Gaming - Page 732

Monster Hunter World players will be pleased to know that they will soon be getting a veteran of the trade. CD Projekt Reds's iconic Witcher, Geralt of Rivia will soon be making a debut to Monster Hunter World.

A new trailer has been released onto the monster hunter YouTube Channel and it introduces us to a brand new collaboration that will take players on epic quests filled with Witcher themed loot. Capcom have teamed up with CD Projekt Red to bring Monster Hunter players a brand new quest line featuring Geralt of Rivia. Players will use Geralts classic silver sword to cut down monsters in a special assignment contract called "Trouble in the Ancient Forest". This quest line will have multiple endings depending on what path the player takes when faced with difficult choices.

Players will need a Hunter Rank of 16 to accept the quest, which means the main story of Monster Hunter World needs to be completed. Unlike other special events in Monster Hunter World, the Witcher quests and gear won't be removed after a certain amount of time, they will instead be available permanently. This collaboration event will begin on PC on May 9th, for more information head on over to the Steam listing for Monster Hunter World here.

Yoshi's Crafted World has recently been released onto the Nintendo Switch and what better way to celebrate the launch than with an informative overview trailer.

The new trailer which has been released onto th Nintendo YouTube Channel gives players and idea of what they will be stepping into if they decide to pick up Yoshi's Crafted World. From the trailer we learn a variety of different ways players will be able to traverse each of the levels, players will be able to throw eggs to unlock secret areas, collect items, overcome enemies and moderately difficult puzzles.

Throughout the video we learn that players will also be using Yoshi to craft the world around him. We see in the video that Yoshi crafts together a train, he also manipulate magnets, and even use weights to change the levels to find hidden items. Yoshi's Crafted World also comes with co-op play, so players that want to enjoy the crafted experience of Yoshi's Crafted World can do so with a friend. For more information about Yoshi's Crafted World, visit the official Nintendo eShop listing here.

Nintendo has released a new advertisement for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and perhaps unexpectedly they have leaked an unannounced game mode - stage builder.

A brand new trailer has been released onto Nintendo's official YouTube Channel, the video is apart of the 'Nintendo Switch My Way' and is just a typical quick advertisement for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While the first viewing the video may of just seemed like a normal advertisement, if you pause the video at precisely two seconds at the Smash menu screen you will be able to make out the writing at the bottom right hand corner of the TV screen.

The text that is blurred can still be made out, saying "stage builder". It is unclear when this game mode will be arriving in Smash Ultimate, but if I was to give a guess at when we will be able to enjoy stage builder, I would say it could be an addition to the version 3.0 update that is expected sometime this Spring. I also expect that the first DLC fighter, Persona 5's Joker will arrive as apart of this version 3.0 update, Nintendo has said that Joker will be added to the game before the end of April.

Could you imagine if the next YouTube TV show was interactive enough that viewers could dictate where the story leads to and ultimately receive different endings based on their unique choices? Sounds like a fairytale right? Well, it might not be.

A new report has come out of Bloomberg that says YouTube is secretly working on a new interactive 'choose-your-own-adventure' TV series that will be very similar to Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Bandersnatch allows for viewers to choose their own adventure through the world that is presented to them, resulting in what can be quite a unique experience for the likes of TV show.

Unfortunately there was no word of what kind of TV show this will be, or what we can expect from the upcoming show. What we do know though is that this new initiative by YouTube will be led by Ben Relles, an eight year veteran at YouTube. Susanne Daniels, YouTube's head of original programming said in a statement; "We now have amazing new tools and opportunities to create and tell multilayered and interactive stories. Ben has an intuitive and experienced understanding of how the platform can enhance content, making him the perfect choice to develop this exciting new division."

A new mod has been announced by the Civilization team that returns Civilization VI graphics back to what we saw in Civilization V.

Sid Meier's Civilization games are truly a staple series in the strategy game genre, unfortunately the most recent release in the series, Civilization VI, copped a little bit of back lash for its graphical changes. Civilization V took on a more realistic art approach to the map, while Civilization VI decided to go with a more cartoon looking visuals. This decision unfortunately turned some players away from the game, including myself.

Now times have changed, as the development team has released a brand new mod titled "Environment Skin: Sid Meier's Civilization V". This mod changes the skin of Civilization VI back to what we saw in Civilization V. According to Steam Workshop listing, the mod was created by the series' art director, Brian Busatti. Busatti says "I was challenged by the team to create an expansive mod using Mod Buddy and this was the end result. It's an example of how much you can change the visuals and I hope it provides inspiration to try your own modifications."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: not every game should have live services. Fallout 76 proved Fallout shouldn't be a live game, for instance. Some RPGs just don't fit into this market. But online frameworks can bring exciting new features and expand a game way past its singleplayer limits. BioWare is currently experimenting such methods with Dragon Age 4.

BioWare has strongly indicated Dragon Age 4 will be a live game with ambitious content. According to a lengthy Kotaku exclusive, that focus hasn't changed. The current iteration of Dragon Age 4 will indeed have live service components aimed at engaging--and monetizing--players over time. On the heels of Anthem with its terrible grind and tedium, this sounds daunting. But with online services comes interesting opportunities to breathe new life into a fan-favorite series.

Live gaming brings all kinds of potential to any franchise. There's tons of stuff devs can do, like bringing online co-op to Dragon Age, for instance. Dragon Age: Inquisition had multiplayer, but it was segregated from singleplayer. With Dragon Age 4 the two may be merged in a way that expands the game in unique ways, creating a kind of globally-shared world that reacts, evolves, and changes over time. There could be massive raids, seasonal events, and even live-based narratives that see the story unfold over time. And of course an interactive online hub where players can trade, team up, and show off their latest cosmetic goods.

The FTC will start taking a closer look at lootboxes later this year, and publishers should take note.

Lootboxes are a billion-dollar industry. Originally found in freemium mobile games, lootboxes spread to premium console and PC games as a means of making money without having to sell a new product. Following the golden years of explosively lucrative earnings, devs and publishers have shifted away from lootboxes in favor of direct cosmetic monetization, but some of the industry's biggest games still rely on them (FIFA and Overwatch, for example). The Federal Trade Comission has heard public outcry about exploitation and gambling, and last year it promised to investigate lootboxes which could lead to regulation on a rather free market.

Starting in August, the FTC plans to scrutinize lootboxes in a big workshop event that could have big ramifications for publishers like Activision-Blizzard and EA. The workshop, entitled Inside the Game: Unlocking the Consumer Issues Surrounding Loot Boxes, calls forth industry experts, analysts, stakeholders/investors, reps from big publishers, and consumers for a deep dive into the expensive world of randomized microtransactions.

BioWare's next big Dragon Age game was once very, very different, and offered a more condensed and meaningful experience.

We've been covering Dragon Age 4 for a while now, but we didn't know it had changed so much. The game revealed at The Game Awards 2018 under the moniker The Dead Wolf Rises isn't the same project BioWare had originally started in 2015 under the codename Joplin. According to Kotaku's latest report, Dragon Age 4 was rebooted in 2017 and the original vision was scrapped.

Following the harsh crunch and wildly unpredictable development of Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare streamlined their approach to the next Dragon Age game. Joplin, aka the original Dragon Age 4, was built with clear-cut goals and used a strict adherence to formula. Instead of a big open-world affair like Inquisition with content spread far, Joplin was a smaller-scale project that squeezed everything together to make gameplay more flavorful.

The next big Star Wars game will be revealed this Saturday, and it's a pretty big deal. To celebrate, EA has released some key art to give us an idea of the game's core themes...and they're pretty dire.

The Titanfall devs at Respawn have been making their new Star Wars game, Jedi: Fallen Order, for years now. Originally set to release after Visceral's cancelled "Star Wars Uncharted" game, Respawn's project has larger-than-life action, an emphasis on third-person Jedi powers and combat, and takes place during an unexplored time between Episodes III and IV when the Jedi were being hunted down during Order 66.

The game has been described as particularly dark, and Respawn promises to focus strongly on character and story development. In fact, Fallout: New Vegas writer Chris Avellone helped pen Jedi: Fallen Order. Now after that quick recap we can take a look at EA's recent teaser, which clearly illustrates that the Jedi are fading away. The lightsaber, which may belong to a padawan named Cal, is damaged and the glyphs are only slightly glowing with power.

Old school games will remember DOOM and its sequels but one of the best weapons in that game would have to be the awesome BFG 9000, right?! Well, it's coming to RAGE 2.

Yep, the BFG 9000 is returning in RAGE 2 thanks to some new gameplay footage from IGN. You can see the footage in the link or the embedded YouTube video above, where you can get a great look at various weapons that Avalanche has built into RAGE 2.

It looks like an insane ride with a mix of DOOM, Quake, Bulletstorm, and other games in one and I for one, cannot wait.

There's an anonymous millionaire out there that is wanting to build an actual real-life, 100-person battle royale event held on a private island. It sounds like something right out of The Hunger Games, and that sounds awesome to me.

The 'world's leading luxury shopping marketplace' Hush Hush, received a request from an anonymous person who is looking for a gamemaker to help them build the 3-day event that would see 100 people battling it out for real-life money.

The event itself would see 100 people with airsoft guns and touch-sensitive body armor where the last person to survive won't win themselves a chicken dinner, but rather £100,000 ($130,000 USD). The millionaire in question would buy or hire out an island, run the competition for 3 days, with up to 12 hours of play per day.

NetherRealm Studios has revealed yet another fighter for Mortal Kombat 11, prepare your fans as Kitana has taken center stage and will be a playable character in Mortal Kombat 11.

A new trailer has been released onto the official Mortal Kombat YouTube Channel and while it may not be a very long introduction it certainly features a nice tease. Starting off, we see eyes whitening out while the announcer discusses what it means for people to fight. The setting seems to be a dark warehouse of some sorts and we see a live action Sub Zero and Raiden begin walking towards each other.

The live action characters eventually turn into CGI replicas of Kitana and Scorpion and then the short battle is commenced when Kitana throws a fan at Scorpion. While this trailer doesn't actually have any game play of Kitana, it can be assumed that we will be getting her in-game and perhaps even a seperate introduction video of her tomorrow or leading up to the release of Mortal Kombat 11. Mortal Kombat 11 will be releasing on the Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch on April 23rd.

A recent developer announcement has come out from Ubisoft regarding their title Starlink: Battle for Atlas. The announcement has confirmed that there will be no new physical toys released for Starlink.

The announcement has come via the official Starlink website on the developers blog. The post addresses the announcement back in the February's Nintendo Direct of more content coming to Starlink: Battle for Atlas this April. According to post, "Despite the immense and continuous support from our players, the sales for Starlink: Battle for Atlas fell below expectations. Consequently, we recently made the decision to not release any additional physical toys for the Spring update and in the future."

The post continues and explains that Ubisoft is very hard at work on what has been deemed the "biggest update to the game so far". Included within this update, players can expect that they will get "new digital ships, pilots and weapons to collect." To go alongside the ships etc, players will also get new missions, challenges, activities and more. There was no official date slated for this update, but we can expect it sometime throughout the month of April.

Mortal Kombat 11 isn't very far off from release and with fans gearing up for the launch Nintendo Switch users are wondering how they are going to receive their smooth fighter.

Twitter user NWPlayer123 has posted what appears to be the game size files, weighing in at a hefty 22.53GB for Mortal Kombat 11. NWPlayer is using a bot that retrieves data from Nintendo's Content Delivery Network, basically this means whatever data Nintendo upload to their content network will be tracked and displayed to NWPlayer. Observing these files, NWPlayer learns that the base game is only 6.GB, which means it will ship on a 8GB cartridge and have an update of 16GB.

The information also reveals that Mortal Kombat 11 has 13 planned DLC's, we don't know if these will be packaged or singularly released, but judging from past Mortal Kombat games DLC fighters are usually released Kombat Packs. Mortal Kombat 11 will be releasing on the Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch on April 23rd. On a side note for Nintendo Switch users, Mortal Kombat 11 will be running at 60FPS, more on that here.

The last Nintendo Direct was held back on February, and now a source has claimed that it has received information that Nintendo will be holding another Direct on April 11th, 2019 - this week.

The news has come from Gaming INTEL who claims they have received information from insider sources that have told them that Nintendo will be holding their Direct this week on April 11th. The source says; "next Nintendo Direct will be taking place on April 11th, 2019."

Gaming INTEL says that usually with these types of posts readers should take the information with a grain of salt, but "when taking into consideration Gaming INTEL's sources track record of correctly predicting several of the previous Nintendo Directs, fans should be a little more confident on this one in particular." Even though Gaming INTEL is claiming they have a decent track record for predicting Directs I would say still take the information with a healthy amount of skepticism as nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.

We all hate cheaters. They ruin games and in battle royale games it's even worse, which is why it's great to see Respawn tackling cheaters in Apex Legends with a harsh ban stick that hardware bans the pesky cheaters, period.

New reports suggest that people who are caught cheating in Apex Legends are getting their hardware banned which means they can't create a new account for Apex and play again. It's a pretty hardcore ban, but with Apex Legends being the hottest game on the market right now, Respawn need to handle cheaters seriously if they want to keep gamers happy.

Borderlands 3 could support cross-play at some point, which would open up new doorways to engagement opportunities.

Only a handful of games support full cross-play between all systems. Games like Rocket League and Fortnite are truly platform agnostic and PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC gamers can play together all at once. Sony has been the stringent gatekeeper to cross-play but they're starting to relent...if not a bit slowly. There's a chance that Borderlands 3 could be among the biggest games to support the feature when it launches in September.

Right now all we have to go on is a vague affirmation from an unnamed 2K Games rep, who told Gamespot, "Cross-play is something we're looking at closely, but we don't have anything to confirm or announce at this time." Normally this would be generic PR-speak that doesn't mean very much, but this time they could actually mean it.

The Outer Worlds isn't an open-world Ubisoft or EA game built around artificially-elongated playtime, and won't feature meticulous mechanics.

Not every game in the universe needs to have 100+ hour playtimes, nor do they need crafting. The amount of time that crafting and material gathering soaks up is ridiculous--looking at you, Dragon Age: Inquisition--and it's often just plain tedious. And in some games, like Fallout 76, it can be outright hell. Thankfully Obsidian isn't taking this approach with their new Fallout-meets-BioShock singleplayer RPG.

Despite having frustrated PC gamers by skipping Steam, The Outer Worlds is a breath of fresh air. It's a kind of AA experience that wants to re-kindle the fire of singleplayer gaming with choice-driven RPG mechanics and a meaningful if not quirky story. Take-Two usually loves engagement, but its Private Division label is all about games doing more with less, and that often means cutting out unnecessary features like crafting.

By disrupting Steam's kingly reign, the Epic Games Store is fixing the PC games market...at least that's what an ex-Valve dev says.

Valve has enjoyed monopolistic hold over PC gaming for a long time now. But now Epic Games is using its Fortnite billions to challenge Steam where it hurts most: its pocketbook. Armed with the might of an established launcher used by millions of Fortnite gamers, tons of cash, and an engine the powers lots of big AAA games, Epic created a storefront that lets devs keep 88% of all revenues of games sold on the store, compared to Steam's 70%. This split is creating real competition, says ex-Valve dev Richard Gledreich, and some of gaming's biggest titles are jumping to the Epic Store with exclusivity deals as a result.

Gledreich, who worked on the inside lines and saw Steam's earnings behind the curtain, says the store was basically stifling PC gaming and holding it back.

Ubisoft has had quite the amount of teaser 'leaks' for quite a few of their franchise as of late, with Assassin's Creed reportedly starring Vikings and now an alleged confirmation that Watch Dogs 3 features a London setting.

Back in early February, we reported on a shaky rumor that said that both a new Assassin's Creed game would arrive in 2019 and feature Vikings and the new Watch Dogs 3 would arrive alongside it. The rumor suggested that the Watch Dogs 3 game would be set in London and now Kotaku's Jason Schreier says he can confirm that this news, and the Assassin's Creed news is true.

The new Assassin's Creed game is expected to launch sometime during 2020, and Watch Dogs 3 is expected to launch by the end of the year. It is very possible that Ubisoft are holding off on both of these official announcements until E3 2019, which is why Kotaku said that Ubisoft declined to comment on both of these rumors. As always these types of 'leaks' and 'rumors', the news is not 100% confirmed until an announcement is made by Ubisoft, so I guess we will wait and see what happens.