Gaming - Page 1883

It had been rumored for some time that the release date for Rise of the Tomb Raider on PC was imminent, but we finally have word from Square Enix that we'll see Lara Croft return to the PC on January 28th 2016.

What's new for the PC version of this former timed-exclusive? Updated graphics that'll support resolutions up to 4K and the inclusion of "many" different new features. The hope is that the updated TressFX used by Square Enix (an offshoot of TressFX modified by an internal Square Enix team) is included for even more flowing hair effects.

You'll be able to find Rise of the Tomb Raider on Steam, Amazon or through the Square Enix e-store or your favorite retailer. A Collector's Edition, which includes the Digital Deluxe version of the game, a 12-inch Lara Croft statue, replicas of Lara's journal and jade necklace, and a steel case, will also be available from the Square Enix e-store for $149.99.

The voice actress behind Lin, a character from Xenoblade Chronicles X that has decidedly different outfits in the Japanese version of the game compared to the western version, has given her thoughts about the changes that have been made to her character. She speaks out in favor of them and refers to them as localisations as opposed to outright censorship.

The actress, Cassandra Lee Morris, enjoyed her time that she spent recording the lines for the western release. There was a lot of secrecy surrounding the project due to how large it was. She also thinks that Lin is a great role-model for teenage girls due to the strength of character she displays and her wide swathe of abilities. But of course there's that elephant in the room that seems to spark a little controversy.

Morris doesn't see it as censoring anything, just localizing the content for different markets. There's definitely a cultural difference between Japan and the west that make certain things appropriate in one area, and not in another. Does that mean that the west is less open-minded and we need to have things censored? That's perhaps a question of semantics, but the differences in comfort levels do exist.

The rumor mill has pushed out yet another report; this time focused on Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise. According to the rumor, the next AC game is codenamed "Empire, it will skip 2016 and instead release in 2017, and it'll take place in Egypt.

According to the reports, a dev who's working closely with the project recently posted some interesting tidbits on 4Chan:

"[It'll take place in] Egypt. There won't be an AC in 2016. You may screencap this and refer to it when nothing is shown in E3 2016. You'll have to wait until 2017 for it. The reason: It will be a complete revamp of the series. The game is going for a Witcher feel, with player progression, freeform combat system. Horse is back, and boats too. It's made by the Black Flag team. You play as a slave or ex-slave. He looks a lot like Altair, but with a darker skin. He is not edgy, from my understanding. He's a nobody that barely speaks. The biggest difference about this one is how colorful it looks. Like holy fuck, blue skies, lush vegetations and desert sequences where you get mirage and shit. Also, you have a pet eagle you can control."

A new rumor suggests that Ubisoft will release a sequel to 2014's bullshot disappointment, Watchdogs, later this year.

According to reports from Kotaku, Ubisoft's annual Assassin's Creed franchise will skip 2016 with a new release in 2017 instead, leaving room for another game to come in and pick up the slack.

If rumors can be believed, that game will be Watch Dogs 2, which will reportedly take place in San Francisco and release in Fall 2016. Watch Dogs 2 will likely see a cross-platform release across PS4, Xbox One and PC, but let's hope Ubisoft has learned its lesson and won't deliver any bullshots at E3 2016.

Something rather exciting might be happening with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise this year. A new game could be in development, if certain now deleted Facebook posts are to be believed.

A band that has worked closely with Sonic the Hedgehog and have provided music for some of the later games, Crush 40, posted on Facebook that "We are planning a few performances to commemorate the anniversary of Sonic," but that wasn't the exciting part. They continued "We might participate in writing new songs for the anniversary game...stay tuned." indicating the existence of a new anniversary game. The post was promptly deleted, though not before we were able to see it. Even better is the graphic released by Sega commemorating the occasion, shown above.

It doesn't necessarily mean an entirely new game is being commissioned, but it might point towards something else. Whether that be a web-based game, a new mobile game or something on an even smaller scale. The formula for a successful Sonic the Hedgehog game seems to be directly tied to the older games. The newer more free-roaming and 3D titles were never quite as accepted, though they didn't do that poorly either. Our bet is on a remake of the original, given the logo that's come out.

The first DLC for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, as part season one or Operation Black Ice, has been delayed for season pass holders until February 2nd, a slight delay if anything.

Originally the new content, which includes new operators from the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 Counter-Terrorism unit, a new map and some new weapon skins, was originally planned for release on January 26th for those that have purchased a season pass.

Ubisoft confirmed the slight delay on Twitter while answering a question from a fan, and they reiterated that season pass holders merely have early access to the new content, and everything will be available for free for all players of the game. If you're a PC gamer, we highly recommend downloading the Ultra HD texture pack while waiting for the DLC to arrive.

A blind gamer has done something rather remarkable, proving that no disability can stand in the way of enjoying the world of gaming. He was able to complete The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time after five years, no easy feat.

Terry Garrett's journey started nearly five years ago in 2011 when he started a YouTube channel to show that being blind doesn't stop a person from playing video games, regardless of how open-world they might be. And since that time he's been making steady progress by using sound as a means to navigate and know where things are in the world.

Garrett plays an emulated version of The Ocarina of Time so that he can take advantage his emulators ability to save game states for quick trial and error in particularly troubling spots. To navigate the world he places his speakers directly in front of himself so that he can more easily hear the auditory cues from the in-game world. This way he can locate enemies, Links fairy friend Navi and can even find his way by listening for his weapon striking a nearby wall.

Far Cry Primal is going to feature a language you've probably never heard of in the game, but the best part is that it's going to be based off a real proto-European language dating back to around the Stone Age.

The developers actually went and sought out linguists who specialize in languages from around the stone-age, or proto-European languages. But oddly, what was initially presented to them was seen as too "modern" for the setting they were going for, even though the language likely actually represented spoken words from the time-period they're portraying.

The creative director, Jean-Christophe Guyot, went back to the linguistic experts and asked them to attempt to devolve the language in a logical manner so that it could more easily align with with the overall creative vision they wanted to share with Far Cry Primal. To them, they wanted something even more primitive than the languages spoken during that time-period portrayed.

Platinum Games's heart is heavy with the news that they're going to delay the release of Scalebound until 2017. They want to get it right, and with a game of this size and scale, that means they need more development time.

A statement on the Platinum Games website from the Scalebound team reads that "In order to deliver on our ambitious vision and ensure that Scalebound lives up to expectations, we will be launching the game in 2017." it goes on saying that "This will give us the time needed to bring to life all the innovative features and thrilling gameplay experiences that we have planned." It certainly can't be an easy decision to make, but with so many games from 2015 having had the appearance of being unfinished, Scalebound and the amount of ingenuity they want to bring to gaming will have to wait until it's done right. Though we are always skeptical, more time to perfect things from good companies generally results in awesome things.

They also say that there will be plenty more to share in the upcoming year, so that we won't be completely in the dark during these longer days of development. We're particularly excited to see more specifics with the way you interact with your friend and companion, not to mention seeing more gameplay mechanics throughout the year.

Even more records are being broken now. Garry's Mod, the highly addictive physics sandbox has sold over 10 million copies since it debuted as a standalone game in November of 2006, breaking that mark just over the New Year holiday.

And who would have thought that such a modification could have become what has today? What was once a simple free mod that let you play with the assets in Half-Life has turned into a massively entertaining game in it's own right. According to Garry Newman, the creator of this fine addition, 4 million copies were sold just last year alone.

And it's likely not going to stop there as more and more fans are created due to the weird and wacky creations that you can find all over YouTube. What the future holds for Garry Newman and if he has plans to expand his masterpiece into more franchises would be delightful, but unknown. I'm sure there's plenty of nostalgia from gamers of all ages with his mod. Anyone have any creations they'd like to share?