Gaming - Page 936

E3 2017 - Capcom is bringing one of its most popular franchises to the cross-platform world of online gaming.

Capcom has announced Monster Hunter World, a huge online RPG experience on PS4, Xbox One and PC that will unify the East and West with online cross-play. Monster Hunter World features "living, breathing ecosystem" that up to four players can explore together via a newly designed drop-in, drop-out online multiplayer system. And one of the biggest surprises is that Monster Hunter World won't release on Nintendo hardware.

Monster Hunter coming to Xbox and PC in the West is a big deal; the console has missed Xbox and PC platforms in the West since its debut, and this kind of cross-platform integration is something that Capcom highlighted in its recent financial earnings call. The publisher promises to revive dormant IP and bring existing key IP to all platforms in an effort to earn more revenues across the globe--and based on the reception from Monster Hunter World, it seems like they've succeeded with this game alone.

Later this month Nintendo will release the first DLC pack for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with the company announcing the news during their E3 2017 spotlight event.

The second DLC for Breath of the Wild is a story DLC release, which will be 'The Champions' Ballad', sounding like a prequel story to the main game. The June 30 release will see the 'Master Trials' DLC for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with a video on the expansion pass embedded above.

Nintendo explains: "If you own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Expansion Pass grants access to three new treasure chests, DLC Pack 1, "Master Trials," and DLC Pack 2, "The Champions' Ballad," as they are released. DLC Pack 1 "Master Trials" includes: Trial of the Sword, Master Mode, Hero's Path, Travel Medallion, Korok Mask and eight new armors. Master Trials - DLC Pack 1 will be available June 30, 2017".

If there needed to be a game made in VR, it would be Mario Kart... right?! Right. Well, Bandai Namco's VR Zone Arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo has revealed Mario Kart Arcade GP VR... and it runs on the HTC Vive headset. Check it out:

There's not much known about it, but it looks like a VR port of a pre-existing arcade game, letting you sit in a real cockpit with a steering wheel - all while experiencing it in VR. This is Nintendo's first VR game, and it is perfect. There's no need to worry about your environment because your hands are attached to a steering wheel, while your vision is filled by the track and sidelines flying past you.

I'm still crying tears of joy at a Mario Kart game in VR... and it now makes me want to visit Tokyo, ASAP.

ARK: Survival Evolved is getting some great press at E3 2017, with some details on the upcoming Xbox One X version of the game, which will be looking and running closer to the PC version of the game.

During an interview, Studio Wildcard co-founder and co-creative director Jesse Rapczak said: "Instead of targeting 30FPS like on the other consoles, we're targeting 60FPS for the Xbox One X. I would say most of the time for PS4 Pro you would be seeing 30FPS on PS4 Pro at 1080P, whereas with the Xbox One X you're going to see double the frame rate at 1080P, 60FPS. We might even allow the frame rate to go higher than 60 FPS, but we're still looking into that. Right now it's actually uncapped but on a TV it's not that useful [because they're locked to 60Hz]".

He added: "Because ours is a multiplayer game, the complexity on the screen can be very unpredictable. Variable resolution is something we introduced this year to try and stabilize the frame rate on lower PCs and consoles so that when people go into a huge base and someone's got a hundred dinosaurs, the resolution scales down but the frame rate stays smooth. We're not targeting 4K resolution or anything like that, instead we're targeting higher quality pixels".

E3 2017 - Japanese games-maker Nintendo missed a big opportunity to discuss its Virtual Console plans for the Nintendo Switch at E3.

It remains unclear of Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid will receive a traditional Virtual Console presence or not to allow on-the-go play of classic games. Nintendo's Virtual Console service is a multi-platform digital shop that sells classic games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past from older Nintendo hardware generations, including the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo announced that the Switch owners would get free monthly installments of classic NES games as part of its new paid Switch Online subscription plan, which costs just $20 for a year. The range of classic NES games included in the service will support online play, hinting that only two-player titles will be available. The service will debut with such games as Super Mario Bros 3, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario.

E3 2017 - Rockstar Games' massively anticipated Western skips E3 -- should we be worried, or is this all part of the plan?

It's been seven months since Rockstar revealed Red Dead Redemption 2 with a cinematic trailer, and the game was noticeably absent at E3 2017. We expected to see a new bit of Red Dead Redemption 2 footage at E3, likely at Sony's presser since PS4 has exclusive content hinting Sony secured a marketing deal.

Since Red Dead Redemption 2's delay announcement Rockstar hasn't said a peep about the game. Now we know that Rockstar typically plays by their own rules and releases content when they want, but with Microsoft's new Xbox One X and Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro pushing 4K throughout 2017, we expected to see some sort of teasers that harness this new tech shown off at E3 proper. But Rockstar's Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube feeds are all focused on GTA Online.

E3 2017 - Curious what Destiny 2 on PC looks like at 4K 60FPS? Bungie and NVIDIA have you covered.

Bungie is taking Destiny 2's PC version very, very seriously. The developer promises to tap the raw horsepower of higher-end rigs to deliver buttery-smooth frame rates and eye-popping 4K visuals, and we already know that the game can hit 4K 60FPS+ with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Bungie says that Destiny 2 on PC will have staples like uncapped frame rates, 21:9 UltraWide support, FOV sliders, a galaxy of video options, customizable keyboard and mouse mapping, and much more.

⦁ 4K Resolution Support (3820x2160)

E3 2017 - Nintendo today confirmed that its new first-party Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, will release in October exclusively on the Nintendo Switch handheld-console hybrid.

Nintendo Switch's big mainline Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, lets players take control of wacky characters and objects throughout a multitude of different worlds. Armed with Mario's trusty hat, players can toss the hat on nearby objects like robots, Bullet Bill, or even a Chain Chomp and take control of them--you can even toss his hat onto T-Rex's, frogs, and other objects for hilarious and zany fun. The world itself becomes alive in 3D platforming fun.

Super Mario Odyssey releases October 27, 2017 on the Nintendo Switch.

E3 2017 - Nintendo today made our dreams come true: a new Metroid game is in development!

Nintendo is making a new Metroid Prime 4 game exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Metroid Prime 4 (working title) is a first-person adventure game currently in development from series producer Kensuke Tanabe and a new development team--that's right, Retro studios isn't making this one. Tanabe affirms that his new dev team are working hard to bring the "action, isolation, and exploration of the Metroid Prime universe to life" on the Nintendo Switch.

"Metroid Prime 4 (working title) returns to the first-person adventure roots of the original Metroid Prime game and introduces a new storyline that ties together the events of the Metroid Prime universe and takes the storyline in new directions," according to series produce Kensuke Tanabe.

E3 2017 - Sony Santa Monica's ambitious new God of War game won't release this year, Sony Interactive Entertainment today confirmed.

As Waypoint's Patrick Klepek said days before E3 started, Sony's E3 presser showcased games we won't be playing until next year. Take Sony Santa Monica's new Norse-themed God of War game, for instance. Announced at E3 2016 and showcased at E3 2017, the game doesn't even have an official release date yet and Sony has given it an "early 2018" release window on PS4.

Read Also: 'Gods walk the earth' in new Norse God of War, Ragnarok confirmed?

E3 2017 - Destiny 2's release on PC will come a month after the game's launch on consoles.

Bungie has confirmed that Destiny 2 will launch on PC on October 24, 2017. Destiny 2's launch on PC marks the first time Destiny has ever come to the platform, and Bungie promises the game will fully leverage the raw power of high-end desktops with uncapped frame rates, 4K textures and resolution support, native 21:9 UltraWide support, FOV sliders, and many more video optimizations.

For comparison, Destiny 2 is locked at 30FPS on consoles. Destiny 2 on PC, on the other hand, can run at 4K 60FPS+ on rigs outfitted with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card.

E3 2017 - Sony today confirmed that its PlayStation 4 console has sold through more than 60 million units worldwide.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has accumulated a total of 60.4 million PlayStation 4 console sales worldwide since the system debuted in 2013. This sales milestone includes the full family of PlayStation 4 consoles: the 2013 launch PS4, the new PS4 "slim", and the higher-end PlayStation 4 Pro, all of which were sold across 123 countries and territories.

Along with strong hardware sales, the PlayStation 4 has enjoyed a phenomenal software attach rate throughout its lifetime. Sony confirms that 487.8 million copies of PS4 software have been sold digitally and in retail stores across the globe, meaning the average PS4 owner owns at least 8 games.

Intel and ESL have been partnered for 17 years now, but are now taking it to the next level with the Intel Grand Slam, the latest CS:GO championship.

Intel will provide all of the gaming PCs to each player and team, with Senior VP and General Manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel, Gregory Bryant, saying: "Intel's involvement in esports and the gaming community has spanned more than 15 years, and we're always looking for ways to take the player and fan experience to the next level. In this next phase of our long-time partnership with ESL, we're investing in the development of future esports stars, further expanding our global footprint with the Intel Extreme Masters circuit, and exploring fresh formats like the Intel Grand Slam that we announced today".

The massive competition itself is the new Intel Grand Slam for CS:GO, with an additional $1 million for any team that manages to stop the Intel Grand Slam winner. The game is split into a few factors: with an additional $1 million being offered to the team that wins 4 of the last ten $200,000 events between DreamHack and ESL. The first Intel Grand Slam event takes place during ESL One Cologne 2017, which takes place between 7-9 of July.

ARK: Survival Evolved is another super-hot game on the PC right now, but it has been enjoying some love on both the Xbox One and PS4 over the last few months, and now that the new Xbox One X is out the developer has some words to say.

Studio Wildcard's Jesse Rapczak was recently on the E3 2017 Live Show with Geoff Keighley, where he said that they're aiming for 60FPS on Xbox One X, and that 60FPS was "not possible" on the PS4 Pro. PS4 Pro users can run 60FPS, but only at 720p where we'll see ARK running at 1080p 60FPS on close to Epic settings on Xbox One X. During the interview, Rapczak said: "It's amazing. It's basically like Epic settings on PC, we're targeting 60FPS. We recently introduced variable frame rate, but on Xbox One X with the extra horsepower, you'll notice less variation in your frame rate even in busy situations".

Rapczak added: ":The PS4 Pro also has improved frame rate when compared to PS4. Before the XB1X, it was the best console version of ARK, but it's hard to argue with that 6 teraflops [laughs]. Having the same frame rate in our game isn't really possible, there are a couple reasons for that: the XB1X not only has a faster CPU than PS4 Pro, it also has a lot more RAM. I'd say there's a 50% performance difference".

Ubisoft has had a huge show at E3 this year, displaying their slew of games, but one of the most anticipated would have to be Far Cry 5. The company released a new Far Cry 5 gameplay trailer, which we've embedded below.

The trailer explains your sniper, Grace Armstrong, and your air support with Nick Rye in Far Cry 5, with some impressive tricks up their sleeves. Far Cry 5 takes the adventure to the United States, landing you in Hope County, Montana. Once you arrive, Ubisoft explains: "incites the cult to violently seize control of the region, you must rise up and spark the fires of resistance to liberate a besieged community". There's also a new trailer that Ubisoft calls 'Amazing Grace', something they released at E3 2017.

Ubisoft also announced the upcoming Far Cry 5 Collector's Edition, which will include:

E3 2017 - Ubisoft's new Rabbids and Mario cross-over looks like tons of fun. Here's why I'm looking forward to the game!

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle leaked ahead of E3 and drew lots of criticism from gamers. But as it turns out, the cross-over is actually pretty impressive-looking. Not only is the game bright and vibrant, hearkening back to the unique cartoony graphics of the Wii U, but it incorporates a surprising level of strategem. In many ways, this Ubisoft Mario game looks like Final Fantasy Mario mixed with XCOM Mario Party, and I can't wait to play it.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle has been in development for more than three years, and the goal of the game was to "try and make a Mario game that hasn't ever been made before," and I think Ubisoft succeeded. The game has a nice layer of tactical strategy to it with a turn-based tactical adventure focus with multiple party members like Peach, Yoshi, Mario and Luigi--and their Rabbid dopplegangers. In fact, it has two modes: explore mode, which has players running around various areas, and battle mode, which has players duking it out in XCOM-like RTS combat.

E3 2017 - Forza Motorsport 7 will run at native 4K 60FPS on Microsoft's new $499 Xbox One X console without even using full GPU power.

Microsoft has confirmed Forza Motorsport 7 runs at a "rock solid" 4K 60FPS on the new high-end Xbox One X console, but now Turn10 revealed something else: Forza 7 actually hits 4K 60FPS without even using the console's full GPU power.

The developers told Destructoid that Forza 7's native 4K 60FPS performance uses 70% of Xbox One X's highly customized Polaris-based 6TFLOP GPU, with 30% power left over. This isn't particularly surprising, as the same developer was able to hit native 4K 60FPS at Ultra PC equivalent settings in Forza 6: Apex with 88% GPU usage.

E3 2017 - After 15 years of waiting, Ubisoft today announced Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still alive and showcased the game with an incredible new trailer.

Ubisoft Montpellier has been developing Beyond Good and Evil 2 for quite some time now, and has spent the last three years diligently shaping the universe. The game is actually a prequel, and has a persistent seamless online universe to explore for gamers, strongly indicating it'll be built on Ubisoft's live services framework and offer multiplayer content for years to come.

Beyond Good and Evil is a "seamless online playground" that allows players to discover new worlds across a wide cosmos.

E3 2017 - Every game played on an Xbox One X will indeed play better, but native 4K resolution and other enhancements aren't guaranteed. Here's how Xbox One X works.

Microsoft has said from the start that developers will have the freedom to do whatever they want with Xbox One X's beefy hardware. But that kind of freedom means that there's no guarantee that all existing games will play at native 4K on the new Xbox One X. Developers have to upgrade their games with native 4K textures and add in other enhancements that tap the console's highly customized AMD SoC. Essentially Microsoft is handling the Xbox One X's game enhancements very similar to how Sony handled its Forward Compatibility upgrades on the PS4 Pro: developer participation isn't mandatory, but certain devs have partnered up to bring optimized upgrades to their games.

To bring native 4K textures and upgrades to Xbox One games, Microsoft has created the Xbox One X Enhancement Program. From now on Xbox One games supporting native 4K upgrades will be stamped with a little "4K Enhanced" on their boxes, similar to Sony's PS4 games. Developers must choose to opt-in on upgrading their games with native 4K textures, HDR, and other enhancements to tap Xbox One X's hardware and push it to the limit. These upgrades will be sent out via digital patches and updates, like PS4 Pro games.

E3 2017 - Machine Games' explosively awesome Wolfenstein game is getting a sequel, and it's better than ever.

After Destiny 2, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is hands-down my most anticipated shooter for 2017. As I predicted way back when, Machine Games' new FPS takes place in Nazi-occupied America during the 1960's, showing us a unique alternate world set in the chaotic universe the devs have built.

The New Colossus is a direct sequel to 2013's The New Order, and features new weapons, characters, a new story, and tons of other goodies folded around thrilling grisly FPS action.