trademark for Fallout: New Orleans has been filed in the European Union Intellectual Property Office, possibly hinting at the next installment in the series.
Remember when Obsidian Softworks's Eric Fenstermaker said "I'm always up for working on a Fallout. I think most of us generally are. Really fun property to work with"? Well it looks like Bethesda might have taken Obsidian up on that offer with Fallout: New Orleans.
A few months ago Obsidian dev Josh Sawyer posted up an interesting picture to his Instagram page depicting field notes for Lousiana. Now this could be a coincidence, but it could also mean that Obsidian is making a new Fallout game based in the Big Easy and answering every fan's prayers. Sawyer is a veteran Fallout dev who worked on the originals alongside Black Isle, and served as director and lead designer of Fallout New Vegas.
Continue reading: Fallout: New Orleans trademark spotted (full post)
Final Fantasy 15 officially delayed to November
The leaked reports were right: Final Fantasy 15 has been officially delayed from its original September 30 release to a new release date of November 29, 2016 on PS4 and Xbox One.
Square Enix's Hajime Tabata confirmed the game's November delay in a video, and in the press release announcement the publisher says the team will use the extra time to "further polish and conduct quality testing so that the reality of the game can match the expectations of both the fans and the creative teams."
"From the moment we joined this project, our vision was to create a level of freedom and realism previously unseen in the series. Regrettably, we need a little bit more time to deliver on this vision and are confident that this new release date will help us achieve this," Tabata said in the video announcement.
Continue reading: Final Fantasy 15 officially delayed to November (full post)
Welcome to 'The Jungle Book' Blu-ray giveaway!
To celebrate this week's release of 'The Jungle Book' on Blu-ray and DVD, we have five Blu-ray copies to give away thanks to our friends at Disney Home Entertainment.
The legend will never be the same. Directed by Jon Favreau, and inspired by Disney's classic animated film, 'The Jungle Book' is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he's ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the freespirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don't exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johannsson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
The all-star cast also includes Lupita Nyong'o as the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, and Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of wolf pack's alpha male Akela. 'The Jungle Book' seamlessly blends live-action with photorealistic CGI animals and environments, using up-to-the-minute technology and storytelling techniques to immerse audiences in an enchanting and lush world.
Continue reading: Welcome to 'The Jungle Book' Blu-ray giveaway! (full post)
Chinese team wins $9.1 million at DOTA 2 championships
Valve has hosted its 2016 The International competition, with DOTA 2 having a new champion: Chinese team TI6: Wings Gaming, taking home a huge $9.1 million. The overall prize pool surpassed $20 million, the biggest in eSports history.
Wings Gaming beat US team DC three to one, with DC taking the first game after breaking Wings Gaming's map control. Wings then took out the second game, capitalizing on bad positioning and decision-making from DC. The third game had DC on the back burner, with Wings taking it out and then continuing the same push in the fourth game.
By then, Wings passed DC's "inspired Timbersaw play to secure their multimillion dollar bounty, winning the best of five," reports Polygon. DC doesn't walk away empty-handed, with a swift $3.4 million for second place in the 2016 The International.
Continue reading: Chinese team wins $9.1 million at DOTA 2 championships (full post)
Pokemon GO cheaters are being perm banned by Niantic
Pokemon GO took off like a rocket last month, making $200 million in its first month on the market and breaking records all over the place. But, there are some who always ruin the fun.
Cheaters have been having a field day in Pokemon GO, but not any longer with developer Niantic permanently banning Pokemon GO cheaters. If you have been using various tricks in Pokemon GO, such as GPS spoofing, using bots, emulators or something else, your account can be banned.
Niantic has said: "Your account was permanently terminated for violations of the Pokémon GO Terms of Service. This includes, but is not limited to: falsifying your location, using emulators, modified or unofficial software and/or accessing Pokémon GO clients or backends in an unauthorized manner including through the use of third party software".
Continue reading: Pokemon GO cheaters are being perm banned by Niantic (full post)
Enter the 'Green Room' in our latest Blu-ray giveaway!
To celebrate this week's release of Green Room on Blu-ray and DVD, we have five Blu-ray copies to give away thanks to our friends at REEL DVD.
Down on their luck punk rockers The Ain't Rights are finishing up a long and unsuccessful tour, and are about to call it quits when they get an unexpected booking at an isolated, run-down club deep in the backwoods of Oregon. What seems merely to be a third-rate gig escalates into something much more sinister when they witness an act of violence backstage that they weren't meant to see. Now trapped backstage, they must face off against the club's depraved owner, Darcy Banker (Stewart), a man who will do anything to protect the secrets of his nefarious enterprise. But while Darcy and his henchmen think the band will be easy to get rid of, The Ain't Rights prove themselves much more cunning and capable than anyone expected, turning the tables on their unsuspecting captors and setting the stage for the ultimate life-or-death showdown.
To go into the running to win a prize, simply answer the following question in 50 words or less:
Continue reading: Enter the 'Green Room' in our latest Blu-ray giveaway! (full post)
Google's upcoming Nexus S1 smiles for the camera
We are so close to the reveal of Google's next-gen Nexus smartphones, with the latest leak taking a better look at the 5-inch version, the purported Nexus S1 smartphone.
There are two different Nexus smartphones arriving, with Marlin and Sailfish as their codenames. Both devices are reportedly being made by HTC, with both smartphones sharing the "same basic industrial design and materials," reports Android Police. The site also notes that both devices have "identical specifications aside from screen size, resolution, and battery capacity".
The Nexus S1 should have a 5-inch screen while the Nexus M1 features a 5.5-inch display - they will be identical when it comes to design and materials. The leaked photo above is the Sailfish smartphone, which looks like it has a metallic design and a fingerprint scanner on the back with a camera module made of glass, and not plastic.
Continue reading: Google's upcoming Nexus S1 smiles for the camera (full post)
No Man's Sky gets new PC experimental beta patch
In an effort to optimize the deluge of No Man's Sky issues on PC, Hello Games has allowed Steam users to opt into an experimental update to see if their problems are fixed.
No Man's Sky is performing pretty badly for some PC players, most notably for those trying to run the game on integrated Intel GPUs or setups that don't have the required OpenGL 4.5 or VC++ Redist 2010 installed. The studio has hired a huge Quality Assurance team to help iron out these bugs, and rolled out a new Experimental Branch PC patch that promises to help enable max frame rates, boost performance on CPUs with 4 threads or fewer, and the frame rate stutters caused by inefficient GPU shader caching.
Sadly the game still runs awkwardly on AMD Phenom processors--"Thousands of lines of assembly have been rewritten overnight to support AMD CPUs," says Sean Murray--NVIDIA G-Sync has been disabled by default, and the game will likely never run on Intel GPUs. For the time being, Hello Games suggests trying the current workarounds to see if they fix your problem or opting in to the Experimental Branch beta update. Check the full patch notes below, and the Steam discussions board for more info.
Continue reading: No Man's Sky gets new PC experimental beta patch (full post)
Final Fantasy 15 possibly delayed until November 29
Despite the publisher hard-locking a September release date ahead of E3 2016, the insanely anticipated RPG could be delayed as much as two months past its initial schedule.
Square Enix has delayed Final Fantasy 15 many times now, and it looks like we're getting yet another one. According to alleged leaks, GameStop employees have received instructions to put stickers over the original September 30 release date on Final Fantasy 15 promo posters. The stickers now list FF15 for a release on November 29, 2016.
Gamenesia reports that GameStop employees have been told not to put up Final Fantasy 15's new release date promos until today on August 14, so expect to see Square Enix reveal the news sometime today or tomorrow. This report has been corroborated by multiple sources, including Kotaku's Jason Schreier and Gematsu.
Continue reading: Final Fantasy 15 possibly delayed until November 29 (full post)
No Man's Sky startup guide: tips and tricks for newbies
No Man's Sky has almost zero tutorial; you learn by playing, and by experimenting. Some things aren't self evident and you're going to get lost and mess up quite often--it's the only way to progress. Since most of the game is trial and error, here's as handy startup guide to help you on your journey.
I've been playing No Man's Sky for five days now, and there are so many things I know now that I wish I knew when I started. In that same spirit, I thought I'd share my discoveries with you to help save you time. Not to say you won't be spending countless hours in the game even still, but this should give you a better idea of how to manage your inventory and plan out your next move.
In this helpful guide we guide you through buying a ship, where to find upgrades for your multi-tool, exosuit and starships, how to manage your inventory, tips on how to make tons of cash, a primer on all the different elements and how important they are, and much more.
Continue reading: No Man's Sky startup guide: tips and tricks for newbies (full post)
Microsoft acquires Beam, will compete against Twitch
Microsoft has just made an interesting acquisition, securing Beam - a Seattle-based firm that provides low latency technology that allows viewers near real-time interaction with game streamers. Microsoft hasn't said how much it paid for Beam.
Beam CEO Matt Salsamendi says that delay is at around 200ms, compared to rivals like Twitch where the delay is anywhere between 10-15 seconds. The greatly improved latency helps chat elements, but it also allows for more active interaction for viewers.
This can be used in the way of viewers suggesting challenges, different weapon loadouts, and so much more. On the other side of the fence, developers can create a unique button layout that would allow improved input from fans, which sounds like an improved, polished version of Twitch Plays.
Continue reading: Microsoft acquires Beam, will compete against Twitch (full post)
Overwatch's upcoming PC patch will improve tick rate
Overwatch is about to get an injection of awesome on the PC, with Blizzard updating Overwatch to support high bandwidth across all modes on the PC, something the company announced in a recent community update.
The higher bandwidth will allow Overwatch to keep up with its players, and will have gamers that were complaining about the game's tick rate happy. Blizzard's community manager explains: "In Overwatch, our high bandwidth option adjusts the game's client update rate (the frequency at which your client gets updates from the game server) from 21 updates per second to 63 updates per second".
The community manager continued: "This reduces the amount of time between when you complete an action and when your client hears back about the result, which in turn will help make the game feel more responsive".
Continue reading: Overwatch's upcoming PC patch will improve tick rate (full post)











