Gaming - Page 1612

One thing I've always loved about Dragon Age and Mass Effect games is skill combos. The ability to combine certain skills in a potent concoction of chaos makes me feel like a mad scientist, and nothing is more satisfying than experimenting with different abilities. Mass Effect: Andromeda is carrying the torch forward with a newly evolved combo system that will make us all into crazy skill-brewers.

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Apparently Nintendo Switch digital game purchases can't be shared across multiple systems, hinting the same Nintendo Account can't be active on multiple Switch consoles.

Despite Nintendo making strides by finally linking eShop purchases to online Nintendo Accounts instead of hardware, thereby not forcing gamers to rebuy games they already own on different platforms, Nintendo Switch has a rather conventional approach to game sharing: locking digital game ownership licenses to the account it was purchased on.

This tidbit was uncovered in a recent YouTube video, where one curious parent gamer asked:

343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross confirms that all future Halo FPS games will have split-screen.

"We've done a lot of learning from when we fell down, like with multiplayer in MCC, or when we didn't put split-screen in Halo 5. I think it's incredibly painful for the community and for us and I think it erodes trust with the community. A lot of learning from that and I would say that any FPS going forward we will always have split-screen in," Ross said during the DICE 2017 Summit.

Now that everyone can fire up PSN or Xbox LIVE for their multiplayer needs, split-screen FPS gaming is pretty much dead. But Halo has always been about playing with friends, and removing split-screen co-op or multiplayer is pretty much a slap in the face to fans--not that the entire game itself isn't a slap to the face, microtransactions, horrible story, and awful AI mechanics and all.

Today Capcom announced that Dead Rising 4 will shamble over to Steam and Windows 7 PCs on March 14, 2017.

Dead Rising 4 is currently locked into an exclusivity deal with Microsoft, and the game is only available on Windows 10 PC's via the Windows Store and Xbox One consoles. This deal will end in March about 14 weeks after the game's initial release, allowing Steam gamers will finally be able to buy into Capcom Vancouver's re-imagining of the series.

Although Capcom reported "firm" Dead Rising 4 sales on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, it's only natural for these exclusivity deals to be timed. These companies want to maximize profits as much as possible and that means multi-platform releases (just don't expect it to ever come to PS4). Given Dead Rising 4's critical reception as the "anti-Dead Rising" game I'm wondering just how many copies the game will sell on Steam without sales or discounts. We also have the PC system specs required for Dead Rising 4 below.

This year's Call of Duty game won't take place in space; it'll be a more grounded, traditional and gritty foray into the heart of the franchise and return players back into the mud and blood firefights that made the series popular during its early days. In short, Sledgehammer Games will resurrect Call of Duty to its former glory--and we have strong evidence that the game will take place during the Vietnam War.

Sledgehammer Games studio head Glen Schofield is extremely excited about Call of Duty 2017, and further teases boots on the ground action: "There's nothing I can say about the game except there are boots and ground and I guess some roots. I hope I can talk soon or I may implode," Schofield said on Twitter.

In fact, the dev says this is the studio's best work yet and gamers will go absolutely nuts when it's revealed: "Nothing to worry about. Wait until we reveal. You're gonna go nuts. Our best yet dude! Man, I'm so psyched to show it...someday."

Nintendo today confirmed that a day one update is required to access the eShop on the Nintendo Switch console.

When the Switch hybrid-handheld console launches on March 3, it won't be able to actually download games on the eShop without an update. Nintendo affirms these system updates are highly optimized and un-intrusive, allowing users to download system firmware updates in the background while playing games.

"To access Nintendo eShop, a system update that will be available on launch day is required. The system update downloads in the background, is designed to install quickly and doesn't disrupt gameplay," the Japanese console-maker revealed in a recent press release.

Nintendo today confirmed some very disappointing news: the Switch won't have any Virtual Console support when it launches on March 3.

"Virtual Console games will not be available on Nintendo Switch at launch. We will share more information in the future," Nintendo confirmed in a recent press release.

Instead of Virtual Console games, the Switch will have three indie games (aka Nindies) available on the eShop, along with the previously announced retail launch games:

Nintendo officially unboxing their fresh console-handheld hybrid reminds us of one thing: the system launches in nine days. It's really happening!

If you've been paying close attention to our Nintendo Switch coverage you'll realize the unboxing doesn't really tell us anything new. But it's still interesting to see the device out in the wild, and we do get to see the tablet and the JoyCons sized up in two different handsizes, giving use perspective on the actual size of the system itself.

Remember that the Nintendo Switch doesn't come with any games or actual game software pre-loaded onto it, so the $299 price just gets you the system by itself. The Switch comes with 25.9GB of usable storage memory, two JoyCon controllers, JoyCon straps, a JoyCon Grip that doesn't charge the JoyCons, the Switch tablet "console," a dock that's required for TV Mode play, an HDMI cord, and an AC adapter for charging the Switch on-the-go and supplying power to the dock.

Up until now Square Enix and PlatinumGames have been pretty cagey about NieR: Automata's PC release. All mention of the PC port was scrubbed from multiple official game sites, leading many to question a delay or cancellation. Now we can confirm the PC port is indeed coming, and we know the reason behind the silence: the PS4 may have timed exclusivity.

In a recent gameplay video, Square Enix accidentally revealed that NieR: Automata's PC version will launch on March 10, 2017 on Steam. The game will launch first on PS4 and then three days later on PC. Shortly after the video went up, Square Enix yanked it and replaced it a revised video that scrubs out any mention of the PC port. See a side-by-side below.

So what's going on here? It appears Square Enix and PlatinumGames signed a deal with Sony to not discuss the PC port's release date until after the game has shipped on PS4. I long thought that this was a marketing deal, especially since scrubbing any mention of a competing platform from a site just reeks of an exclusivity deal.

The Nintendo Switch will launch with Dragon Quest Heroes I & II in Japan, and if you want to play it digitally you'll have to invest in expandable Micro SD cards: the game is literally too big to fit on the system's onboard storage.

Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid has a paltry 32GB of onboard NAND flash memory, which converts to 29.8GB, and 4GB of that is taken up by the Switch's OS. This leaves gamers with 25.9GB of memory that's actually available for game downloads, saves, screenshots and other content.

Although most Switch games are small, if you plan to download your games digitally you'll want to make use of the Switch's supporting up to 2TB Micro SDXC cards and pick up some expandable memory.