Gaming - Page 965

Machine Games is currently developing a sequel to their stellar FPS hit Wolfenstein: The New Order, and according to Bethesda's Pete Hines, this new sequel will push the bar even further than its predecessor.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus will be the next Wolfenstein game from Machine Games, and we have strong reason to believe it'll be set in a Nazi-occupied United States. Bethesda teased The New Colossus during its E3 2016 showcase, but so far the publisher has been quiet on the game.

Now Bethesda's Pete Hines has broken that silence: "Machine Games has been hard at work on something, which I can tell you I have played. It's fu*cking bananas. And I can't wait to show what it actually is," Hines said in a recent podcast interview with Kinda Funny Games.

Nier: Automata is one of the best-looking games I've seen in the last few months thanks to its innovative style and action-packed mechanics. But according to a recent leak, the android-infused action RPG will have a very unique representation of "death" that reminds us of fighting Shadow Link in Zelda II.

In Nier: Automata you play as an android. You're not human, so you can't really "die" so to speak--not really, although your body can be broken down.

But Platinum Games didn't end there. In true JRPG fashion, the devs pushed the envelope to redefine what we expect with player death and "game over" sequences. Here's how dying works in Nier: Automata--but be forwarned, here there be spoilers!

Nintendo Switch will use a second-generation 20nm NVIDIA Tegra SoC processor based on the Maxwell architecture, according to recently leaked documents.

Remember when Eurogamer broke the news about the Switch's 6.7-inch screen and varying processor speeds across handheld and docked modes?

The source document used for that coverage has now been leaked, and they confirm the Switch will use a Maxwell Tegra X1 instead of NVIDIA's new Pascal-powered 16nm "Parker" SoC as we previously reported. The documents highlight specs for internal devkits, but actual retail models should use the same processor.

Nintendo has completely reversed its stance with its new handheld-console Switch hybrid: instead of being closed off and incredibly difficult for third-party devs, the Switch is flexible, easy to use, and supports modern APIs and engines. As a result tons of third-party developers have pledged games for the Switch--and most of them have praised the system's programmer-friendly toolset.

Games-maker Nicalis is the latest developer to praise the Nintendo Switch's open and accessible development environment, saying that the system's incredibly easy tools have drastically accelerated the porting of games like Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ and 1001 Spikes. We've heard big players like Ubisoft and EA favorably discuss the Switch, but indie developers will benefit from the system as well.

"The Switch is, by far the easiest and most programmer friendly [Nintendo console] so far," Nicalis president Tyrone Rodriguez said in a recent interview with Polygon.

One of my principal worries about Mass Effect: Andromeda is quantity over quality. I look at BioWare's track record with Dragon Age: Inquisition, whose grindy scope really turned me off eventually, and I see this carrying forward with the new Mass Effect. But BioWare says that the quests have been carefully tailored to be more meaningful--not unlike CD Projekt RED's magnum opus RPG.

"We are approaching the completionist aspect very differently [in Mass Effect: Andromeda], because we've done and learned a lot from Inquisition," BioWare's Patrice Condominas told PC Gamer in a recent interview.

In fact, BioWare has been inspired by games like The Witcher 3 in terms of impact, depth, and overall resonating experiences. As a result the new Mass Effect should have more meat on its bones than grindy fetch quests and the like.

Nioh's boss fights get progressively more difficult and then you come across Nue, a brutal chimera that summons devastating lightning from the heavens and creates tons of Yokai Realm pools to wreck your day (and your ki). But he's far from invincible, and he can actually be beaten quite efficiently with a simple method. We'll teach you that method here today.

Defeating bosses often requires abstract thought and the ability to use your surroundings to your advantage. In pure Ninja Gaiden style, Nue's boss fight really forces you to use your environment to take out your quarry. This particular battle really opened my eyes on how to approach enemies in Nioh, and taught me a newfound respect for the game: it's not just about perfect timing, strikes, caution and general mastery of fluid combat, but a total big picture focus--using strategy when you can, where you can.

Nue killed me about 8 times before I tried this method, and I was able to kill the mythical beast in my second try. The method is rather simple and revolves around one concept: creating a protective cage for yourself in the level's porches and striking slow, steady, and consistently.

Hitman developer IO Interactive is apparently working on a fresh new IP that will be based in Unreal Engine, not its new next-gen Glacier 2 Engine that was used to make the latest Hitman game. This interesting move may mean IOI's new IP will be on Nintendo's fresh Switch console-handheld hybrid.

According to a recent job listing posted by IO Interactive, the devs are working on a new IP outside of any current series or franchises. "The team is currently working on a new unannounced IP and is responsible for prototyping different mechanics for the Hitman team. We are looking for a programmer to help the team drive the project forward," reads the listing, which has now been altered and scrubbed clean of any mention of the IP. "You will work closely with a small team of designers to prototype gameplay mechanics in Unreal Engine"

The position is for a "Gameplay Programmer for Incubation/R&D," which is exactly what it sounds like: a programmer who works on early (incubated) design concepts for new Hitman content updates and the new IP. So where does the Nintendo Switch tie in here?

I love Castlevania. These old-school sidescrollers taught me the meaning of true skill before the Souls series dropped. I've beaten all the Castlevanias I own including Castlevania I-III, Dracula X, Super Castlevania IV, and Symphony of the Night. So when I heard Netflix is going to make a violent, gritty and dark anime miniseries based in the series, I was on the brink of forgiving Konami for it's transgressions. Yes, that's how excited I am for this project.

The new Castlevania mini-series won't have any annoying real-life nonsense: it's a fully-fledged anime. I've long thought this is the only real way to capture the macabre mystique of the franchise. The project is an "R-rated as f*ck" ultraviolent anime adaptation of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and Netflix confirmed the first episode will launch this year.

Netflix says the series will follow "the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepe himself." A second season will come in 2018.

The Order: 1886 was one of the better looking games on the PS4, with developer Ready at Dawn now teasing their new game: Deformers.

Deformers is an online multiplayer combat arena game that was meant to be coming out on February 14, but Ready at Dawn delayed it at the last minute. Deformer's Creative Director took to NeoGAF to explain: "Hello everyone! The delay will be short, we just need some more time to properly stress-test the game. We will announce the actual and final 🙂 release date soon".

The post continued: "We are ramping up to do an open beta on Steam, that way we get to test our infrastructure and everyone that wishes to will be able to try it out and discover why we love this game so much".

Nioh's combat system is robust and layered to the point where the game takes on a whole new dimension as you become more skilled. But that very progression hinges entirely on your ability to learn the basics of three key stances, which are the main positions you'll use to dispatch supernatural and samurai foes alike.

The stance system can be a little confusing at first. In a game like Nioh, confusion often leads to death or wasted time, and both are pretty frustrating. In this guide I am to dispel some of that annoyance by clearly outlining how each of the three main pillars to combat are fully balanced and optimized, and give you the tools you need to wreak havoc in demon-ridden feudal Japan.

In many ways Nioh's combat is like a graceful dance of death. There's a fluid harmony in its strikes and dodges that really exemplifies the ancient art of war, while also incorporating key strategic and tactical maneuvers to give creative players an even bigger edge. With this crash course in the basic foundations of stances you'll be on your way to honing that edge to a fine razor-sharp blade to slice and dice yokai everywhere.

We all know who Gabe Newell is, but for those of you living under a rock - Newell is the boss of Valve, the company behind Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, DOTA2, oh - and that little thing called Steam.

Gabe recently said Valve is working on 3 full-length VR games, and these new games won't be small VR demos like The Lab. Newell said that the games will use both Unity and Valve's in-house Source 2 engine to build the new VR games, but Newell also teased that Valve is working on a separate single-player title - something he said in January.

It seems Valve is going down the Nintendo route with the development of what these Valve-built VR games, as Newell had some interesting things to say: "So one of the questions you might ask us is 'Why in the world are we making hardware?' So right now, we're building 3 VR games. And what we can do now is to be designing hardware at the same time that we're designing software. This is something that [Nintendo Representative Director Shigeru] Miyamoto has always had, right?".

New World Interactive is working on something that might be a surprise with Insurgency: Sandstorm, with the Unreal Engine 4 powered first-person shooter to be more fleshed out than the FPS games we're used to. The developer has been working on new features, which will include:

Insurgency: Sandstorm will have a very strong single player component, where up to 4 gamers can play together. New World Creative Director Andrew Spearin explains the first-person shooter story modes that plague games now, and how Insurgency: Sandstorm will be different:

Even though Call of Duty is one of the strongest franchises, Activision is aware there are improvements that can be made to the 2017 release of Call of Duty from Sledgehammer Games.

The company said it would be returning to the franchises "roots" with the new COD, something it teased during their recent conference call with investors. Activision COO Thomas Tippl said that Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare had "underperformed [Activision's] expectations". This is said to be partly due to Infinite Warfare being a new sub-series, so it's hard to compare it against Black Ops.

Tippl continued: "[I]t's clear that, for a portion of our audience, the space setting just didn't resonate. We have a passionate, experienced studio deeply committed to this direction, and despite the risks we saw, we believe it is important to consider the passions of our game teams in deciding what content to create".

Activison's latest quarterly earnings filings re-confirm Destiny 2 will launch sometime this year, and expect the same kind of DLC/microtransaction roadmap to carry forth to the sequel.

We haven't heard much about Destiny 2 in a while, but publisher Activision has allayed Guardians' fears in its latest financials: "Full Destiny sequel in 2017 to broaden the franchise's global reach, which along with

follow-on content plans, sets the stage for growth," reads the quote.

Ubisoft's latest third quarter financials revealed some not so surprising sales results: more gamers play Ubisoft games on PS4 than Xbox One and PC combined.

Due to accessibility and ease-of-use consumers typically choose consoles over PC for their gaming needs, and Sony's PlayStation 4 has utterly dominated console sales throughout its lifetime. Ubisoft reinforces that point in their latest earnings report which confirms the PS4 platform accounted for nearly half of all Ubisoft game sales sold throughout the last nine months (April 1 - Dec. 31, 2016). In fact, PS4 game sales in both the last three-month quarter and nine-month half-year were more than Xbox One and PC combined.

The report states that in the last nine months the PS4 saw 42% of all Ubisoft game sales, whereas Xbox One trailed behind at 25% and the PC platform comprised 16% of sales. In the three-month third-quarter period from Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016, PS4 continued to dominate at 46% of all game sales, with the Xbox One at 26% and the PC dropping to 13%.

Ubisoft today announced their third quarter earnings for the current fiscal year, but the company is already making forecast predictions on its 2018-2019 earnings. This pretty much tells us that Ubisoft has high visibility into their development pipeline and likes what they see, hinting big-name Ubisoft games like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry could be on the way.

I noticed something interesting while combing Ubisoft's current financials report: they've already "confirmed targets for fiscal year 2018-2019" despite the fact that 2017 just started. To understand why this is a big deal, we have to do a little clarification on the differences between calendar year and fiscal year and the timelines.

Ubisoft's Fiscal Years start on April 1 and end on March 31 the following year--for example, the current Fiscal Year, FY2017, started on April 1, 2016 and ends on March 31, 2017.

South Park: Fractured But Whole is now slated to release from fiscal year 2017-2018, which is Ubisoft's way of saying it's been delayed as far as March 31, 2018.

The next South Park game has already been delayed once, but now it may not even meet its tentative 2017 release window. South Park: Fractured But Whole was first delayed from its original holiday 2016 to TBA 2017, and there it remains.

Now it's worth understanding that there's still a chance the game could release in 2017. Ubisoft's FY2018 (Ubisoft says fiscal year 2017-2018 to give you an idea what actual calendar years are included, but it's still the company's Fiscal Year 2018 timeline) is from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. So South Park: Fractured But Whole could release at any point during that twelve-month period.

Sony pushed out its slightly faster PS4 Pro a few months ago, and with the new v4.5 firmware, the unannounced "Boost Mode" was included.

The new "Boost Mode" promised "improved gameplay, higher frame rates, for some games that were released before the introduction of the PS4 Pro". Fast forward to now, the fine folks at Digital Foundry have used the PS4 Pro's Boost Mode, reporting that some games enjoy a massive 38% performance increase.

The increase in performance depends on the game, but with Destiny used as an example - there is no performance benefit, as the game is locked to 30FPS. But in something like Battlefield 1, it can "stay at a solid 60FPS in Boost Mode, without the frequent frame-rate dips that can occur during a 64-player match in base mode".

Project CARS 2 is in the works, with developer Slightly Mad Studios showing off the debut trailer to the game, and man - does it look GOOD.

Slightly Mad Studios is aiming for a late 2017 release of Project CARS 2, which will be released on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game will have over 60 tracks, and 170 cars - a big increase over the 30 tracks, and 74 cars that launched with the original Project CARS.

Project CARS 2 will have you racing across ice, dirt, mud, and snow - as well as what seems like one of the best-looking dynamic weather systems, and realistic physics. Project CARS 2 will support triple 4K monitors for hardcore enthusiasts and pixel pushers like me, pushing a massive 11,520 x 2160.

Although the Nintendo Switch isn't fully backward compatible with Wii U games, and won't play the games in your existing Wii U games library, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima confirms the handheld-console hybrid can indeed emulate Wii U games...and we could even see Wii U game "remasters" on the Switch.

When asked by TIME if the Switch would ever get Wii U game support, Mr. Kimishima confirmed that Wii U games must be "remade" to be playable on the Switch: "We can take games and bring them and make them playable on Switch. So they can be remade for Switch, yes."

The Nintendo President goes on to iterate that the games must be remade...however those remade Wii U games could get "enhanced" to benefit the Switch's beefier NVIDIA Tegra processor, similar to how older PS4 games get PS4 Pro enhancement patches to leverage the system's beefier hardware.