Latest News - Page 2492

The new Hitman launches on March 11, with the developer teasing that it will support DirectX 12 at launch - which is awesome. The news arrived from the PC Gamer Weekender event that took place over the weekend.

With Hitman having support for DX12, we can expect to see better performance, mostly thanks to the improved multithreaded support, and increased performance for CPU-bound instructions. PC Gamer's slide image said that DX12 will provide Hitman with:

To celebrate this week's release of 'Spectre' on Blu-ray HD and DVD, we have ten Blu-ray prize packs to give away thanks to our friends at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as Spectre. Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond's actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of Spectre. As Bond ventures towards the heart of Spectre, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks.

To go into the running to win a prize, correctly answer the following question:

The State of the Internet report has been released for the fourth quarter of 2015 and it highlights some of the more malicious trends coming from across the Internet. The short of it is, the volume of attacks against websites has increased through nearly every avenue than compared to the third quarter.

DDoS's in particular have seen quite the massive increase since last quarter, with a 148.85% increase in overall occurrences. The bright side is that duration seems to have been shortened, probably due to the pay-per-play nature of the services that seem to be the most used. But that didn't stop those sites from being targeted multiple times, up to 24 times in some cases. The good news is that the actual number of packets sent was lower. How very nice of these attackers.

Size of attacks seemed to be below 30Mbps, with only four that exceeded that amount and two that peaked even higher. The biggest were at around 309Gpps with 202Mpps (packets per second).That's actually a small decline in the number of big attacks, but 44.44%. But the interesting part is that the majority of attacks, some 54.45% of all the DDoS activity was focused on the gaming sector. People are getting more and more mad during and after online matches, preventing people, servers and games themselves from working right. Not to mention the massive attack on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

AMD has already teased that it will "spice things up" at the Game Developers Conference next week, but what has me excited is the promise of next-gen, ultra-thin gaming notebooks.

During an AMA on Reddit, AMD's Robert Hallock said: "Ultra-thin notebooks are awesome to carry, but nobody in their right mind would confuse one for a gaming notebook. But there's still a HUGE appetite for thin notebooks that can game. I also bet there's a bunch of gamers out there who, as they get into their 30s and 40s, wouldn't mind condensing their entire computing life down into one device that does it all... External GPUs are the answer. External GPUs with standardised connectors, cables, drivers, plug'n'play, OS support, etc".

The ultra-thin gaming notebooks should be powered by Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, which boasts up to 40Gbps of bandwidth. We've recently seen Razer tease its Core GPU enclosure, which offers its Blade Stealth gaming notebook an external GPU enclosure, super-powering your portable gaming experience. We should see AMD unveil something awesome at GDC 2016 next week in San Francisco.

The Witcher series of games have been widely successful on both the PC and various consoles over the years, but during a recent interview with CD Projekt Red (the developer behind The Witcher series), we've found out that the PC is the lead platform when it comes to sales.

CD Projekt Red's Marcin Iwinski explained during the interview: "Consoles began for real with PS2 from Sony, and then with X360. PS wasn't available for everyone. It was an expensive toy with expensive games. I was already distributing games at that time and I remember what was the expenditure for video games. PS was available for more affluent people and PS2 was available for the masses and started to develop this market. However, the PC still holds strong. Most of The Witcher sales are for the PC, though consoles started selling very well".

The Coalition and Microsoft have found themselves in a pretty insane position right now, launching Gears of War: Ultimate Edition onto the Windows Store. Windows Store-based games do not feature multi-GPU support, so with it being a DX12-powered game - those high-end GPUs in SLI or Crossfire are wasted on GoW: Ultimate Edition... for now.

According to Rod Fergusson, Studio Head of The Coalition, the developer is working on multi-GPU support. Fergusson fielded some questions on Twitter, where he said: "Microsoft working on multi-GPU and if you unlock framerate it runs at monitor framerate so may need to bump it up".

As for the general performance and stability of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on the PC, PezRader from The Coalition has said: "We do not have any news to share at this time for the PC version. I know some are worried but please don't fret. We are wanting to make sure polish and performance are prioritized on the PC version so that you all have a great experience".

Capcom is as tired of rage-quitters as you are, and they're going to implement some keen punishment for those that take advantage of the ability to quit mid-match in Street Fighter V.

The problem is that the system is far too lenient for those that wish to simply quit as opposed to suffer a loss. But Capcom will start resetting League Points, and thus their rank, for those players that tend to quit more than others after each week is up. And they have a lot of data points to work with to help make a permanent, automated solution to this. That permanent solution still hasn't been implemented, though.

To get to this point they've asked players from around the world to submit video, and other, proof to help them determine the when rage-quitters are at their worst, and cross-reference that with internal data so they can compile their solution. They want those occasional quitters to know that it's okay to be mad once in awhile, that they're targeting the absolute worst offenders of the lot. "The players who fit the criteria of what we would call a "Rage Quitter" typically have an 80-90% disconnect rate and their accounts sit far outside of the norm as compared to the majority of other players."

Keanu Reeves is currently training for John Wick: Chapter Two, where a new video has emerged of him "shedding" - or training with guns - with Taran Tactical.

Taran Tactical Innovations took to Facebook, explaining: "Well ladies and gents, everyone loves a little shredding. Make sure you guys check out 'John Wick II' when it hits theaters. The firearms action alone will be unlike anything you've ever seen. So much of it is revolutionary stuff that we gun owners have known of for years but never made it to the big screen".

It looks like Neo didn't die in The Matrix Revolutions, he just turned into Keanu Reeves and starting making movies as Reeves. Check out John Wick: Chapter Two when it's released next year.

We all know how powerful Netflix is, but what kind of impression is it leaving against the traditional TV market? Well, Netflix is really cutting into traditional TV ratings, and that's both a good, and bad thing.

In 2015 alone, Netflix accounted for around 50% of the 3% decline in TV viewing in the US, according to a new study by Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson. Nathanson calculated that based on an estimate of Netflix's domestic subscribers, who streamed a huge 29 billion hours of video in 2015 - and worldwide, Netflix members streamed a huge 42.5 billion hours of content. With 29 billion hours of video streamed, it represents 6% of total American live-plus-7 TV viewing reported by Nielsen (up from 4.4% in 2014).

Nathanson continued in his report, adding that he predicts Netflix's total streaming hours as a percentage of TV viewing will increase - where in 2020 it should be hitting around 14%, he noted: "Currently, Netflix is a source of industry pain, but not necessarily a cause of industry death".

NVIDIA is reportedly preparing a big gaming notebook push for Computex 2016, which kicks off in June in Taipei. According to SweClockers, NVIDIA will be launching their new Pascal-based mobile GPU at the show, with a big focus on portable Pascal-powered gaming notebooks.

Computex 2016 starts on May 31, and runs through to June 4. We should expect NVIDIA to show something off during the show, with a bigger event to showcase Pascal sometime either slightly before Computex, or in the weeks after. NVIDIA focusing on the gaming notebook market makes sense, as they've made a huge dent in the market recently - as they noted a huge 34.2% increase in mobile GPU shipments in the last quarter.

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 950 was already a pretty damn efficient video card, but with a more efficient GTX 950 rumored to be in the works, ASUS seems to be the first AIB partner with a super-efficient GTX 950.

ASUS has introduced a new GTX 950, which features the same GM206 core with 786 CUDA cores, 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs. This is an NVIDIA reference design card with 2GB of GDDR5 @ 6.6GHz on a 128-bit memory bus, but the GPU and Boost clocks have been changed. The reference GTX 950 from NVIDIA has a GPU clock of 1024MHz versus the 1051MHz on the ASUS GTX 950, while the Boost clock is the same 1188MHz on both variants.

The difference between NVIDIA's reference board and the new ASUS GTX 950 is that the former requires a 6-pin PCIe power connector and has a TDP of 90W while the new ASUS GTX 950 requires no PCIe power connector, and has a TDP of just 75W (the maximum power provided by the PCIe 3.0 x16 port). ASUS does splash in some overclocking profiles, with "OC Mode" and "Gaming Mode" on the new GTX 950 video card. Gaming Mode has a default GPU clock of 1026MHz and 1190MHz Boost while the OC Mode pushes it up to 1051MHz.

He-Man is likely one of the most iconic action heroes of our time. Not just historically, but even currently. The most powerful man in the universe has survived extinction since 1976, appealing to the imagination of multiple generations by being both generic and providing a true sense of wonder. That's why He-Man, and of course She-Ra, should have their own modern open-world RPG.

Prince Adam of Eternia, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, is a symbol of strength, integrity and of purposeful action. Underneath that gorgeous blonde bowl-cut is a complex and admirable individual that we can all relate to. Though we ourselves may not have the powah like he does. The character himself, He-Man the Master of the Universe, is a very well constructed character, with a rich back-story and surprisingly elaborate relationships with the other characters. He would be perfect for a protagonist in his own open-world fantasy RPG.

He-Man has been revived twice already, evolving and becoming an even more iconic character for both children and adults alike. Us in the older generations that remember the original cartoon might still find enjoyment in the silly yet stimulating narratives. Stopping Skeletor and hearing his hilarious one-liners were always a highlight of my childhood. Remember how silly yet elaborate flamboyant Cringer was/is?

Fans of the subversive Adult Swim animated comedy 'Rick and Morty' who feared the 2015 season finale promise to "see you in 2017" can breathe a sigh of relief, as series creator Dan Harmon confirms new episodes will appear at the end of the year - with an added bonus, to boot.

As reported by Nerdist, Harmon addressed the topic at this week's Magic City ComicCon, telling fans that they were "targeting an end of 2016 release date", and "we're doing 14 episodes this year", which was received with rapturous applause. Last year's second season only ran to ten episodes, which makes for an extra 80 minutes of 'Rick and Morty' goodness.

Having quickly amassed something of a cult following, Adult Swim green-lit the third series even before the second series went to air.

Windows 10 Build 14279 has been released today to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring.

If you're a big Cortana user, this one should make you very happy: Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil) or French (Canada) languages are now supported, as are quick reminders. To set a quick reminder, say something like "remind me to read [insert book name]", or "remind me to wash the car". After doing so, you can set details like location, time, and people if you like. It's not built-in yet, but soon you'll be able to retrieve these reminders as a real PA would.

The other significant update is a unified Lock and login screen. Going forward, the Lock screen background will be used for both, as on mobile, making for a smoother experience.

Amazon's Fire OS 5 came out in September, but only now is it being discovered that the operating system no longer supports local encryption (which makes data accessible only with a passcode or key). Concerns have arisen as a result, given Amazon just filed a brief supporting Apple's defense of encryption.

Fire OS is built on Android's open-source code, which has offered local encryption for years. Fire OS 5 doesn't support the feature it turns out, and Amazon's statement on why doesn't help clear matters up much.

When Remedy Games trademarked "Alan Wake: The Return", the gaming world flipped out--it looked like we'd finally get the Alan Wake sequel we've been waiting on for ages. Sadly, Remedy has stepped in to squash the hype.

Alan Wake: The Return isn't a sequel, it's just a spoof serial TV show that'll be featured within Quantum Break's live-action segments. Basically, Remedy is having fun overlapping the two franchises in a metaphysical way--think of the recurring Invitation to Love TV serial in Twin Peaks, or the Lords and Ladies show in Max Payne. In Quantum Break's universe, Alan Wake is just a television show instead of a real-life person.

So why the trademark? According to Remedy's Sam Lake, the team had to cover all the bases. "A big part of the trademarking process all in all is the legalities of it and just making sure everything is covered. So, there's no real news about anything future Alan Wake-related."

It's no secret that there's a general, and seemingly persistent, level of saltiness in the air when it comes to gaming. Positivity exists, but it's not as prevalent as it should, or could be. Akamai has your back, and they're working towards finding a solution to your problems, making gaming the fun past time that it should be.

We all get frustrated with gaming at one point of another, with issues or problems that are out of our own hands that can eventually contribute to that feeling of disappointment that leads to abandoning a once enjoyable game. The player experience is a very important aspect of gaming, and it extends through the entire process, from signing up to play, downloading the game to the core mechanics inside. Perhaps one of the most

Akamai is no stranger to the gaming community. They happen to have close ties with around 23 of the top 25 gaming companies around the world. They're the force behind the delivery of a lot of the content that you consume, so for their business to be successful, they need to know and understand precisely what's frustrating us and driving us away from games. In fact, it's been found that something as simple as removing a "play" button on the games launcher can lead to a 10% different in people who continue through to actually play. Those small changes can inevitably lead to huge jumps in the quality of life, things that gamers may unconsciously be prejudiced against.

Yesterday, Twitter, Reddit, and 15 other tech companies collectively filed an amicus brief in support of Apple and its defense of smartphone encryption. For reason unclear, other giants like Microsoft and Facebook -- which have publicly announced their support -- were not included. However, they have filed their own separate brief with the same goal.

Microsoft President and CLO Brad Smith writes in a blog post of the case, "The fact that we're discussing the All Writs Act across the country is a telling indication of the urgent need to update antiquated rules that govern digital technology and privacy. If we are to protect personal privacy and keep people safe, 21st century technology must be governed by 21st century legislation. What's needed are modern laws passed by our elected representatives in Congress, after a well-informed, transparent, and public debate."

He later continues, "We've reached a critical moment in which a new generation of mobile and cloud-based technologies have far outrun the laws that protect our safety and preserve our timeless and fundamental rights. By standing with Apple, we're standing up for customers who depend on us to keep their most private information safe and secure."

Star Fox Zero didn't quite get the fan reaction that Nintendo was looking for when it was revealed at E3 in 2015. It was missing an important ingredient that just didn't make it as attractive a game as it probably, by rights, should be. It's Star Fox, at its core is an enjoyable arcade shooter with an over the top story and lovable characters.

The Star Fox they showed wasn't any of that. In fact, according to the developer, Platinum, the game on screen at E3 was the result of a few experiments with the Wii U controller and a screen. It ended up being themed on the famous fox, but it wasn't really what we know deep down to be Star Fox. It sucked.

Nintendo and Platinum have listened to the criticism, and have realized the mistakes that they made when handling one of their most precious IP's . People wanted something where strategy was an important part of the premise, where the look and feel was classic, yet updated. And they've gone and done that. Just in time too, for the April 22nd release date. Miyamoto assures us that Star Fox Zero will be precisely what fans are looking for.

Up until now, No Man's Sky has been quite a mystery. When the game was revealed it built up tons of hype, but as time went by, myself and tons of other gamers started getting nervous. We had so many questions, and hardly any of them were getting answered. Luckily, Hello Games has blown the lid off of No Man's Sky and peeled back the game's many layers to reveal the juicy tidbits within.

Hello Games recently let various press outlets try out No Man's Sky, and while we weren't selected for the demo tests, we can still glean a ton of info from the coverage. As a die-hard fan of the game, I'm quite curious to find out what exactly we can do in the game, and I decided to put together this list.

By no means is this a definitive or comprehensive charting of the game's full content--it's meant to be a guide more than anything, so you can get an idea of the scope of No Man's Sky.