Gaming - Page 1002

NVIDIA has been using Gears of War 4 in its latest marketing, with a free copy of the game for anyone purchasing a GeForce graphics card or GeForce-powered system or notebooks through to October 30.

The company has recently showed off Gears of War fans favorite map, Gridlock, with it being the first total reveal of Gears of War 4's newly imagined Guardian game mode. The new Gridlock mode is explained as:

"Gridlock is a fan favorite map from the original Gears of War that made a return in Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3. This version of Gridlock has a 'Reclaimed Beauty' look, with overgrowing foliage beginning to take over the buildings. The back part of Sniper Tower is slowly being eroded into the sea, while the two towers now have a Hotel and Café look to differentiate the environment. The classic 'Gridlock bell' in the tower is back as well".

Ubisoft has provided a tease of Nintendo's next-gen NX console, with company CEO Yves Guillemot saying that "Nintendo will be back in the race with the NX" during Ubisoft's recent annual meeting.

Guillemot has been praising the NX, with plenty of enthusiasm for Nintendo's new console lately, and just last week the Ubisoft boss called Nintendo NX a fantastic machine. Ubisoft EMEA executive director Alain Corre said earlier this year: "And they are addressing the family market in a very different way, their own way, which we appreciate. We have done a lot of products and successes with Nintendo in the past, and we believe that the NX will recapture a lot the lapsed Wii players. So we will see when they release it, but we are confident".

Ubisoft has multiple NX games in development, with "Just Dance" and "some other projects" confirmed to be in development for NX.

Twitchcon today yields three new games from an unlikely source: Amazon. The online retail and other stuff company's newish gaming division is currently working on a unique sports title, a sandbox MMO, and a survival MMO.

Breakaway is the sports title and features the basic 'put the ball in the hole' premise, except players can fight each other, place structures, and use various abilities and items along the way. As well, the ball will behave differently depending how long you hold it. Amazon is giving it the eSports push, too -- it will be exciting to see if it takes hold or not.

Next is New World, a sandbox MMO with a supernatural 17th century theme. In it, you work with others to build societies or lone wolf it while fighting off monsters and bandits; dynamic weather, time of day, and different seasons keep it interesting.

The expectations Microsoft had for the Xbox One seem to be impossibly high, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer saying that they had hoped for 200 million sales of the [at the time] next-gen Xbox One.

Stevivor recently spoke with Spencer, where he said: "The goal that the team had was to figure out how could we sell 200 million game consoles. We've never seen a console sell that many units. The biggest individual console, the PS2, did 120 million or something like that. The approach the team took was people are moving to OTT Video Services [over-the-top, like Netflix and Stan] and television's getting disrupted--and if we could build a console that could be at the center of this transition and really embrace not only people playing video games, but also people with the changing habits in television, you really take the console market and the gaming market and you expand it potentially".

Microsoft had an original vision for what would become the Xbox One, where it was to "start up building TV content as a first-party capability", said Spencer. Xbox Entertainment Studios was a division Microsoft created for TV and film content on the Xbox One, but once Spencer replaced Don Mattrick - who left for Zynga, he repositioned the Xbox brand with gaming, and Xbox Entertainment Studios was closed.

Battlefield 1 is my most anticipated game of 2016, but my obsession of Overwatch will have to stop... at least for a few days. EA has released some new screenshots of the single-player campaign for Battlefield 1, days after that awesome new trailer.

DICE has also detailed each of Battlefield 1's new unique War Stories campaign structure, with each having an anthology-style setup with different perspectives and nations throughout the war. Sadly there's only five campaign missions--our original estimates put it at six.

The five War Stories include:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is looking better and better as new screenshots are released, but the latest ones are the best ones yet. The developer also announced its new distribution plans, with the news of Deep Silver stepping up and joining Koch Media to distribute Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Koch Media has been, and will continue to handle the worldwide distribution channels and main publishing of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, while developer Warhorse Studios is "solely responsible for worldwide PC digital distribution", leaving Deep Silver to handle the physical PC versions of the game.

Warhorse Studios said: "we stand behind the vision of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and retain freedom in the development of our game. We will keep our communication as open and honest as we did from day one of our Kickstarter campaign".

When the news broke that there was movement on a Portal movie two years ago now, gaming fans began letting themselves quietly excited, and now that excitement ramps up with J.J. Abrams teasing there will be a Portal announcement "fairly soon".

When speaking with IGN at the red carpet premiere of Westworld, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens director said: "We have a meeting coming up next week with Valve, we're very active, I'm hoping that there will be a 'Portal' announcement fairly soon". IGN asked if the upcoming Portal movie would be a continuation of the world in the game on the PC, with Abrams not wanting to spoil anything, he said that he's working with writers who understand and love the world of Portal, and will "get" the game and storylines.

Abrams continued: "We are having some really interesting discussions with writers, many of whom...once you said you're doing a movie or show about a specific thing that is a known quantity you start to find people who are rabid about these things. As someone who loves playing Half Life and Portal, what's the movie of this, it's incredible when you talk to someone who just 'gets' it, it's like, oh my god, it's really the seed for this incredible tree you're growing".

So after a bunch of our readers and Facebook fans told me to get Forza Horizon 3 for testing my extensive range of PC hardware, and just finding the damn game in my library after I purchased it was more hassles than I've had since the DOS days of PC gaming.

Seriously. Once you find the damn game, it takes so long to load after you're logged into, and approving 50 different accounts. This is how long it takes to load into Forza Horizon 3, on a Core i7-6700K, 16GB of G.Skill 4000MHz DDR4 RAM, and a super-fast Kingston HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe-based M.2 SSD. Ridiculous.

It throws up a message to let me know my drivers aren't the latest set, too.

We all know how superior the PC is to console hardware, with even future consoles from Microsoft and Sony not being able to begin a thumb war against PC hardware, let alone beat them - and now Microsoft has admitted it, too.

Microsoft's Senior Director of Product Management & Planning, Albert Penello, recently spoke with The Guardian about PC gaming's renaissance, and the huge leap in technology happening on PC. Penello said: "In the last five years, there's been a real renaissance in PC gaming, and that's happening with NVIDIA and AMD investing in really high-end performance - to the point where PCs have eclipsed consoles much more significantly than ever before. In fact consoles used to lead PCs and it would take a while for them to catch up".

Well yeah - duh, Microsoft. You're putting APUs into consoles that are slower than mid-range PCs from 5-6 years ago, and even Xbox Scorpio with all of its 'power', can't compete against a new mid-range card. This is all without the next-gen GPUs launching in 2017 that promise a good leap in performance over the current-gen cards, which already stomp all over the consoles.

CD Projekt RED plans to completely one-up themselves with Cyberpunk 2077, smashing the likes of Witcher 3's amazing open world with an extremely ambitious new type of city-building technology and seamless multiplayer that will likely make Destiny's social hubs look like child's play.

Cyberpunk 2077's open world and city hubs could be the most immersive spaces ever created in a video game. CD Projekt RED has filed for a grant to help fund its new City Creation technology, which features "living cities" with real-time interactions with dynamic AI. That's not it, though: CDPR is also crafting a new kind of seamless multiplayer for the futuristic RPG.

City Creation is described as: "Comprehensive technology for the creation of 'live' cities of great scale playable in real-time, which is based on the principles of artificial intelligence and automation, and takes into account the development of innovative processes and tools supporting the creation of high-quality games with open worlds."

Remedy's recent overhyped time-busting Quantum Break won't be pushing any of your rigs to their limits any time soon.

Months after launching as a hot mess on Microsoft's Windows 10-exclusive storefront, Quantum Break is now available on Steam. But even after this long sojourn between the Windows Store and Steam, some of the game's most disappointing technical issues are still intact and haven't been fixed: Quantum Break's Steam port won't support multi-GPU setups in SLI or CrossFire and is locked at DirectX 11 instead of leveraging the new DirectX 12 API.

"Like mentioned on other topics, the game doesn't support SLI. But even with one GTX 1080 and the right settings, you should be able to get an enjoyable experience out of the game. I recommend comparing visual differences between 'high' and 'ultra' options in different areas of the display settings page," said a Remedy dev on the Steam forum page.

Nintendo's mysterious new NX console will propel the Japanese console-maker into the big leagues dominated by Microsoft and Sony, says Ubisoft.

Ubisoft has seen Nintendo's new NX hardware, which is purportedly a transforming console handheld hybrid, and the publisher is extremely impressed. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has praised the NX vocally in the last few months, delivering practically the only real meaty bits of information outside of unverified rumors and reports. Now Guillemot drops even more praise in Ubisoft's most recent earnings report, saying that the NX will be good enough to put Nintendo back in the Big Three.

"Nintendo will be back in the race with the NX," Guillemot said. Just a few weeks ago the Ubisoft CEO called the NX a "fantastic totally new approach," strongly hinting at the unique handheld hybrid theory that's been rolling around.

Microsoft has been touting the 4K gaming abilities of its new Project Scorpio Xbox console, but when Microsoft's Albert Penello spoke with The Guardian recently, he talked about Microsoft's full 4K gaming on the Xbox Scorpio, and how developers will have to deal with new challenges.

It looks like we won't be seeing 4K 60FPS on the Xbox Scorpio anytime soon, and nowhere near the launch in 2017, as it will be up to developers to decide where to use the additional horsepower provided by Xbox Scorpio, in their games. Penello said: "But we've said very clearly that it's up to the developers how they want to take advantage of that power. Some developers focus on effects, some on frame rate some on resolution - it's up to them what they want to do".

Penello continued, saying that developers will be able to meet, and master 4K gaming on the Xbox Scorpio after a while. He added: "If you look at game engines like Frostbite and Unreal, developers have got really good at scaling - they're excellent at figuring out how to build textures at very high resolutions, then being able to optimise that artwork for various platforms. With that in consideration, it will be easier to take advantage of the performance difference of Scorpio because these guys are already building games that far surpass what consoles can do today".

NVIDIA has used its marketing prowess perfectly with the impending release of Titanfall 2, by teasing exclusive 4K 60FPS gameplay from the PC version of the game, powered by their new Titan X graphics card.

NVIDIA's own "NVN", or NVIDIA Gaming Network, posted the gameplay footage of Titanfall 2, with every single graphics setting maxed out on a single Titan X at 4K, hitting 60FPS. As for the graphics settings available in Titanfall for PC gamers, we have:

We all know Chris Roberts can say some pretty crazy things, where during my exclusive interview with him at PAX Australia 2014, Roberts said "I don't care about consoles" when it came to Star Citizen.

The guys over at Gamers Nexus recently visited the CIG offices, talking with Roberts where he said: "Right. It's not even 'best damn space sim' anymore, it's 'best damn everything sim.' Especially with the way the procedural planets [...] we were able to do that with everyone's support, which allowed us to open up the Frankfurt office and hire up people that are incredibly talented".

He continued: "That's the iterative way that Star Citizen works, because I wasn't thinking we were going to be able to do what we are going to be able to do now, but the additional play possibilities that come with it and what players will be able to do by themselves, it's really exciting. You've opened up a much bigger palette of things you can do because you have planetary locations, you can do things, recover things, rescue people, create your own little place - whatever you want to do.

Collecting gaming merchandise is more than an art-form. Individuals who are serious about game specific figurines, art & graphic works, clothing and accessories will tell you that all of these items are crucial when it comes to collecting. With the recent game success of Nintendo's: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, in affiliation with Good Smile, has recently launched their new line The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Figures

The titled-themed collectables will be offered to the public in various stances and expressions. The Zelda and Link Figmas as seen in the image above will be available, along with Link having his own 'DX' editions that includes: Ordon Sword, Hero's Bow and Arrow, Ball and Chain, Hawkeye and the Clawshot.

This vast selection can be pre-ordered as of now until 27th October on the official Good Smile website and until 22nd October on the Play-Asia site. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Figures collectables are due to be shipped in May 2017, and will set Nintendo customers back between $50-$60 US, depending on the style and type of Figma as the DX Link editions will cost a little more to purchase.

The highly anticipated Dragon Quest Builders game brought to us by Square Enix, can now be downloaded in a free demo available to trial before the launch of the title in two weeks. In the latest news from Sony PlayStation Lifestyle, the Dragon Quest Builders demo is obtainable today for users living in North America and Europe. The game trailer: Become a Legendary Builder, provides visuals of the exclusive title and what to expect this coming October.

Direct from the source regarding the free download was this: "With the demo, you'll find the introductory chapter of the game, letting you explore a large open island, restore a town, battle hordes of monsters, and complete quests. Square Enix didn't say if progress from the demo would transfer over to the full game. The PlayStation Store description adds that the PS Vita version of the demo isn't compatible with PlayStation TV".

The game will challenge players with the rebuilding Alefgard in the wake of its destruction at the hands of the Dragonlord. Dragon Quest Builders officially releases on October 11 in North America and October 14 in Europe for PS4 and PS Vita. For those customers who pre-order the PS4 version via the site, will receive some featured DLC bonuses added into the purchase.

Inxile Entertainment today announced Wasteland 3, which is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC in just a few weeks with a brand new feature: co-op.

Wasteland 3 is happening, and it'll arrive across the triumvirate of gaming platforms on October 5. Inexile pushed out a huge press release revealing key details on what the new tactical RPG has to offer, and for the first time in the history of the franchise you'll be able to brave the post-apocalyptic world with a friend in fully-fledged story-driven synchronous co-op or asynchronous competitive-style multiplayer.

The devs promise that Wasteland 3 will be an evolution over Wasteland 2, offering new additions like vehicles, environmental hazards, a new action system and more fluid turn-based combat. The co-op is quite interesting, and you can play offline singleplayer, or even play your co-op game while your friend is offline and actively sabotage them...but Inxile warns that there's consequences to whatever actions you choose to take.

You an now buy and search all Xbox 360 backward compatible games on the Xbox One store, Microsoft has announced.

(Please excuse the photo, I had to take a picture of my screen because the Xbox One doesn't let you take screen captures of the storefront or main screen.)

In an effort to consolidate convenience with a nostalgia tax, Microsoft now makes it easier than ever to purchase and search through the Xbox One's full backward compatible Xbox 360 games library. The full listing of backward compatible Xbox 360 games are now up on the Games on Demand section on Xbox One. While this sounds like a great idea on the surface, Redmond didn't waste any time in mucking it up: the Backward Compatible games list is seven rows below all the other pre-order junk and miscellaneous crap Microsoft tries to peddle, and the games are often higher in price than they should be.

DICE is taking a different approach with Battlefield 1's singleplayer campaign in order to tell "many different war stories."

Instead of following the traditional campaign formula with the same protagonists following a linear course, Battlefield 1's six-chapter campaign is now called War Stories, and will be a kind of shifting anthology with each chapter letting players experience the Great War through the eyes of a different nation.

Some time ago EA announced that Battlefield 1's storyline would be multi-perspective and be flavored with real-life historical figures (Lawrence of Arabia, the Harlem Hellfighters, etc), so this news isn't exactly a surprise. We have evidence that Battlefield 1's War Stories singleplayer campaign might only be six chapters at launch, but we could see more chapters added via DLC packs. We're also not sure if the chapters themselves will be comprised of smaller missions, or of it's a one-off style episode.