Gaming - Page 1104

Red Dead Redemption was the most-requested game to receive backward compatibility for the Microsoft Xbox One, but the title has been dethroned by Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

The top 15, as reported by GameSpot:

1.Call of Duty: Black Ops II

The addition of backward compatibility for the Microsoft Xbox One likely played a part in massive Xbox One sales during the month of June. The company saw a 51 percent year-over-year bump when compared to June 2014, and there was a massive sales boost of 79 percent during E3 week.

In addition to a new controller, game titles and other content to look forward to - Microsoft introduced backward compatibility, so gamers will be able to play their Xbox 360 titles on the Xbox One. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said the Xbox platform has built momentum in part because of backward compatibility and exclusive games that will be available in time for Christmas.

"June was a good month and I think backwards compatibility matters," Spencer said via Twitter. "Lots of 360 owners deciding when to make the jump, big focus for us."

EA Sports has recently announced in a press release that two female players will now feature on FIFA box art for the first time. Set to showcase athletes Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair, this US National Women's team forward and Canadian captain will both feature alongside Lionel Messi on the FIFA 16 covers in their respective countries.

Alongside this cover addition, there has also been the addition of 12 Women's National teams into the game itself, giving players the ability to compete with these teams in friendly and online matches.

Alex Morgan is excited to be a pioneer in this field, stating that she knows "people all over the world play this game and I'm really excited that FIFA 16 is putting such an important spotlight on women's soccer. And now to share the cover with today's greatest player is surreal."

The latest v1.07 patch rolled out to The Witcher 3 a couple of days ago, and while there are some improvements and bug fixes for the most part, there seems to be lowered performance on the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game, when compared to v1.05.

In the video above from DigitalFoundry, you can see that the frame rate dips into the (in my opinion) very unplayable levels of around 20FPS. Eurogamer explains: "Essentially, gameplay on Xbox One now appears to rely on a similar double-buffer v-sync set-up to the PS4 game, locking its frame-rate to 20fps during these lulls in performance. This means that the reading on our graph is consistently lower on patch 1.07 as compared to 1.05, where it was free to waver between 20-30fps freely. On a matching route through the bog, frame-rate can be up to 8fps slower on the latest version of the game".

They continue: "That said, patch 1.07 comes with an exhaustive changelog that impacts more than just frame-rate, but overall image quality remains static. A cursory glance suggests the visual settings remain the same between the two, up to and including foliage and shadow LODs. Xbox One's curious dynamic resolution also shows no gains in holding a genuine 1080p during open-world travel or combat - it continues to upscale from a lower resolution".

It looks like there are some very exciting things to expect from DirectX 12, but Forza Motorsport 6 on the Xbox One will not be making use of Microsoft's next generation API.

Executive Producer on Forza 6, Ryan Cooper, said during a chat with Gaming Bolt: "Yes, we're really excited about DX12 and I think there is going to be a ton of potential with that. However we're not utilizing Dx12 in Forza Motorsport 6 on Xbox One. We're always looking to push the boundaries. Take our Forza Tech engine for example; that's an engine that has been in development for over 10 years and with every version of the game we're always trying to push the technology boundaries of what that engine can do. With the addition of night racing and racing in the rain and the ability to present that to players at 1080p/60 fps is really a technical achievement we're proud of".

Interestingly, Forza 6 will be running at 1080p 60FPS without DX12. But, with the Forza Tech engine being in development for 10 years now, Turn 10 Studios must know all of the optimizations required on the Xbox One to hit 1080p 60FPS, without DX12. We should see a DX12-powered version of Forza 6 in the future, but what could it deliver over the DX11-powered version? Prettier graphics? With 1080p 60FPS, we shouldn't see any increased performance, so it could just be eye candy.

There's a big reason why the remastered versions of Prototype and Prototype 2 launching on the Xbox One and PS4 didn't get much marketing, because it seems like the remastered versions of the game are piles of crap, that run worse than their previous generation counterparts.

Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has done some digging, discovering that the Xbox 360 version of Prototype and its 2012 sequel runs better than the new Xbox One version. The remastered versions of Prototype and Prototype 2 run at 1080p, but the in-game performance is quite subpar, especially in combat sequences, according to Eurogamer. The cutscenes even feature lowered performance, but the in-game performance reaches just 20-25 FPS, which a bunch of screen tearing, and in battles it gets even worse.

Eurogamer notes: "Worse still is the fact PS3 completely overshadows Xbox One in playability. Throughout our tests, Sony's last-gen machine runs with no tearing at all, and yet still manages to consistently best both Xbox machines in frame-rate, both old and new".

Something that first leaked onto Reddit and was later confirmed by Newegg, is that NVIDIA will soon be bundling Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with various GeForce video cards.

MGS V will replace Batman: Arkham Knight as NVIDIA's new GeForce promotional deal, and rightfully so, since Arkham Knight won't be back on the PC until later this year. Newegg support confirmed the deal, saying: "Hi everyone! We had a little slip up and posted this deal ahead of schedule. It is not currently available, but stay tuned, it will be soon!"

We should see NVIDIA bundle Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with its GeForce GTX 970, GTX 980, GTX 980 Ti and Titan X video cards.

We have now got a more precise release window for Star Marine, the first-person module of the ambitious Star Citizen. During an interview with Gamers Nexus, Star Citizen's mastermind Chris Roberts said that Star Marine would be out in "three, four, maybe 5 weeks" from now.

Roberts talked about the work required for the first-person module in deeper detail, which adds another dimension of personal combat and piloting space vessels, into a playable state. Roberts added: "We made a conscious decision very early to do it correctly. The proper third-person animations drive the first person. It makes things harder because you can't cheat in a lot of different ways".

It was the bigger quote about Star Marine has me excited, where Roberts explained: "The arms are [normally] right in front of the eyes. With Star Citizen, it's different than a normal FPS because it's essentially a whole world simulation. It's not just running around with a gun; it's interacting with stuff, flying ships, and interacting with people cooperatively. If someone is sitting next to you in the Constellation, you need to see what he's doing with the controls". He continued: "We don't separate between first and third person. It's all unified. The third-person animations drive the first-person; when you're looking around in first-person, you're looking through the eyes. [...] It makes things harder because you can't cheat in a lot of ways".

Project CARS has received yet another update, bringing the game to v2.50, delivering a bunch of improvements and fixes along the way. The developer has worked on the various game-stopping crashes, but there is a fair bit of fixing under the hood for Project CARS with this patch. The full changelog for v2.50:

Game Crashes

Pitting, tuning, setups

Hearing of professional athletes taking performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to get an edge on the competition isn't a shock anymore. However, you may be a bit more surprised to hear about PED use among eSports competitors.

Kory Friesen (a.k.a SEMPHIS), a former Cloud9 team member and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player, recently said the entire team used Adderall. Friesen made his comments after discussing in-game communication between Cloud9 teammates (via Mohan "Launders" Govindasamy):

"The ESL comms were kind of funny in my opinion. I don't even care. We were all on Adderall. I don't even give a f**k. It was pretty obvious if you listened to the comms. People can hate it or whatever."

The gaming world was turned upside down after it was announced Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, 55, died earlier this week. Nintendo senior managing director Genyo Takeda delivered the memorial address during Iwata's funeral, which was posted online by Polygon.

In the eulogy, Takeda spoke of Iwata's personal and professional successes, and vowed to support Iwata's legacy.

"As we gather here today for a joint funeral with Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Mr. Iwata's family, I would like to share my heartfelt condolences. President Iwata, allow me to call you Iwata-san, just as I always used to.

Now that Microsoft is just over a week away from the launch of Windows 10, the company has just enabled game streaming from Xbox One owners to Windows 10-powered PCs and tablets. Not only that, but the company is also delivering improved features to the Xbox app on Windows 10 in the coming days.

Anyone who owns an Xbox One and a Windows 10-powered PC or tablet can play all of their games from their console on their PC, all by going to your Xbox One and then 'Settings', then 'Preferences' and then 'Allow game streaming to other devices'. Once you've done this, it will install the latest version of the Xbox app on your PC or tablet.

Once you open the Xbox app on your Windows 10 device, go to Connect and then '+Add a device', and you'll then have to select your Xbox One console. Once you have a Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller hooked up to your PC, you'll be close to being connected to your Xbox One. From here, you'll need to go to 'Home' and then 'Recently Played' to select a Xbox One game, and then select 'Play from Console' to start your streaming session. Voila; you're not playing Xbox One games on your PC!

Fallout 4 has kept voice actors Brian Delaney and Courtenay Taylor quite busy, with more than 13,000 lines of dialogue recorded over the past two years. There is a large amount of hype and gamer excitement regarding Fallout 4, and it's great to see Bethesda apparently taking things seriously.

It's an interesting addition to Fallout 4, as it's going to be fully voiced, with gamers able to choose a male or female character. It has been a logistical process for Bethesda, but will offer unique playability for gamers. Here is what game director Todd Howard recently told the Telegraph:

"We were lucky to find two great voice actors. And it's interesting because she may read things or act things differently than he does. So scenes play out differently depending on whether you are playing the game as male or female."

Explained as having an "odd mixture of damage, control and mobility" by Curse in a spotlight video, the Skeleton King is shaping up to be a formidable force on Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm battlefield.

Set as a warrior and team tank, this extra-tall hero comes with a trait which enables him to still partially function even after death, a 'skeletal swing' which deals damage and slows enemies, 'Drain Hope' which serves to drain a foe's hit points over a four second period and 'Wraith Walk' which enables you to travel as a ghost for a short time, allowing you to teleport to it before the time runs out - similar to an ability as seen in Sylvannas. Finally, his first ultimate allows you to create a medium-range barrier in order to lock all friends and foe within for a few seconds.

The other ultimate on offer is named 'March of the Black King' and puts your Leoric on a rampage, marching forward and swinging his weapon. If these abilities interest you, Heroes of the Storm is a free to play multiplayer online battle arena game and can be found here.

Ever wondered how some professional gamers keep their cool for so long at live events? Adderall is the answer, according to Kory 'SEMPHIS' Friesen (Nihilum and CLG Red coach) in a recent interview with Mohan 'Launders' Govindasamy at ESWC 2015.

The topic came about when Friesen was asked about a match and the crazy communications that went down during this performance. Alongside telling the interviewer that he doesn't "even care," Friesen went on to explain that "We were all on Adderall. I don't even give a fuck. It was pretty obvious if you listened to the comms. People can hate it or whatever."

Said to help those with ADHD focus, admitting to Adderall use may land players in hot water with the tournament organizer, ESL. With a harsh stance on drugs, ESL's rules read: "To play a match, be it online or offline, under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or other performance enhancers is strictly prohibited, and may be punished with exclusion from the ESL One."

The development of Dead Island 2 looks like it has been bitten by a zombie, with Deep Silver saying that it has parted ways with the developer behind the game, Yager.

In a statement, a representative of Deep Silver said: "With Dead Island 2, Deep Silver has always been dedicated to delivering the sequel that Dead Island fans deserve. After careful consideration, today we announce the decision to part ways with development partner Yager". As for what's happening with Dead Island 2, Deep Silver said that it promises to "continue working towards bringing our vision of Dead Island 2 to life". The studio finished by saying that they "will share further information at a later stage".

We should hopefully hear more about Dead Island 2 in the near future.

We only just reported that Warner Bros was changing its internal review policies after the mess that is Batman: Arkham Knight on PC, but now we're seeing that Rocksteady isn't releasing the updated version of Arkham Knight on the PC until fall 2015 - so, September - December, 2015.

Batman: Arkham Knight's DLC on the PC will be delayed, with WB Games saying: "Our continued focus on getting the right PC fixes in place for the main game has had an impact on the development of all DLC content for the PC version of the game. This means that the Batman: Arkham Knight - Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC will not be available on July 14th for those who are currently playing the PC version of the game. We apologize for the delay and only want to make sure that any content that we offer is up to the standards that PC players expect".

The company apologized to its fans in a post, where it said: "Again, we would like to apologize to you, the fans, and let you know that we are taking full responsibility for releasing a product that did not meet our quality standards, which is why we suspended sales of the game as soon as we understood the issues". As for future releases, we should hopefully not have to worry, with WB Games adding: "We can also assure you that because of this latest launch, we are modifying the internal review process for all of our games. For those who are waiting for the updated version of the game on PC, please know that we are working on this every day. For the players who are continuing to play Batman: Arkham Knight on PC, fixes are continually being made to the game as we await the final updated version".

With Ubisoft learning from its Watch Dogs crap at E3 a few years ago, the company is now showing games off at events on their target machines. But which platform are the sales being made on? The PS4 and PC!

According to Ubisoft's own numbers, for the company's fiscal year, which ended on June 30 - the PS4 makes up 27%, while the PC chews up 23%. The Xbox One lags behind with 11%, while the Wii and Wii U only make up 3% of Ubisoft's sales. This is a big swing in the last year, with the fiscal 2014 numbers showing that the PC only made up 14%.

Considering Ubisoft said a few years ago now that the piracy rate on the PC was somewhere in the vicinity of 93-95%, the sales of their games on PC are only getting stronger. And that's with worse PC ports in the last few years, following the mess that was Watch Dogs, oh and Assassin's Creed, oh and Far Cry 4, and so many more games that have been not as good as they should've been, on the most powerful platform.

With Sony winning the current-gen console race in terms of both performance and sales of the PlayStation 4, Microsoft reportedly has a trick up its sleeve to boost performance on the Xbox One later this year, according to the developer behind The Technomancer, Spiders.

Spiders' CEO, Jehanne Rousseau, a French game studio, said that Microsoft will soon be boosting the CPU performance on the Xbox One, something that will help developers meet their targeted performance goals. When GamingBolt talked to Spiders' CEO recently, Rousseau explained how the studio will squeeze additional performance out of the Xbox One for their upcoming Mars-based, post-apocalyptic RPG, The Technomancer.

Rousseau said: "We are not using it yet but this is only a matter of time! This is very interesting for us to have access to this processor. We will use it to do a part of our computations to smooth the frame rate. In fact we designed our new engine to be very flexible about the number of processors. With mainly in mind the numerous PC designs, but this will also be useful for this 7th processor".

We've seen Mario in all of his glory on Unreal Engine 4 not too long ago, but now the infamous plumber who never seems to be a plumber, he's now appearing in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4-powered tech demo 'A Boy And His Kite'.

The tech demo runs beautifully well, and while Mario seems to be running at a very weird speed, this is just a tech demo with a bit of modding applied. Still, the beauty of Unreal Engine 4 is shown off incredibly well in this demo, but I now just want to play an Unreal Engine 4-powered version of Mario, dammit.