Gaming - Page 1782

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.