Gaming - Page 1105

The Uncharted series is a staple of gaming on the PlayStation, but did you know that around 80% of PS4 owners haven't played an Uncharted game? That's a number that is too high for Naughty Dog.

During an interview with MCVUK, Naughty Dog's Community Strategist Eric Monacelli talked about the upcoming Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, where he said: "We did a lot of research and discovered that about 80 per cent of the people that own a PS4 have never played Uncharted, period. That was one of the reasons why we thought remastering it would be a good idea". He added: "The other reason is we decided we wanted to do it; especially when we got The Last of Us Remastered done, we thought 'Oh man, this would be cool if we could go back'".

Considering the success behind The Last of Us, the hints of Naughty Dog's next big project could be surprising. Monacelli teased: "We tend to work on one game at a time. Uncharted 4 is what everybody's working on. After that, we're going to be working on Uncharted 4 DLC. Beyond that, there's been tons of ideas bandied around - everybody knows the rumour about The Last of Us 2. There could potentially be - who knows? We could go back to Jak and Daxter 4 if it seems right, or there could be something else in the future on our horizon. We tend to work with an idea always on the board and then once we have time to devote the right amount of attention to it, then we'll tackle it".

Sony's PlayStation 4 remains triumphant over this generation of consoles, with its long-standing sales streaks only intermittently broken up by the Xbox One. Faced with the PS4's momentum and the system's new price drop to $350, Xbox boss Phil Spencer doubts whether or not Microsoft's Xbox One can even catch up--not to mention overtake--to Sony's console.

At this year's GeekWire Summit, Phil Spencer was asked if he thinks the Xbox One can beat the PS4. "You know, I don't know," Phil Spencer answered with candor. "In terms of the length of the generation, [Sony] has a huge lead over us and they have a good product. [But] I love the content and the games line-up that we have. I'll say we're not motivated by beating Sony. We're motivated by satisfying our current customers and gaining as many customers as we can."

The Xbox One's disastrous E3 announcement seriously harmed the trust that gamers had in the company, and thus pushed them towards the PlayStation 4. Spencer went on to chronicle how the original Xbox One announcement was a catastrophe for the company and how he came in to pick up the pieces.

Studio Wildcard, the developer behind ARK: Survival Evolved has come out talking about a new update promised for next week, where they said: "Hello Survivors, It's been a long week here at Studio Wildcard as the programming team has been grinding to get the DX12 version ready for release".

They continued: "It runs, it looks good, but unfortunately we came across some driver issues that we can't entirely tackle ourselves :(. We've reached out to both NVIDIA and AMD and will be working with them to get it resolved as soon as possible! Once that's tackled, we'll be needing to do more solid testing across a range of hardware with the new fixes. Sadly, we're gonna have to delay its release until some day next week in order to be satisfied with it. It's disappointing to us too and we're sorry for the delay, really thought we'd have it nailed today but we wouldn't want to release ARK DX12 without the care it still needs at this point. Hang in there, and when it's ready for public consumption, it should be worth the wait!"

SO it looks like the DX12 version of the game will be delayed for a while, with Studio Wildcard adding: "After we found out it was heavily dependent on drivers and the hardware vendors progress we slowed ours a bit. It's still being worked on, but we have no plans on releasing it until it at least runs better than the DX11 version. And that is a hard thing to generate an ETA for".

The Witcher 3 has just been updated, dragging it up to v1.10 with the patch weighing in at up to 15GB on the consoles and between 6-15GB on the PC. But it's the changelog that has us surprised, with CD Projekt Red including an insane 13-page, five-part changelog.

You can check out the elaborate changelog on Steam, with the studio saying there are over 300 improvements in the v1.10 patch. As for the improvements, there are a lot of them, so we're not going to paste them all here. However, we will include just a handful:

Most gamers have their attention placed directly into Star Wars Battlefront right now, but there's a huge Xbox One exclusive first-person shooter launching later this month; Halo 5: Guardians. Halo 5 has been reported to be running at a 'dynamic resolution' of 1080p (meaning it will scale up and down to 1080p depending on the on-screen action) at 60FPS.

343 Industries and Microsoft have announced that Halo 5 has gone gold, meaning that 343 Industries' work on the game is now finished - most likely for now, with a huge day-one patch to come in my opinion. The developer will continue to work on Halo 5, but it has some of its studio shifted over into the development of Halo 6 already.

Halo 5 producer Josh Holmes explains: "Of course launch is just the beginning. Our dedicated live team will be focused on supporting the game with monthly releases of new content and experiences". When it comes to the length of the single-player campaign, we can expect the 15-mission campaign to take somewhere between 8 and 12 hours to complete. Of course, Halo 5 is going to be huge on the multiplayer front, so expect all of the carnage to take place there.

Although next-gen consoles can use a smartphone as an external controller, sometimes its nice to have a physical remote on hand. To meet this need, Sony has announced that the PlayStation 4's media remote will release later this month and will be compatible with a number of apps and content.

Sony's new Universal Media Remote retails for $30 and can control up to four different devices including a PS4 console, a TV, a set-top cable box and an audio system via Bluetooth connectivity. It also fully emulates a DualShock 4 controller and comes with the four iconic face buttons, a PS button, and even a Share and Options button for easy screenshots.

What's more is that the remote fits perfectly with Sony's new PlayStation Vue television service, which aims to break cable dependence while making the PS4 into an all-in-one type media center. PS Vue streams live TV broadcasts over a PS4 console via the cloud and includes a huge smattering of networks including ShowTime, FOX, CBS, AMC, Nickelodeon, SyFy, TBS, USA and many more.

With little more than a month away from its release, Bethesda has just announced the minimum and recommended specs for Fallout 4, revealing what kind of rig you'll need to play the game in all of its post-apocalyptic glory.

Minimum

Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, Sony has officially dropped the PlayStation 4's price tag to $350 in an effort to continue its reign of console dominance.

The Japanese console-maker announced the news in an update on the PlayStation Blog, where it reveals that the new permanent $350 price will take effect on October 9 in the United States and Canada. Sony also revealed a number of new bundles for the holidays, but the $350 flavors will come with the standard 500GB HDD.

"If you haven't made the jump yet, and you're starting early on your holiday wish list, I have good news - we're dropping the price of the PlayStation 4 system in the U.S. and Canada," Sony said in the update. "Starting tomorrow, October 9, you'll be able to pick up PS4 starting at the new price of $349.99 USD / $429.99 CAD (MSRP)."

While you can buy in-game insurance for your base in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Crystal Dynamics doesn't want to be alone in the microtransaction game, announcing a bunch of digital gear for its upcoming Xbox One timed exclusive, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Rise of the Tomb Raider will feature 'Expedition Cards' that allow players to "craft missions and challenge your friends to reach the top of the leaderboards" according to Crystal Dynamics' Creative Director, Noah Hughes. Hughes continued: "In Rise of the Tomb Raider, you'll earn credits by completing challenges and exploring the world. These credits can be used to purchase Expedition Card packs. When used, Expedition Cards become modifiers in game modes outside of the single player campaign. Some Cards are humorous, such as Big Head Mode, while others can increase the challenge or give you special advantages".

"There are two types of Expedition Cards: Foil and Common. A Foil Card will give Lara the strongest or strangest variations and can be used as many times as you wish. A Common Card is only used once, and you'll need to earn more credits to buy it back", Hughes continued. He added: "Expedition Cards offer "hundreds" of ways to customize Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hughes said. "You can also set up challenges for your friends to see if they can beat your scores with the same card setup. We'll have about 300 cards available at launch, and more will be added in the weeks that follow".

Microtransactions, for the most part, are a huge cash grab from developers - but they're big business these days. With the huge issues Konami is seeing in the press these days, you'd think they'd want to stay out of trouble, right? Wrong.

With the latest update to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, gamers can now purchase in-game insurance that will cover their Forward Operating Base (FOB). The insurance covers your FOB in case someone comes in and blows your base up while you're away from the game - like, you know, working or sleeping. The update including the insurance for your FOB is explained:

Your FOBs are always at risk of coming under attack. Now, you can rest easy with FOB insurance (paid service). If you sign up for insurance, then during the insurance period you will be compensated for any materials and staff lost due to rival infiltrations.

Can you believe that the Star Wars Battlefront beta is here? Now that it is, EA has shared the minimum and recommended PC requirements for the DICE-made first-person shooter.

Minimum PC System Requirements

OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or later

Even if you don't own Bungie's new expansion-entwined flavor of Destiny, the game might pop up on your PlayStation 4 UI anyway and prompt you to download it.

Non-Destiny PS4 gamers spotted this strange occurrence and reported it on NeoGAF, where it was revealed to be Sony's new "curated content" recommendation system that automatically adds suggestions based on your previously downloaded games. So if you happen to see it don't think you just got a free copy of the game or anything--when you activate the pane you'll be taken right to Destiny's listing on the PlayStation Store.

The feature can be pretty annoying, but you can simply disable it by ticking off "featured content" in the Automatic Download Settings pane. Here's what Sony has to say about the feature: "The PS4 system has the ability to learn about your preferences. It will learn your likes and dislikes, allowing you to discover content pre-loaded and ready to go on your console in your favorite game genres or by your favorite creators."

Destiny's new The Taken King expansion has a nice offering of hidden secrets, but there's one puzzle that even Master Rahool can't solve: the mystery surrounding the ultra-rare Sleeper Simulant exotic fusion rifle. Destiny fans have been chasing the elusive gun for weeks, dedicating serious time and effort in the Destiny Reddit...and it looks like they've unlocked another clue.

The Sleeper Simulant is one of the most powerful guns in the game, but the dynamic quest on how to actually attain it has been shrouded in mystery. Little by little Destiny fans across the globe have chipped in to solve the mystery, leading to a galactic treasure hunt that's brought the community closer together. Gamers have even delved into Destiny's source code looking for answers.

Now another clue has been spotted, but the search continues. According to a new Reddit thread, a Guardian was able to trigger a new quest called "The First Firewall" on Earth's Cosmodrome region. This mission is just the first in a line of quests that is believed to end with the Sleeper Simulant as a reward.

Now that CD Projekt Red is done with The Witcher 3, the studio is pumping more resources into Cyberpunk 2077, its upcoming sci-fi RPG. The developer is now beginning to talk more about Cyberpunk 2077, teasing that it's going to be absolutely huge.

Visual Effects Artist Jose Teixeira talked with MCV recently, where he said: "Cyberpunk is far bigger than anything else that CD Projekt Red has done before. Far, far bigger. We're really stepping into the unknown in terms of complexity and size and problems we encounter". He continued, saying that the scope of The Witcher 3 has really helped the studio with the open world of Cyberpunk 2077.

Teixeira added: "The Witcher helped Cyberpunk quite a bit, because the game got so big and so complex that it really taught us. We really didn't know what was going to happen. If anything, working on The Witcher 3 was a really good and often brutal learning experience. Cyberpunk is going to benefit greatly from it. I can almost guarantee it. I have a lot of things that I want to change and do better the next time around, and I can guarantee that almost everyone in that studio has something that they go 'I did this this time, next time I can do it differently, I can do it better'".

One of the biggest, if not the biggest Xbox One games coming out this year will feature 4-player cooperative mode. 343 Industries, the developer behind Halo 5: Guardians, has said that the 4-player cooperative mode for the single-player side of the game can be controlled by other gamers, or by AI.

343 Industries says that it wanted to tell a "much more sociable" story, with the developer continuing: "We were winding down on Halo 4 and thinking about moving to a new console, and we had already planned some of the technological upgrades that we wanted to make to the engine. And early on we started talking about the types of stories that we wanted to tell and the experiences that we wanted to create, and we really wanted to focus on a much more sociable experience, especially in our campaign".

While cooperative play isn't new to Halo, the studio acknowledges that past Halo games didn't really do it well, in terms of gameplay and story. Executive Producer on the game, Josh Holmes, added: "I think co-op has always been a big part of Halo's campaign, but in the past it's sort of been treated as a completely separate experience, where you just have three other clones of the Master Chief running side by side. The narrative breaks down. One of the big creative goals that we had for Halo 5 was to bring that into focus and support it through the story".

Ubisoft has finally unveiled the specifics around yesterday's mysterious teaser, and it really is a Far Cry caveman survival sim...well sort of.

The game is officially called Far Cry Primal and takes place during the Stone Age era where giant mastodons and saber-toothed tigers roamed open expanses. Players will take the role of Takkar, a grizzled hunter that happens to be the last survivor of his clan. The goal of the game is to simply survive--but in a world where everything has teeth the size of your leg, that's easier said than done.

The reveal trailer shows off spears, bows and clubs as the major weapons, taking players back to the barebone basics of a cruel prehistoric world. "This isn't the Stone Age you thought you knew. This is the Stone Age with irreverence and mayhem. This is the Stone Age by Far Cry," Ubisoft says.

If you're wondering about the star-studded commentary line up for Major League Gaming's (MLG) 2015 world finals, wait no more! As announced in a recently issued press release, big names such as Toby "Tobiwan" Dawson, Jacob "Maelk" Toft-Andersen, Austin "Capitalist" Walsh, Soe Gschwind and more are set to take the stage.

Alongside these Dota 2 commentators are over 15 personalities spread across the other gaming titles, being: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U & Melee and SMITE. With $500,000 of cash on the line in New Orleans, Louisiana, this tournament is set to commence on October 16 and run for three days in total.

If you're interested in more information on the event head here, check out the full commentary list here and buy tickets here.

Valve is probably working on Half-Life 3, but until we get an announcement, all we can do is dream. But there are things you can do to make the time go by as a Half-Life fan, such as checking out the Unreal Engine 4-powered Half-Life 2 environment project by Polycount member 'PogoP'.

The screenshots alone do it justice, with PogoP explaining: "Just so you know, I do plan to release this scene online for people to play around with. I'm not going to release it just yet, as I would really like to get it working with Oculus Rift before I do.. So you can run around with virtual reality. Not entirely sure if its going to work, but I'll give it a good go!"

Bungie has announced that Destiny will get microtransactions starting October 13, complete with its own in-game currency called Silver.

These microtransactions will be cosmetic rather than the pay-to-win schemes, Bungie affirms. A new NPC will arrive in the Tower and players will be able to exchange Silver for their choice of 18 different new emotes. Silver can be purchased for money, but we still don't know the exact exchange rates.

Reports indicate that this new cosmetic microtransaction model is how Bungie will fund Destiny's further development, and will release free DLC updates once a month throughout Fall 2016.

One of the most attractive selling points on the is that its huge assortment of buttons are infinitely customizable, adding in a touch of the kind of macro peripherals we see at esports tournaments. But now it looks like custom button mapping is coming to all Xbox One controllers after all.

Xbox exec Mike Ybarra--the Microsoft vet who's responsible for helping developing OneCore, Xbox One's custom Windows 10 kernal--innocuously broke the news in a response to a fan query on Twitter.

Ultimately it looks like Xbox One fans aren't too happy about having to shell out $150 for a function they believe should be stock. So far Microsoft has done a splendid job using fan feedback to shape the future of the Xbox brand, and this is no different. While there's no timeline other than the maddeningly vague "soon", I'm guessing it'll be introduced with the Xbox One's huge Windows 10 update in November.