Gaming - Page 444

The new Castlevania Advance Collection just released on Switch for a cool $20, offering tremendous value for the price.

For a company that hasn't released a new mainline game in a while, Konami is being pretty reasonable with pricing of its re-releases. The new Castlevania Advance Collection has a pretty decent $19.99 price tag on Switch and includes the awesome old-school Game Boy Advance side-scrollers (Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow) in one emulated package, complete with quality of life improvements like save states, regional ROM selection, and even extras like an interactive database of Castlevania content.

The collection also casually includes Castlevania Dracula X as a bonus game, which is one of the best in the series (that end Dracula boss fight is tough as nails so be prepared to use the save states). Just one of these retro games commands astronomical prices on eBay (Aria of Sorrow is going for over $160 as a single GBA cart) so this is a great way to experience some must-play on-the-go classics.

Microsoft's first-party studio The Initiative is getting help from Crystal Dynamics on its new Perfect Dark game.

Tomb Raider and Marvel's Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics is co-developing Microsoft's new Perfect Dark FPS, which is slated to releases as an Xbox Series X exclusive in the coming years.

"Perfect Dark update! We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation," The Initiative said on Twitter.

NVIDIA has just added another 12 titles to its cloud gaming service GeForce NOW, which includes Beyond Contact, World War Z: Aftermath, and more.

The 12 new games added to GeForce NOW include some games that literally just dropped on September 21, with some popular games added to GFN. GeForce NOW has just added their 40th game from developers Team 17, too.

Team 17 head of sales, Harley Homewood, explains: "GeForce NOW lets us share our passion for games as well as our independent spirit with more players than ever. Players can experience our diverse collection of games, streaming on GeForce NOW, even across their low-powered devices with the power of a full gaming rig".

Nintendo today announced Nintendo Switch Online Plus Expansion Pack, a new higher-cost premium membership tier that adds Nintendo 64 and Genesis games (yes, really).

Nintendo 64 games are officially coming to Switch Online, but you'll have to pay more to access them. The new Switch Online subscription tier is set to launch in late October and includes NES and SNES games from the base subscription. No pricing has been announced but it will cost more than the current $3.99 a month NSO. Nine Nintendo 64 games will be available at launch: Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Yoshi's Story, Zelda Ocarina of Time, WinBack, Mario Tennis, Dr. Mario 64, and Sin and Punishment.

In a world-colliding announcement, SEGA Genesis games will also be included in the new higher-priced Switch Online tier. Fan favorites like Sonic 2, Castlevania Bloodlines, Gunstar Heroes, Streets of Rage, and Contra Hard Corps. are offered on the Genesis emulator.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is enjoying its extended open beta right now, but Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War is about to enjoy Season 6 and its huge launch in October, the month before Vanguard launches.

We should expect to see Call of Duty Season 6 drop somewhere around October 7, with Season 6 most likely being the last slab of content for Black Ops Cold War since Vanguard launches on November 5. Warzone will see the injection of WWII-based settings, weapons, and more -- including a new Warzone Pacific map later this year.

Warzone just enjoyed its Hardcore mode "Iron Trials 84" mode, but the new Season 6 update will include the usual tweaks to the battle royale mode. Season 5 added new modes, operators, weapons, and more. -- so we should expect Season 6 to continue that with new weapons, a new battle pass (like every other season) and many cross-over bits with Vanguard.

Blizzard is giving away an ultra-demonic custom Xbox Series X to celebrate Diablo 2 Resurrected's incoming release.

After 20 years, Diablo 2 is coming back. D2 Resurrected launches tomorrow on PC, consoles, and Switch, and Blizzard has been celebrating with some awesome giveaways. The first phase included two custom high-end PCs, and the second one, which is live now until 3AM EST, offers up a custom Series X with the Lord of Hatred himself slapped on the case.

You can enter for a chance to win by sharing your most prized Diablo possession via a Twitter response. Winners will be contacted via direct message, and Blizzard says the custom Mephisto-themed Xbox Series X console retails for a huge $889 USD.

Nintendo should reveal its mysterious new Switch controller during tomorrow's special showcase.

Right on cue, Nintendo confirms a special Nintendo Direct stream tomorrow at 6PM EST. The news is rather timely; just yesterday users spotted the FCC confidentiality agreement for Nintendo's mysterious new controller will lift on the 24th, which usually means a reveal would happen the day of or the day before.

Nintendo registered the device for FCC testing a bit ago, and the filing confirms it's a new controller peripheral. The controller model HAC-043 doesn't match up with any existing models, but the HAC moniker confirms Switch connectivity, and the filing diagrams also confirm the device uses USB-C and can be hooked up to the Switch's power supply.

The PS4's latest update may be bricking consoles, but it's also fixed the controversial CBOMB CMOS battery issue.

PS4 v9.0 firmware is trading one brick for another. The system update is reportedly soft- and hard-bricking PlayStation 4 consoles, leading to tons of errors, and other headaches for players to navigate. There's a silver lining, though: v9.0 has fixed an issue that turned every PS4 console into a brick by default.

Multiple users including YouTuber ModernVintageGamer report that Sony has fixed the PS4's CMOS battery issue which effectively prevented owners from playing games while offline. Sony used the PS4's built-in clock as a security mechanism, and if the clock was reset, the system would have to re-connected to the PlayStation Network to sync up. If the console couldn't connect, then it would go into lockdown mode and prevent users from playing both disc-based and installed games.

Activision-Blizzard loses its chief legal officer as it faces down four major complaints, allegations, and lawsuits ranging from discrimination to securities fraud.

Today Activision-Blizzard's ex-chief legal officer Claire Hart announced she has left the company: "After more than three years at Blizzard Entertainment, I have decided to move on to my next adventure. Friday was my last day," Hart wrote on Linkedin.

"The past three years have been full of unexpected twists and turns, but I feel honored to have worked with and met so many great people at Blizzard and across the Activision Blizzard businesses."

Blizzard has ideas on how to expand Diablo 2 Resurrected with new content that didn't exist in the original game.

Despite being 20 years old, Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction is still technically an unfinished game. Back in the day, Blizzard North had released a number of patches to add in new features like fresh runewords, new skill synergies, item balances, and even respec options, but Diablo 2's item arsenal remains unfinished with many elite uniques missing from the database.

That could change thanks to the new Diablo 2 Resurrected remaster. Blizzard says they have a bunch of ideas on new items, runewords, and other updates that weren't available in the old-school PC game. Diablo 2's resurrection might only be the beginning, and Blizzard could reignite the fires of hell by slowly iterating, changing, and eventually revolutionizing the game.

Electronic Arts' experimental SEED division is currently using machine learning to help streamline game testing and simulator human behavior.

EA's games are getting bigger and bigger. Battlefield 2042, for example, is always-online and features 128-player multiplayer. It's the biggest project DICE has ever done. To make the game a reality, EA and DICE have used machine learning and AI to help initiate deep testing that goes beyond human capabilities.

In an i3D 2021 presentation from April, EA SEED Head of Technology Colin Barre-Brisebois talked about how the R&D division is using machine learning and AI to help optimize game development, testing, and content deployment.

Activision confirms to investors that it is being investigated by the Securities Exchange Commission, and affirms that it is complying with regulators.

Following yesterday's reports, Activision-Blizzard has sent out a press release that discloses the ongoing SEC investigation to investors. The billion-dollar gaming giant tells investors and the press that it is engaging and complying with all authorities and regulators.

Want to expand your PS5's SSD storage without breaking your bank? Buying an expensive $300 PCIe 4.0 SSD may not be necessary. You could grab this $55 drive instead.

According to findings from Digital Foundry, Western Digital's cheaper SN750 SE PCIe 4.0 (Gen 4x4) SSD actually works pretty well with the PS5 despite having marginally lower spec performance. The SN750 SE costs just $55 for a 250GB version and delivers up to 3.2GB/sec reads and just 1GB/sec writes--far below expensive, high-end competitors like WD's own SN850 (7GB/sec), the Crucial P5 Plus (6.6GB/sec), the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus (7.1GB/sec), and the Seagate Firecuda 530 (up to 7.3GB/sec). It's worth mentioning the 250GB SN750 SE variant is slower than the 500GB (3.6GB/sec reads, 2GB/sec writes) and the 1TB version (3.6GB/sec reads, 2.83GB/sec writes).

Although Sony recommends that expansion SSD drives should hit at least 5.5GB/sec speeds, the SN750 SE delivered solid performance in test scenarios. The drive was used to run games like Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, where in-game FPS was stable on the SN750 SE, and the cheaper drive held its own with powerful competitors like the WD SN850 and Sony's own internal SSD flash. Ratchet and Clank loaded in almost 10 seconds, roughly 30% slower than the built-in SSD.

CD Projekt RED loses a long-time quest designer that's partly responsible for The Witcher 3's memorable activities.

After 12 years of quest design, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz has left CD Projekt RED to help Riot Games work on its new unannounced MMO project. Tomaszkiewicz helped guide the entire Witcher franchise to date, service as QA for the original Witcher game, and as quest designer for The Witcher 2 Assassin's of Kings and The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The dev also directed Cyberpunk 2077's quests.

"Big career update - I spent last few months meeting and talking to a number of great people and Teams, and now I'm pleased to announce that I'll be joining Riot Games on their upcoming MMO project. I'm excited and looking forward to this new challenge, stay tuned!"

Far Cry 6 isn't far away from its release, where we're now finding out more information on what makes the game tick underneath -- with the PC version being the standout version of the game.

Ubisoft 3D Team Lead Programmer Stephanie Brenham has detailed a bunch of the technical side of Far Cry 6, with Breaking Bad and Far Cry 6 bad guy Giancarlo Esposito. Check it out above, but we learn all about ray tracing and FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) being exclusive to the PC and that the SSDs inside of next-gen consoles are a big, big deal.

Far Cry 6 will look great on next-gen consoles and PC, where both will have improved level of detail (LOD), longer draw distances, better ocean simulation, and HD textures. 4K 60FPS is an option for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, while the PC has DXR reflections and shadows, FidelityFX (FSR + CAS), uncapped FPS, 21:9 ultrawide monitor support, and adjustable FOV.

Sony's latest PS5 patch slightly improves performance in select games, proving the console can receive firmware-based game boosts over time.

The PlayStation 5's new 21.02-04.00.00 firmware update finally unlocks the console's M.2 expansion bay for additional PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, but the patch apparently has a hidden bonus that boosts in-game performance.

According to Digital Foundry, the PS5's latest update delivered a small 3% jump in hardware speeds while running certain games. These games weren't updated or patched by the developers, however the virtual machines that run them apparently were (Control, for example, runs amazingly well on Series X as a result). "In very select scenarios it does seem the PlayStation 5 is now running faster. All PlayStation 5's are running faster than they were before with this new firmware. It's only a couple of percentage points, about 3%. We can demonstrably prove that this firmware in select scenarios is running faster than the old one," Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter says.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a private investigation into Activision-Blizzard's alleged securities fraud and employee discrimination, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The SEC is currently scrutinizing Activision-Blizzard in an attempt to determine whether or not the company has violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC's own investigation was likely prompted by the current class-action securities fraud lawsuit that Activision-Blizzard is facing in the District Court of Central California, which alleges that the company misled investors by not disclosing details of the current ongoing investigation from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing regarding sexual harassments and discrimination at Activision's offices.

Activision-Blizzard shares dropped following the DFEH investigation news, causing material harm to investors. Over a dozen law firms are calling for investors to join the class-action lawsuit and settle the matter in a court trial. Now the SEC is getting involved with their own private investigation.

ADATA's XPG S70 Blade SSD fits into the PlayStation 5's expansion bay for more high-speed storage.

ADATA's XPG Gammix S70 Blade is compatible with the PS5's M.2 expansion slot and brings up to 7.4GB/sec read speeds across PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4. The S70 Blade comes with an optional aluminum heat sink for extra heat dissipation to keep the drive cooler under 4K 60FPS gaming load, matching both speed and reliability to become a good pick for PS5 expansion storage.

The S70 Blade comes in 1TB ($169.99) and 2TB ($329.99) capacities complete with 176-layer Micron TLC flash, a five-year warranty, and a DRAM cache buffer. "Got a PS5 and need more capacity? The GAMMIX S70 BLADE is your answer. Plug one into your PS5 and enjoy better, smoother performance over the built-in storage," ADATA writes on its website.

Gran Turismo 7 will have real-time weather simulations that dynamically change tracks and in-game environments, Polyphony Digital confirms.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi confirms a host of new details about the upcoming cross-platform racer. Some details--like campaign being online-only--are a bit disappointing, but the game promises to push the PlayStation 5 to its limits with high-performance features like real-time weather effects and in-game simulations.

According to Yamauchi, GT7's real-time weather effects will change track conditions based on things like humidity and temperature. Water will have a huge effect on gameplay too, and rain physics can change how cars handle quite a bit with drift and hydroplaning depending on tires, car type, etc. There's also time simulations that tie right into the dynamic weather effects--for example, mid-day sun can quickly evaporate any rainwater on a track.

GTA V's huge 8-year birthday isn't met with celebration but controversy from devout fans.

There's a big issue brewing in the GTA community and Rockstar Games should address it as soon as possible. The controversy stems from the recent GTA V Expanded & Enhanced PS5 trailer, which has been widely criticized by Grand Theft Auto players. The footage promises high-end graphics that many gamers say look similar to the PS4 and Xbox One versions, and the next-gen re-release is being called a "cash grab" as a result.

Fans are using YouTube's dislike feature to send a message to Rockstar Games. Five days ago the trailer had 120,000 dislikes with an 83% dislike ratio. Now the trailer has grown by a colossal 87,000 dislikes and currently sits at 207,000 dislikes, representing an 87.7% dislike ratio. Just yesterday it had 197K dislikes.