Gaming - Page 1036

Horizon: Zero Dawn has been delayed, with a new release date of February 28, 2017, Guerrilla Games today announced.

After tons of rumors and teases, Killzone devs Guerrilla Games today confirmed that their new post-apocalyptic PS4 exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn won't release in 2016. The team says that it needs the extra time to live up to expectations, and promises that the fruits from the delay will "become clear in the coming months."

"As you can see in the trailer, we've decided to push the release date for Horizon Zero Dawn to February 28, 2017. It wasn't an easy choice to make; we know many of you have been anxious to play the game since we first announced it," Guerrilla's Hermen Hulst said on a PlayStation Blog post. "However, we also want to ensure that Horizon Zero Dawn lives up to the visuals and gameplay quality that our games are known for. The new date affords us the extra time required to deliver fully on our ambitious vision for Horizon Zero Dawn."

Volition has just announced their new game, Agents of Mayhem, as part of IGN's First series.

Agents of Mayhem is described as an "open-world action game", and features a distinct Borderlands-esque visual style with Volition's signature abrasive hilarity. Agents of Mayhem is singleplayer-only, and players will use a squad of three M.A.Y.H.E.M agents who use their unique skill combos and gadgets to blast baddies to smithereens.

Volition didn't reveal a whole lot to IGN, but we did get a snazzy cinematic trailer (see above) and the promise of "more to come" at E3 2016. Sadly the trailer has absolutely no actual gameplay footage, so official details are light. So for now we know Volition's new game is indeed Agents of Mayhem, an open-world action game possibly set in a universe related to Saints Row.

Thanks to rampant piracy, Fallout 4 console mods may very well destroy the modding community as we know it.

The current Fallout 4 console mod structure is a pressure cooker waiting to explode. Piracy, glitches and greedy demands are jeopardizing everything. Piracy is undoubtedly one of the biggest problems, as "modders" are taking PC mods they don't own and didn't make and are uploading them to the Bethesda.net framework for Xbox One owners to enjoy. What's worse is that these mods are designed to work on PC, and aren't optimized for consoles, thus leading to performance errors and the like. But who gets blamed? The actual mod creators, of course.

But why would someone do such a thing? Console owners have bombarded PC modders with demands to port their mods to consoles, which inevitably pushes the mod creators away. Even still the process takes time, as modders have to scale back their creations to work on consoles. Gamers don't really want to wait, and these pirates see a demand that's going unfulfilled. So they download PC mods, do a few adjustments here and there, upload them and take credit for something they didn't even make.

Final Fantasy 12 is getting an HD remastered port for the PlayStation 4, with exclusive new features.

Square Enix today announced Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, a high-def remaster of the PS2 classic that's set to release on PS4 in 2017. The remaster sees the unique Zodiac Job system coming to the West for the first time, including 12 different job classes to utilize in battle. Sadly there's no word of a PC release just yet.

Check below for further details, as well as a gallery of screenshots from Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. The HD remaster is coming in 2017 to the PS4, and Square Enix will have a tons of new info at E3 2016.

When the Hideo Kojima led P.T. hit the PS4 in its limited run of a technology demo, the internet caught fire. It looked freakin' incredible, and even for someone like me who is mostly anti-console, I would've picked up a PS4 just for P.T. - but, it was halted with the issues surrounding Kojima, and that was that.

Shortly after, developer Lillith teased Allison Road, which was a first-person horror game inspired by P.T. - and it too, looked beyond great. Well, the developer has announced that the game has been cancelled, with the official Allison Road Twitter account tweeting: "Hi all. Sadly Allison Road had to be cancelled. Statement to come in the next few days. Thx for all your support and very sad it came 2 this".

It wasn't too long ago that Lillith announced they were working with Team 17, saying: "make its game unhindered creatively, but at the same time will give us the resources, support and experience that only a 25 year old studio can give".

With the release of Hard Reset Redux, gamers have been accusing developer Flying Wild Hog of graphical downgrades. FWG replied to these accusations, saying that there are various in-engine changes, which is the reason behind the small differences between the original, and Redux version of Hard Reset.

One of the accusations against Flying Wild Hog is in regards to ambient occulusion, with gamers noticing a difference between the various implementations of AO. The developer explained what is happening with AO in Hard Reset Redux: "We replaced baked ambient occlusion with dynamic one (SSAO). So it's different now and was_not_removed. Lol - the game runs on the second iteration of our RoadHog in which we don't use pre-baked AO, Instead we have SSAO. Also it's optimized differently so this is why you have almost 2x more frames. Loads of things have changed in-engine since Hard Reset's release in 2011".

The quality of textures in Hard Reset Redux were also a concern for gamers, with a comparison video embedded above. YouTuber 'Candyland' used FXAA which blurs the image, so that might explain the additional blurriness in the Redux version of Hard Reset. Flying Wild Hog has also removed the sharpening filter that was in the original version of the game, explaining: "Textures and Post Process: As with the Occlusion system, we have changed the post-processing filters we used in the original Hard Reset. Redux does not use the same Image Sharpen Post Process which was used in the original H.R. This change was made to decrease aliasing, which cause flickering during camera motion. Because of this the game can at times look worse during static screens, but it looks better in motion. Hard Reset Redux is a game where players will constantly be moving and shooting; so this change was made to improve the overall visual experience that the game delivers during gameplay".

In their announcement trailer to Rise: Race the Future, developer VD-Dev teased the Nintendo NX logo at the bottom of the screen as one of the consoles it would launch on. Rise: Race the Future is a new driving game that will hit the PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo NX, Nintendo 3DS, on the PC through Steam, Android, and iOS - yeah, that's a lot of devices and consoles.

The logo has since been removed, and we can't be too surprised at this fact, but Rise: Race the Future is dropping in the winter, so VD-Dev seems to be using a placeholder Nintendo NX logo for now, or is this the real deal? As for the game, the developer explains it as: "'RISE: Race The Future' is the upcoming racing game from the studio VD-DEV renown for their technical skills. They decided to broaden their vision through the art of a professional automotive designer, Anthony Jannarelly, famous for having penned the exclusive supercars of W Motors and for having co-funded Jannarelly Automotive".

As you can see, the Nintendo NX logo was there, and then it was blurred out. Damn.

A modern Halo is coming to PC after all, but Microsoft and 343 Industries have nothing to do with it. The project is instead being led by a dedicated team of Halo fans, and they now have a new clip of the latest build.

Introducing Installation 01, the ambitious project to bring a fully-fledged Halo game to the PC. The game is being developed by 30+ developers across the globe, who aim to incorporate "all the best from existing Halo games" into a single multiplayer sandbox. The free-to-play fan-made Halo shooter won't just have multiplayer, though; the team plans to bring singleplayer campaign, Firefight, and PVP action to the mix as well.

We covered Installation 01 back in November 2015, and the team has just released a brand new trailer (see above) along with a huge smattering of 3D renders (see below) to show us how far they've come in these past months. While the project is still in its pre-alpha stages, the developers hope to have a public build of Installation 01 available in 5-8 months.

With E3 2016 on the way, it's only right that we take a moment to remember just how deceptive E3 reveal footage can be--especially with Ubisoft's infamous graphical downgrades.

In little over a week, E3 2016 will be upon us, and that means tons of bullshots. What are bullshots, you might ask? It's the deceptive practice of selling a game based on an extremely high-fidelity trailer that is as close to the real game as Rick and Morty is to Back to the Future.

We're talking extreme high-grade graphics with tons of atmospheric effects and volumetric lighting that are absolutely missing on the final release. E3 is the prime event for bullshots as millions of gamers are watching, so publishers fire up the old false-advertising gameplay footage to sell us something that doesn't really exist.

AMD was ahead of the curve when it put more eggs into the Asynchronous Compute basket, and that hard work is paying off now that we're seeing more and more games and technology demos using the technology. NVIDIA was behind the game when the Maxwell architecture didn't support Async Compute, but they've played catch up on the next-gen Pascal architecture.

Well, the co-founder of Oxide Games, Dan Baker, went to Twitter to kick off a chat about Asynchonous Compute, saying that it's "definitely a super useful feature in DirectX 12". id Software's Lead Renderer Programmer, Tiago Sousa chimed in, saying that id Software gained 3-5ms in rendering time with DOOM. According to Sousa, Async Compute and the other features built into AMD's architecture, were the reasons behind id Software being able to hit 60FPS on the Xbox One and PS4 with DOOM.

Mickael Gilabert, the 3D Technical Lead over at Ubisoft Montreal said he had some great gains in Far Cry Primal with Async Compute, with around 2.5-3ms, adding "Async FTW". It seems that Asynchronous Compute is a huge deal for game developers, and now that NVIDIA has joined the game with Pascal, we could see it used much more widely.

Leaked Halo Wars 2 box art gives us a taste of what to expect from Creative Assembly's RTS sequel.

Key art for Halo Wars 2 has surfaced online thanks to Twitter user @lifelower, unearthing a bunch of clues on what the RTS game will offer. Halo fans were quick to notice the looming Ark in the background and the Brute army, which hints at a post-Halo 3 timeframe. The Ark looks like it's been fired, and even the Scarabs are stylized in Brute color schemes, hinting the game will take place in a fresh timeline. Some speculate Halo Wars 2 could take place in a post-Halo 5 timeline, but the Mark IV Spartans seem out of place.

Microsoft is expected to showcase the new Halo Wars 2 RTS at E3, and a playable demo will be at the show. We'll be sure to update you when more details come to light, but for now we know one thing for sure: Halo Wars 2 looks absolutely awesome.

When the Nintendo NX launches in March 2017, it will feature VR support in some fashion, likely with a Nintendo-branded smartphone-powered VR headset.

Nintendo's next-generation NX console was delayed to 2017 so that the Japanese console-maker could add in VR support, according to reports from DigiTimes. Sources from the console's "related upstream supply chain" told the publication that Nintendo plans to add in full VR functionality to the NX, further adding the NX will be a combination Wii U-like gamepad with mobile 3DS-like capabilities.

"The device features a 5- to 7-inch display, controller and joystick for users to play as a mobile gaming product, but it is also able to connect to a TV for users to play as a video game system," the sources told Digitimes. "Nintendo is now planning to add VR function to the device to satisfy the popular trend in the gaming market."

Microsoft is keen on selling as many current-gen Xbox One consoles as it can, signaling a major Xbox hardware revision announcements at E3 2016.

The Xbox One's price tag has been slashed to $299 (again), and a huge portion of the console bundles have been slashed by $50. Redmond says this is a "temporary" reduction, but retailers are matching the price, hinting its a new permanent drop for the Xbox One. With this move, Microsoft is giving us a resoundingly clear signal: new Xbox hardware is coming, and Microsoft knows no one will buy current-gen hardware once the new Xbox consoles are announced.

Reports indicate Microsoft is working on a powerful 4K-ready Xbox Scorpio that's 1.5 times powerful than Sony's new PlayStation 4K model, and 4 times as powerful as the current Xbox One. Microsoft will also unveil the Xbox Mini at E3 2016, 40% smaller console with possible 4K video playback. We'll also see two Xbox streaming devices--a Chromecast-like Xbox stick, and a Shield TV-like set-top box that will likely stream games from Xbox Ones or Windows 10 PCs.

Microsoft is plotting to overthrow Sony's console reign with a new high-performance 4K-ready Xbox console that's four times as powerful than existing Xbox One hardware.

According to recent reports, Microsoft will release a dramatically overhauled Xbox console (codenamed Scorpio) in late 2017. Inside sources told Polygon that Microsoft is targeting 6 TFLOPs of performance with the Xbox Scorpio, making the new Xbox 1.5 times faster than Sony's new upgraded PlayStation Neo (PS4K, PS4.5). Like the PS4K, the Xbox Scorpio will leverage its higher-end hardware to push 4K gaming and 4K video playback. It's likely the Scorpio will upscale 1080p to 4K instead of native 4K gaming, and the console is expected to be fully backward compatible with all existing Xbox One games.

Reports indicate the new Xbox will ship with Oculus Rift support baked in, with Microsoft partnering with Oculus to counter Sony's PlayStation VR headset. If these reports are true, the Xbox Scorpio would theoretically be capable of delivering desktop-grade VR performance with the Rift. PC-quality VR is quite demanding, so the Xbox Scorpio would likely need a dedicated video card solution, and we may even see the first-ever external console video cards with AMD's new GPU enclosure. Armed with powerful dedicated video cards or external GPUs the Scorpio could likely hit native 4K 30FPS depending on the card.

We've heard lots of things about Microsoft's new upgraded 4K-ready Xbox console, aka Scorpio, and now we have more evidence that the new Xbox will support the Oculus Rift's VR headset.

Sources recently told Kotaku that Microsoft is readying its own powerful mid-cycle Xbox upgrade to counter Sony's PlayStation 4K console. And like PS4K, the new Xbox will leverage VR hardware: since Microsoft has no VR solution ready, the new 4K Xbox will reportedly use the Oculus Rift.

According to Ars Technica, developers are already working on VR games for Microsoft's new upgraded 4K Xbox. An anonymous dev at a "well-known European studio" corroborated reports that the new Xbox would use the same Oculus Rift HMD used by PCs. The game itself is "set in the universe of an established, long-running franchise," Ars reports.

After the rumors swirling around Hello Games delaying No Man's Sky, the confirmation is here: No Man's Sky has been officially delayed. Boo.

No Man's Sky was due in June, but has been pushed back to August. Hello Games founder Sean Murray announced the news of the delay on the PlayStation blog, but now we have to wonder why it was delayed. Jason Evangelho has recently joined us here at TweakTown, and he says it could be delayed to allow for VR support. It makes perfect sense, especially as it would launch very close to the release of PlayStation VR.

In the post, Murray said: "I have had to make the tough choice to delay the game for a few weeks to allow us to deliver something special. We understand that this news is disappointing. Making this game is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but we are so close now, and we're prepared to make the tough choices to get it right. The universe of No Man's Sky is incredibly vast. More than you can imagine. This is a type of game that hasn't been attempted before, by a smaller team than anyone would expect, under an intense amount of expectation".

Team Ico's The Last Guardian has been eight years in the making, but the end is finally in sight.

Fumito Ueda, renowned lead designer of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian, confirmed Trico's much-awaited adventure would arrive in 2016. "Since this is the year we will see the game's release," Ueda said in an interview with Edge magazine. "I do have some worries, but I'm also very excited."

Sony has yet to reveal an official release date for the PS4-exclusive, but IGN has shown off an exclusive first look at The Last Guardian gameplay footage. Check above and below for the videos, as well as a huge smattering of screenshots--some of which look a bit awkward due to the cell-shading graphics.

Gameplay footage for 2012's cancelled Legacy of Kain game has surfaced, showing us what could have been.

In 2012, Square Enix cancelled Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun, the newest chapter in the legendary franchise. Although the project ultimately fell apart, Climax Studios, the devs behind the game, told Eurogamer that Dying Sun would've been like "if HBO made Zelda". "From the very beginning Square said it had to be super gritty modern, while still staying within the remit of this world," sources said.

The game was codenamed "Black Cloth" and likely wouldn't have clicked with hardcore Legacy of Kain fans. It was more of a reinvention of the series tailored for the casual-friendly crowd, and a source claims that Square Enix wanted it to be "idiotically easy" compared to previous games. "They wanted a game that was almost insultingly simple in parts so it could be played by people who hadn't really played games before," anonymous sources told Eurogamer.

Ready At Dawn's new AAA third-person action game will be unveiled next week, according to GameStop's new publishing sector.

Now that GameStop is a fully-fledged games publisher, the company is eager to push out new games onto the market. The second major release under GameStop's GameTrust will be Ready At Dawn's new game, which is described as an "exciting new AAA third-person action console title, based on a brand new original IP we are creating."

Ready At Dawn is one of the major studios to join GameStop's GameTrust label, and we'll be seeing their latest game in the near future: "We have several other games slated for release over the next year. In fact, next week we will be announcing our second game under the GameTrust label with Ready At Dawn," said GameStop COO Tony Bartel.

Curious on what Ghost Recon Wildlands has to offer? We've wrangled up a ton of content to give you a better idea of the Ghost Recon meets Far Cry adventure, including screenshots, gameplay trailers, descriptions, pre-order info and more.

Ghost Recon Wildlands takes place in Bolivia, with the Ghost operatives tasked with overthrowing the brutal Santa Blanca drug cartel. The game features a wide variety of open-world environments and terrain, from arid mesas to dense jungles and frosty mountains. Each environment offers unique tactical advantages--players can sneak behind the jungle's foliage, for example--and dynamic weather conditions will directly affect in-game combat.

No open-world shooter is complete without vehicles. Wildlands will have a nice array of attack vehicles for players, including helicopters, APCs, buggies, and Humvees with gatling guns. "Obviously, getting around a country with varied terrain requires the right kind of vehicles, and if the trailer is any indication, the Ghosts have no shortage of options for transportation. Buggies (with one member of the squad manning the Gatling gun), dirt bikes, and helicopters are all prevalent in the trailer, but there are some brief shots of Humvees, trucks, an APC, and even a patrol boat."