Gaming - Page 1096

It looks like Konami is quite impressed by the PC performance of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, with a company executive recently noting that gameplay is "stunning."

"The PC version is stunning," said Jon Edwards, marketing executive at Konami, in a statement to MCV. "We are so pleased to be able to release it alongside the console games, and that Kojima Productions has worked so hard to make it such a strong version."

Edwards also had this to add: "Like Ground Zeroes, the graphics are stunning in the new 4K mode, while the scale and online elements within the game are a perfect fit for the format. Metal Gear Solid V is such an entertaining game, we always wanted it to play strengths of its host format, and the PC edition certainly does that. It is a stunning conversion."

Microsoft has just unveiled a new upgraded Xbox One model that comes with a roomy 1TB hybrid hard drive and the modular Elite controller.

The new Xbox One Elite SKU is priced at $499 and features a 1TB hybrid solid-state hard disk that blends speed and storage. Microsoft boasts that the SSDHD improves initial boot up speeds by 20% from power-saver mode, and "adapts to your gaming preferences by storing frequently accessed files" on the SSD partition.

One of the main selling points of the bundle is the Xbox One's high-grade Elite controller, which features custom button mapping, modular, swappable parts, trigger locks and an enhanced D-pad to boot. The Elite controller retails for $150 and accounts for the price bump.

The new raid for Destiny's The Taken King expansion, King's Fall, won't be available when the content goes live on September 15.

Enthusiast site Planet Destiny spotted the news during IGN's PAX 2015 coverage, where Bungie's Luke Smith revealed that The Taken King raid won't be up on launch day.

"The [King's Fall] raid is not going to be available on day one," Smith affirmed during the show. "We definitely have a plan for when it's going to be available. I'm not going to announce the plan for it here, but I promise that people who are excited about the raid that they will know when it's time to take time off of work. We'll give them a heads up."

In Destiny's new The Taken King expansion, Xur will have an impressive new buff that will significantly boost exotic item drop rates--but you'll have to gamble to get it.

During IGN's PAX 2015 panel, Bungie dev Luke Smith revealed that Destiny's interstellar merchant, Xur, will have a new consumable that could make it rain exotics: "What Xur has on him is an item that lets you basically gamble the chance to find an exotic on the next boss you kill."

"Xur's still going to show up every week, he's still going to sell some amount of exotics," Luke Smith iterated when asked how the infamous Agent of the Nine might change in the new expansion. "But now he's got a new mechanic that we're not talking too much about yet, but it's a new way for you to sort of gamble and get exotics out in the world. We're pretty excited about this."

If you have a previous generation console, you won't be playing Mortal Kombat X. Warner Bros. has cancelled development of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Mortal Kombat X, saying that both versions would not meet the quality "expected of a Mortal Kombat game".

There's no more details on what exactly transpired, but I would dare say that the previous generation consoles couldn't hit 60FPS. The Xbox One and PS4 versions are pumping out the fatalities and blood spattering at 60FPS, but the previous-gen consoles are not up to scratch. Good on Warner Bros. to not just throw it out at 30FPS and expect everyone to just put up with it.

'Synce' has used CryEngine 3 for a super impressive interior technology demo that uses Crytek's new Global Illumination technology known as SVOTI (Sparse Voxel Octree Total Illumination). The results are amazing, as you can see below.

Synce notes that the demo was created to showcase the capabilities of SVOTI, where he said: "SVOTI means Sparse Voxel Octree Total Illumination. This system can achieve high quality global illumination in real time. In this demo you can change the time of day, and look how the light reacts".

If you want to try out the demo on your system, download it here.

Official Xbox boss Phil Spencer has shut down the rumors that the Xbox One console will be getting a slimmer SKU this October.

Rumor has it that Microsoft is set to announce the Xbox One's new hardware refresh, the Xbox One Mini, alongside the Surface Pro 4 and Lumia 940/940 XL in October. But according to Xbox's own Phil Spencer the speculation is all for naught; in a recent Twitter exchange, Spencer confirmed the news is "not real".

The reports claim that the Xbox One Mini will be 1/3 the size of the current VCR-sized behemoth, with the extra space allocated thanks to the carved out Blu-ray disc drive. This would effectively make the slim console a digital-only system, and the SKU would be marketed at a lower price point.

Gearbox Software's landmark post-apocalyptic shooter series Borderlands will be getting its own movie adaptation, with Marvel Studios founder Avi Arad being a major influence.

With the rousing success of George Miller's new Mad Max film, it's no surprise that other studios want to get in on the post-apocalyptic cash crop. Variety reports that Lionsgate studios has acquired the rights to a Borderlands film, and plans to bring the franchise's distinct chaotic humor and explosive action to the big screen.

"Lionsgate has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace with an incredible portfolio of brands; our partners at Gearbox have pioneered and cultivated an iconic property; and Avi and Ari Arad are two of the most successful producers of action franchises," Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick said. "This alliance is ideally positioned to create a bold, provocative, no-holds-barred motion picture phenomenon that will delight Borderlands' current legions of fans and captivate moviegoers around the world."

Today 2K Games has announced that the RTS sequel the XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2, will release in 2016 instead of its original scheduled launch this year.

Firaxis notes that the team just needs more time to make XCOM 2 a worthy successor and an extension will ensure they can make the "best possible game". "We want to give you an update on the release date for XCOM 2," Firaxis Games said in a new update. "We've set a high bar for the sequel and the entire team has been working hard to make sure we deliver a great follow-up to Enemy Unknown. We just need a little more time to make it the best possible game."

"With XCOM 2, we want to have more depth, more replayability, and more investment in your soldiers and this extension will give us the time we need to deliver on our promise to you."

If you're a Microsoft Xbox One gamer looking for a possible Star Wars Battlefront bundle, you're out of luck. It looks like the custom bundle is only available for the Sony PlayStation 4, which will launch on November 19.

In a Q&A on the EA website, news regarding a possible Star Wars Xbox One bundle was shot down: "The exclusive console for Star Wars Battlefront is limited to PlayStation 4." Pre-orders for the bundles will be announced soon. Pricing information also hasn't been released just yet.

Star Wars Battlefront is scheduled for release on November 17, and will be available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

As confirmed by Valve and ESL, the recently completed ESL One Cologne event saw teams gather a massive $4.2 million dollars in total - split between prize money, stickers and signature sales.

Coupled with a total viewership of 27 million people and a peak concurrent number sitting around 1.3 million, HLTV reported that this event saw a massive 180% increase in crowd-funded dollars over ESL One Katowice, which involved $1.5 million in community support given away.

This method of funding means that teams and players must market themselves well, hoping to sell in-game stickers and signatures to adoring fans to represent them whilst playing in public servers. This is slightly different to the Dota 2 model, which sees funding go directly into the prize pool, whereas ESL One sits at a static $250,000 no matter how much is raised.

Today CD Projekt RED has announced that its celebrated dark fantasy RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cleared an impressive 6 million copies sold within the first six weeks of its launch.

"We've just concluded our shareholder conference where we announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt family got a bit bigger -- we sold over 6 million copies of the game in six weeks since launch," CD Projekt RED studio head Adam Badowski revealed. At $60 a pop we can estimate that CDPR made a whopping $360 million in less than two months from its magnum opus. Wow.

CDPR isn't about to let all that success go to its head, and Badowski affirms that the studio isn't going to let cash compromise its artistic vision. Ultimately gamers come first to CDPR. "One could think we have six million reasons to be happy and that's it," Badowski said. "Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, picture and text - you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there's no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That's why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you."

A new patent reveals that Nintendo's upcoming NX system has a unique and rather dynamic sharing functionality that will let users compare and share high scores, achievements and video replays.

The Nintendo NX patent, originally spotted by Nintendo Enthusiast, is pretty beefy, but the general jist of it centers around users comparing their in-game feats. Essentially players will be able to compare each other's scores on a wide network of users, send and receive replay video clips, and check their standings on live leaderboards.

All shared data will consist of a "sheet" of content including high scores (which can be cross-checked with live leaderboards), a grading system (stars, etc), customized user-created messages and drawings (think Miiverse sketches) and the ability to view replay video. All users will be able to share and publish these "sheets" of content. The above picture is a mock-up scheme that servers as an example of a shared post.

Described as "two players, one army - two armies, one game" in a recently issued press release, Red Bull has announced that StarCraft II's new Archon Mode will be featured in its next Red Bull battle Grounds playoffs.

Set to be featured in Blizzard's standalone expansion, Legacy of the Void, Archon Mode sees two players take over a single army, controlling it in unison against a same-structured opposing team.

Said to be even more intense and exciting than the common 1v1 mode as seen over the many years of StarCraft II and Brood War tournaments, this mode will see air time on September 19 in Washingson D.C, at the next live Red Bull event.

Ever wanted to drive your favorite gaming car in real life? Forget Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed, Avalanche Studios went out and created the 'Magnum Opus' from its upcoming Max Mad game, thanks to the help of West Coast Customs.

Set for release on September 1 across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, Mad Max will be centered around a new vehicle called the 'Magnum Opus', setting out to provide players with a trusty vehicle to last a literal life-time.

This short documentary covers some backstory on the title itself, the creation of the vehicle and also an annual wasteland gathering which takes in the Mojave Desert - looking like Borderlands meets Mad Max, but in real life.

GOG Galaxy has just unveiled a very awesome new feature, letting gamers rollback patches and updates to their games. This is a useful addition to GOG Galaxy, as some patches or updates can break games or remove features that gamers loved before the update came along.

The company is quite know with gamers as DRM-free with anti-Steam features, but with this new feature they are ahead of the curve. GOG Galaxy's Technology Vice President, Piotr Karwowski said: "We know that patches can occasionally break a game or affect your mods". GOG Galaxy also now provides you with an option to opt-out of automatic updates, with the ability of buying games directly from its store without the platform. This is a nice change from the likes of Steam or Origin.

But the problem that we have here, is that GOG Galaxy doesn't offer the latest games, with one of the most bleeding edge games being The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. So while GOG Galaxy might now feature some of the best features for patch and update rollbacks, now the company just needs to get games into its library, quicker.

The last trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain went live today, and it feels like Kojima's heartfelt goodbye to fans across the world.

Hideo Kojima's new (and final) Metal Gear trailer has a very distinct air of finality to it, and the feels are quite overwhelming. Everyone wants to play Metal Gear Solid V, and for good reason. But at the same time it represents the end of an era; when MGSV releases, it will be the last true Kojima MGS game we'll likely ever see. Sure Konami says that it'll make more Metal Gear Solid games in the future, but it won't ever be the same. It just won't be the same.

Although the footage is labeled as the launch trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, it's more of a kind of epitaph on the gravestone that is MGS in its current form; a sort of eulogy read during the funeral of the series. We're sad to see it go, but we're also glad it's been around since 1998 and that we'll get one last hurrah before it's over. And the end will be anything other than a quiet slip into death--Kojima's MGS will go out with an explosive bang.

If you're like me, you've often wondered what retro game systems would look like if they were displaced into different timelines--NES consoles with joysticks etc--and one talented gadgeteer shows us what a Game Boy might have looked like in the era of wood paneling.

Back in the day faux wood paneling found its way on everything from station wagons to game consoles like the Fairchild Channel 4 and the legendary Atari 2600. And now that stylish veneer has skipped a few decades to enfold the a customized Game Boy style handheld emulator.

Introducing the PE358, a pocket-sized portable game system created inspired by the Game Boy Advance SP console. Crafted by the renown Swedish designer Love Hultén, the PE358 is a full-fledged emulator encased in a simple clamshell-style screen-and-controller duo enfolded by sturdy walnut box. The screen even resembles an old tube TV display, adding in even more old-school nostalgia..

GTA V has just received its first major photo-realistic overhaul mod that brings incredible pristine visuals that look better than real life.

The amazing Toddyhancer mod was created by Martin Bergman in the Rockstar Editor, and contrary to popular belief Bergman says that he didn't go nuts with anything too complicated to create the mod: "Don't go bananaz! its just Reshade Shaders, ENB series, simple tweaks and some tonemapping with class!" Right now the mod is a work in progress and doesn't have a name, but it looks to be a strong contender for this generation's ICE Enhancer mod for GTA V.

Toddyhancer's lighting is superlative, bringing a truly unique filmic look and feel to every single environment, capturing a huge scale of hues across day to night timeframes. Although the overhaul is a feast for the eyes, game performance is going to take a hit with a hard 40FPS cap. The FPS dip is quite noticeable in the mod's trailer, but Bergman attributes most of the lag to playing and recording on a laptop.

The graphics in The Division have been watered down over the years since it was first revealed, almost to the point where anyone can tell that it has been downgraded. But now there's news that there will be post-release patches that will make the visuals better, but is that good enough?

YouTube channel 'Open World Games' has talked about this exact topic, as you can see in the above video. The graphics in The Crew were downgraded as well, yet another Ubisoft title by the way, with the graphics improving with patches. The Division on the other hand, is already capped at 30FPS because of the lackluster hardware in the Xbox One and PS4, but now we're having to wait for years before the graphics get to as good as they were in 2013.

The video above is the best example of this, which compares The Division from 2013, to 2014 and then into 2015. As time goes by, you can see that the visuals have been severely watered down. This shouldn't be new for anyone familiar with Ubisoft titles, as it has happened to the biggest games under their umbrella for years - including Watch Dogs, The Crew, Assassin's Creed, and many more titles.