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Metal Gear Solid gets an Unreal Engine 4 remake, and it's glorious

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 10:02 AM CST

Unreal Engine 4 is a very versatile and gorgeous game engine. And of course someone went and remade the first Metal Gear Solid and called it Shadow Moses. And it's just as spectacular as you'd expect.

This definitely isn't the Fox engine used in Metal Gear Solid V, but they've managed to take the very first game in the series and make bring it kicking and screaming back, but they've done an outstanding job capturing the essence that made it such a successful game that ended up launching the franchise. The best part was the skulking around inside the cardboard box in the background. The classic game mechanism that's survived today simply because of how absurd it is.

One can only imagine that Konami will eventually take issue with their IP so blatantly being used, and so this project, no matter how fantastic a showpiece it is, is likely going to be very short-lived. Regardless, the creator is concentrating on recreating the first level in it's exactness, and might even release it once they feel it's up to acceptable standards. Just don't expect it to live on the Internet (officially) for very long.

Continue reading: Metal Gear Solid gets an Unreal Engine 4 remake, and it's glorious (full post)

Save a bundle on PC games in the Humble Store Winter Sale

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 9:30 AM CST

If it's frosty outside, there's a good chance a PC games sale going on! The Humble Store has opened up its annual Winter Sale, which discounts a broad range of games across the entire spectrum. There're sales on Steam Early Access games, yesteryear GOG greats, and even hit 2015 masterpieces like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Save a bundle on PC games in the Humble Store Winter Sale

If you weren't able to snatch up some goodies during Steam's holiday sale, then the Humble Store has you covered with its new Winter Sale. The promo slices off some steep prices on a galaxy of titles and unlike Steam's rather annoying new sale policies, the Humble Store's deals will come in waves. Since every day opens a new wave of deals, the games can be discounted much more steeply.

A portion of the AAA sale games are carved up into publisher catalogs, which features an excellent array of games from each respective label. Notable publisher sales include Bethesda, SEGA, Capcom, Kalypso and Codemasters. There's also a huge offering of indies and old-school games, so be sure to drop by and scan the deals every day for some prospective goodies.

Continue reading: Save a bundle on PC games in the Humble Store Winter Sale (full post)

Microsoft teases us HDR control settings for Windows 10 mobile cameras

Jeff Williams | Mobile Devices | Jan 18, 2016 9:03 AM CST

Microsoft has confirmed that the camera app on Windows 10 Mobile is going to receive an update that will allow for the turning on of HDR capture when taking photos.

That's significant because until now, you've only ever had the option of being able to set HDR capture to "auto" or off completely. Auto never guaranteed the capture of a wider gamut of color, even though most sensors are more than capable. We have to remember what HDR, however, to know why that's significant. HDR is a higher level of color fidelity that's more inline with what the human eye can actually see. And now with AMD pioneering HDR on the desktop space, that means it can be a natural part of the workflow for everyone and not just professionals.

Microsoft has actually been on the forefront of camera technology in phones, whether we're aware of it or not. That might be due to the wonderful efforts of Nokia with their famed 808 which eventually made its way onto the Lumia 1020. The huge sensor was fantastic in low-light and had many manual options that made even pro photographers a little jealous. Thankfully, those controls have become standard on Windows Mobile.

Continue reading: Microsoft teases us HDR control settings for Windows 10 mobile cameras (full post)

The Division loses player trading and Brooklyn features at launch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 8:31 AM CST

As The Division's release date nears, Ubisoft is forced to continue shaving off features of the game to ensure certain priorities are met for launch.

The Division loses player trading and Brooklyn features at launch

The devs at Ubisoft have been working on The Division for quite some time, for good reason: it's an ambitious game that aims to meld key elements from other games like Day Z, Gears of War, and Destiny, all while incorporating a unique story arc and present-apocalyptic presence. As with most of Ubisoft's more ambitious games, however, the company has delayed and even cut off key elements to preserve more important features. Player-to-player item trading has been delayed and won't be available when the game launches, and the entire region of Brooklyn has been cut out altogether, only to be re-released as possible DLC.

"It's the reality of production. Some features make it, some features don't," Ubisoft Associate creative director Julian Geright told GamesRadar. Julian said that player trading was delayed because it wasn't at the top "priority of different features", and isn't 100% sure that it'll be included in the future. "It's something that obviously some people are very passionate about. and [player trading] will maybe make an appearance in the future."

Continue reading: The Division loses player trading and Brooklyn features at launch (full post)

Driveclub getting a huge update in February, dev teases

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 8:01 AM CST

Evolution Studios went to Twitter to tell fans that they have a big update coming next month for Driveclub, though they were very coy about the details of the said update.

They released nothing but a short 8 second video embedded in Twitter that really doesn't explain much in the way of their thinking. The stylized black and white video races down a highway in a mountainous region. Perhaps new maps? New cars or even the inclusion of new physics is on the way?

Previously they've increased the visual fidelity, though slightly, by introducing one of the better rain weather effects in a console racing game. But it seems they've struggled from the beginning to make Driveclub even playable since it released with many different issues that affected playability. Regardless, it's sold over 2 million copies and continues to do quite well.

Continue reading: Driveclub getting a huge update in February, dev teases (full post)

WhatsApp will soon be totally free, no ads or subscriptions

Derek Strickland | Connectivity & Cloud | Jan 18, 2016 7:30 AM CST

WhatsApp users rejoice: the cross-platform mobile messaging app is now totally free for everyone.

WhatsApp will soon be totally free, no ads or subscriptions

The Facebook-owned messaging titan announced today that it has removed all subscription fees from WhatsApp, and the service will be free to use for all users.

"We're happy to announce that WhatsApp will no longer charge subscription fees. For many years, we've asked some people to pay a fee for using WhatsApp after their first year. As we've grown, we've found that this approach hasn't worked well. Many WhatsApp users don't have a debit or credit card number and they worried they'd lose access to their friends and family after their first year. So over the next several weeks, we'll remove fees from the different versions of our app and WhatsApp will no longer charge you for our service."

Continue reading: WhatsApp will soon be totally free, no ads or subscriptions (full post)

VR-powered Holodecks will come 15 years from now, says Oculus

Derek Strickland | Extended Reality (XR) | Jan 18, 2016 6:30 AM CST

All too often today's technology meets--and sometimes surpasses--the futuristic tech we see in shows like Star Trek. The advent of VR and AR tech opens a doorway to one of the most exciting sci-fi dreams ever manifested: the Holodeck. But according to Oculus VR, the tech won't be ready for some time, but we may see a VR-powered Holodeck emerge in less than two decades time.

VR-powered Holodecks will come 15 years from now, says Oculus

"Everyone wants the Holodeck, but we're not there tomorrow. We're not there in the next five years. In about 15 we'll be there," Oculus' head of mobile exec Max Cohen said to Pocket-Lint. "We'll get there incrementally. We'll basically attack different sets of problems and we'll try to make the experience as good as possible."

Remember that Star Trek's Holodeck uses "hard-light" holograms to simulate realistic environments which can be touched and felt. VR, on the other hand, is all about high-tech legedermain and trickery: the virtual space becomes a "real" space with the aid of synthetic tech, and the advent of haptic feedback bodysuits and gloves can already bring the sense of touch to virtual reality.

Continue reading: VR-powered Holodecks will come 15 years from now, says Oculus (full post)

Marvel announces Jessica Jones will receive a second season

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Jan 18, 2016 5:26 AM CST

Marvel's Jessica Jones was one of my favorite shows of 2015, but Netflix has now announced that it has been renewed for a second season.

The second season of Jessica Jones will include 13 new episodes, which will be aired sometime later this year, hopefully. The second season of Daredevil is right around the corner, with it dropping onto Netflix on March. Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg said: "She ends in a very different place than she started off. She's still going to be Jessica Jones — that is not going to change. She will continue to drink and make mistakes and accidentally drop people onto train tracks, but something has changed for her by the end of this season, and I'd just love to explore that in the second season".

Continue reading: Marvel announces Jessica Jones will receive a second season (full post)

Could Fallout 4 be getting a Thunderdome arena DLC?

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 3:49 AM CST

Careful scanning of Fallout 4's files have unearthed pieces of a game that almost was...or pieces of a game that will be. Modders have dug up key details on scrapped content, with the most famous case being the cut 20 Leagues Under the Sea quest, which apparently centered around a submerged vault, and explains the game's hidden harpoon gun. Users speculate that the underwater adventure could be part of a new aquatic DLC pack, and bring something I've wanted to see for a long time: Sealab-style undersea vaults.

Could Fallout 4 be getting a Thunderdome arena DLC?

Fast-forwarding to the present, a new batch of cut audio files hints that Fallout 4 could be getting a Thunderdome-style arena where players duel to the death for cold, hard caps. Fallout 4's Combat Zone is the Commonwealth's answer to the Colosseum, sporting a metal cage where NPC's beat the snot out of each other. I have to admit that when I first saw the Combat Zone, I fully expected to put up some caps, crack my knuckles, and bare fist-fight a Super Mutant, but Bethesda had other plans. Sadly, the released version doesn't let you get in on the action, but at one point the Combat Zone was something more.

In a bit of cut dialogue, the arena's proprietor, Tommy Lonegan, clearly says that players can not only enter the ring to fight for caps, but will also earn rankings for their progress. "In case I'm not being clear, it's either fight in the cage, or face the collective wrath of my disappointed patrons. I'll pay you a little something for each fight. The hotter the fight, the bigger the pay; the prize will go up in size as you go up rank," the NPC says in the scrapped dialog.

Continue reading: Could Fallout 4 be getting a Thunderdome arena DLC? (full post)

Huawei P9 smartphone should rock dual cameras and fingerprint scanner

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jan 18, 2016 3:28 AM CST

After a successful run with the Nexus 6P, Huawei is back in the headlines with its purported P9 smartphone. According to the latest rumors, the Huawei P9 smartphone will feature dual cameras, a physical Home button, and a fingerprint scanner.

The dual camera setup will also feature a dual-LED flash, with a speaker on the bottom of the phone, too. The frame of the P9 smartphone will be made of metal, but we don't know if this will be featured on the back, or whether Huawei will use a sheet of glass. Inside, the P9 should rock a 5.2-inch 1080p display, the Kirin 950 processor, dual 12-megapixel cameras on the back, with a 3000mAh battery that should last most of the day.

We should expect Huawei to unveil the P9 smartphone at Mobile World Congress next month.

Continue reading: Huawei P9 smartphone should rock dual cameras and fingerprint scanner (full post)

The Division has a bunch of graphical settings to configure on the PC

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 18, 2016 1:52 AM CST

Can you believe we're close to the release of The Division? After all this time, I can nearly smell it. Well, thanks to the PC beta now underway, we're seeing the graphical settings within The Division, which is exciting.

The Division has a bunch of graphical settings to configure on the PC

There are heaps of settings to play with, including 'wind-affected snow' which has me gasping. Not only that, but there are a huge amount of things you can change in the graphical settings of The Division, which is great to see from Ubisoft. The PC version looks much better than the Xbox One version - shock, horror - with the Xbox One version hitting less than 1080p at around 30FPS. During intensive scenes, the frame rate dips below 30FPS - but that's 'next-gen' consoles for you. As for the settings, here's what you can tweak on the PC version of The Division:

The Division drops on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC on March 8, 2016.

Continue reading: The Division has a bunch of graphical settings to configure on the PC (full post)

AMD's next-gen interconnect will offer 100GB/sec for multi-GPU setups

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Jan 18, 2016 12:16 AM CST

During NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference last year, NVIDIA unveiled its new NVLink interconnect that would find its BFF in their upcoming Pascal architecture.

At the time, we wrote that NVLink had 5x the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, with NVLink opening up the possibilities for 8-way GPU setups - compared to the limit of 4-way SLI that we have now. Well, AMD is now talking about its upcoming next-gen coherent fabric, which will offer speeds of an insane 100GB/sec throughout multi-GPU setups. AMD has said that its new APUs will also be supported, with compute machines set to benefit greatly, too.

The big question for AMD is still in the air - but RTG boss Raja Koduri has said that he can't reveal if memory coherency and sharing between the GPUs and APUs will happen with the new interconnect. It would make sense to see it happen, but I'm sure AMD is rolling towards a big reveal in the near future with its Polaris architecture.

Continue reading: AMD's next-gen interconnect will offer 100GB/sec for multi-GPU setups (full post)

Intel Skylake owners will need to upgrade to Windows 10 by July 2017

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jan 17, 2016 10:28 PM CST

An interesting story has floated to the surface of the Internet over the weekend, where Microsoft has announced it will not support older operating systems on new platforms, in the very near future.

The company wrote: "Through July 17, 2017, Skylake devices on the supported list will also be supported with Windows 7 and 8.1. During the 18-month support period, these systems should be upgraded to Windows 10 to continue receiving support after the period ends. After July 2017, the most critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7/8.1 platform on other devices".

Considering Intel's Skylake architecture isn't that old at all, it's concerning that Microsoft will drop support for Skylake processors in Windows 7/8.1 next July. The Redmond-based OS giant has added that operating systems like Windows 7 were never designed for the latest and greatest technological advances we have on PC.

Continue reading: Intel Skylake owners will need to upgrade to Windows 10 by July 2017 (full post)

Infinity Ward scores Game Director from Rise of the Tomb Raider dev

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 17, 2016 7:07 PM CST

With the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider right around the corner, Senior Art Director & Game Director on Rise of the Tomb Raider, Brian Horton, has left Crystal Dynamics for Infinity Ward.

Crystal Dynamics announced the news on official Tomb Raider Tumblr page, with Horton saying: "It's been a huge honor to be a part of the Tomb Raider franchise and the team at Crystal Dynamics. I've met fans from all over the world, both in person and online, to share in our love for the franchise and Lara Croft. After working on two amazing games, my family and I have decided to return to Southern California and start a new adventure. As sad as I am to leave the team at Crystal, I'm excited to play their future games as a fan. Thanks again for the years of support and feedback and I hope to stay in touch with you all online".

Horton will be working with Infinity Ward, the LA-based developer behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and COD: Ghosts. Horton joins IW as their Studio Art Director, according to his LinkedIn account. Before Crystal Dynamics, Horton worked with Disney Interactive, EA, Vivendi Universal, and DreamWorks Interactive on titles like Medal of Honor and F.E.A.R. 3.

Continue reading: Infinity Ward scores Game Director from Rise of the Tomb Raider dev (full post)

Rocket League's next update adding better loot

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Jan 17, 2016 5:02 PM CST

The next update for Rocket League is coming in February and it's bringing with it some "uncommon" loot to be dropped. It'll also signal the end of the first competitive season, which was a huge success.

Rewards and item drops were all very similar throughout the courses, and they weren't differentiated very much. You knew what you were getting, and they were all fairly useful to at least some degree. That's going to change with some strange and funky things, like the above. This is part of their new item quality system, where you can find common items (marked in grey, premium items (marked in green) and limited items that will be orange. And now they're adding those uncommon items that'll be show in light blue. You'll only be able to get these after competing in online matches.

Psyonix is also adding in a rewards system for for dedicated players who reach the Bronze division in ranked play, or higher. You'll be able to win crowns that can be equipped to the top of your car, letting the world know your achievements. It's a very interesting system to keep players coming back for more, because you'll never know what kind of cool stuff you'll end up getting! Reward systems are good mechanisms for replayability.

Continue reading: Rocket League's next update adding better loot (full post)

Amazon Echo and Alexa can now read books to you

Jeff Williams | Audio | Jan 17, 2016 3:03 PM CST

An update to the Amazon Echo now lets Alexa read you a nice story. And this new feature has a chance of replacing you as the head minstrel, reading bedtime stories to your kids.

This update comes completely free to all owners of the Echo, and works rather simply. Just ask Alexa to "read "insert book name here" and she'll start exploring the depths of that particular novel. Unfortunately her voice isn't quite so natural sounding as of yet, but it's quite the innovation, especially if you'd rather listen to that while engaged with other activities. She's able to read any book in your Kindle library.

The interesting thing is how this will conflict with another Amazon company, Audible, which serves up actual narrated audio-books. Granted, Alexa isn't quite as sultry and smooth as some of the great narrators used for Audible books, but given time we could see a rise in the popularity of using a well-developed AI to do such things instead. Siri even sounds a lot more natural now, even if some of her responses are pre-programmed.

Continue reading: Amazon Echo and Alexa can now read books to you (full post)

13TB SSD is massive, has massive price-tag to along with it

Jeff Williams | Storage | Jan 17, 2016 1:02 PM CST

A company called Fixstars, from Japan, has released one of the largest SSD's to date. It has 13TB of space in it's 100x70x15mm case. Just imagine being able to have your entire Steam library plus every document you ever created, easily and quickly accessible?

For comparison, it can hold up to 823 hours of H.256 compressed 4K video. What a dream that would be. But this gigantic SSD is about $18,000 total, if we go by the current price of NAND per gig. To actually find out the price, you'd have to ask for a quote as it's actually intended for the enterprise or data-center markets. The current largest amount of NAND you can buy is from 4.6TB from Sandisk or Intel. So this is a major leap forward.

Looking at the specs it looks like it uses Toshiba's 15nm MLC NAND and a SATA 3.0 interface for speeds of up to 580MB/s read and 520MB/s write. That's not too shabby. The endurance should also be a bit more than the average considering the market it's in and the potential for higher over-provisioning due to the massive amounts of space available. There's no word on what controller it uses, but for enterprise it'll have to be a reliable one with good garbage collection and I/O performance. Anyone want to go halfsies on this one?

Continue reading: 13TB SSD is massive, has massive price-tag to along with it (full post)

Activision being sued by children of Black Ops 2 Angolan rebel chief

Jeff Williams | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 17, 2016 11:02 AM CST

Activision generally makes a good game, though that's always up for debate. Part of that might include a little artistic license when portraying real-world based characters. And now Activision is being sued by the family of an Angolan rebel chief that was portrayed in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Three of Jonas Savimbi's surviving children don't agree with how their father was portrayed in Black Ops 2, saying that he was not quite the "barbarian" they showed him as in the game. And as a result of their dissatisfaction with the way that their father's memory was handled, they're seeking €1 million in damages,

In life, Jonas Savimbi was the leader of a guerrilla insurgency against the Angolan government to liberate it. He's the founder, and was the leader, of the National Union of the Total Independence of Angola. Ronald Reagan himself even saw him as a freedom fighter as opposed to placing the other, more extreme, term on his name.

Continue reading: Activision being sued by children of Black Ops 2 Angolan rebel chief (full post)

Blood Bowl 2 World Cup gets $35,000 worth of prizes

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Jan 17, 2016 9:06 AM CST

Cyanide Studios and Game Workshop are hosting their World Cup for Blood Bowl 2 this year and registrations are now open. And to sweeten the deal, they've teamed with ASUS for some very interesting prizes.

Everyone who enjoys Blood Bowl 2 can participate but only the top 64 players will be able to move forward to the play off's. It's easy to enter, just register on the public league or join a private league that's governed by the official Blood Bowl 2 community.

The grand prize is $10,000 worth of cold hard cash, probably even in the gold depicted in the photo. But aside from that there are actually some good gaming related prizes. Three gaming PC's, of which two are laptops and enough accessories to replace everything you have. And you might be one of the lucky fellows to win a few good Steam games too.

Continue reading: Blood Bowl 2 World Cup gets $35,000 worth of prizes (full post)

Monster Hunter Online will be powered by AMD's TressFX technology

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 17, 2016 6:29 AM CST

Chinese gaming giant - which now happens to own League of Legends - will have AMD's TressFX technology powering Monster Hunter Online.

Not only that, but AMD will be bringing over a number of performance optimizations, too. Tencent Games will release a patch later this month for Monster Hunter Online, injecting AMD's TressFX technology. According to AMD, there are a bunch of new features headed to Monster Hunter Online, including TressFX, Eyefinity, Radeon Software updates, and more. Here's the full list:

Continue reading: Monster Hunter Online will be powered by AMD's TressFX technology (full post)

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