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New online zombie co-op mobile game being developed, Tencent publishing

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Tencent publishing a new zombie online mobile game.

Tencent released a new trailer showing off some scenes for their upcoming mobile zombie-themed game. Publishing giant Tencent uploaded a new trailer with some scenes from this unknown game. From the trailer, we can see that the game takes some definite influence from games like Days Gone, Left for Dead, and Metal Gear Survive. Other … Read more

343 has no plans to include Halo 5 for The Master Chief Collection on PC

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The Halo MCC for PC won't have Halo 5 packaged at this point.

343 Industries has no plans to bring Halo 5 to the lineup for The Master Chief Collection on PC. During an Inside Xbox session, 343 was there and announced that they’ll be bringing over The Master Chief Collection to the PC. And Halo reach would also be part of that lineup of games that’ll be … Read more

Dragon Quest XI update for PC and PS4; What’s new?

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Dragon Quest XI update for PC and PS4; What's new? 3

The Dragon Quest XI team released a new patch for PS4 and PC yesterday. The update adds a bunch new improvements and adjustments to both versions- with PC players getting the benefit of the patch. Square Enix has gone ahead and added some features and settings PC players will surely appreciate, such as FPS settings and key bindings.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age was launched last month. The story is an epic adventure with a JRPG format. A Nintendo Switch version has been planned, but there’s no word about the game yet- or at least very little. Rumors say it’ll be based off a PS4 version and will be titled Dragon Quest XI S with special goodies not found in the original PS4 game.

Regardless, here are the full patch notes:

PC

  1. We’ve identified a bug which can sometimes cause the game to crash when the player is 300m away from their horse on the field, this has been fixed.
  2. Players are now able to send log data to the DRAGON QUEST XI development team in cases where the game crashes.
  3. Players are able to choose between three (Low, Medium, High) pre-set graphic settings before launching the game (see below for details).
  4. People’s names (such as “Robert”) have been removed from the list of prohibited words when selecting the main character’s name at the beginning of the game.
  5. Multiple text bugs have been fixed.
  6. It’s now possible to move the command selection cursor using the left stick, and by extension WASD on keyboards, with very few exceptions in certain screens.
  7. It’s now possible to select which key exits the game (by default this is set to Esc) and it’s also possible to bind the Esc key to a different function.
  8. More frame rate options have been added; 90 fps, 120 fps, 144 fps as well as the option to leave the frame rate unlocked.

PS4

  1. We’ve identified a bug which can sometimes cause the game to crash when the player is 300m away from their horse on the field, this has been fixed.
  2. People’s names (such as “Robert”) have been removed from the list of prohibited words when selecting the main character’s name at the beginning of the game.
  3. Multiple text bugs have been fixed.

Fornite’s gifting system: Details, rules, and screenshots

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Fornite's gifting system: Details, rules, and screenshots 4

With Fortnite raking in millions of dollars a day, you’d expect that the game would at least have their gifting system figured out by now. Players have been demanding one for a while, but Epic Games hasn’t responded to any requests.

Until now. There was a new emote called “behold” added by Epic on October 12, which could be a way to start gifting your friends items such cosmetics, skins, gliders, pickaxes, back bling, and emotes. Some people just don’t want to pay, can’t afford them, or don’t have many friends that are generous enough to gift in Fortnite in the first place!

Now, based on data from FortniteINTEL, who are basically data miners that get the good stuff from Fortnite, they’ve accessed a “beta” version of the gifting system. From the screenshots posted, the gifting system has some interesting features:

  • You can gift multiple people at the same time – up to 4 people
  • You can only gift the same friend once every 10 days
  • You can “gift wrap” the gift by sending a personalized message attached to the present
  • You can gift yourself, but the gift can’t be returned
Fornite's gifting system: Details, rules, and screenshots 5
(Via FortniteINTEL.)

Your giftees may be able to return the gift you send them (such as a troll gift). But your own gifts may not be returned. Or this is just a beta and gifting yourself may be removed from the final system. Or it can be used for parents gifting to their kids (no more stealing credit cards!).

Epic Games hasn’t said anything about this news yet, and we’re not sure when this system will be confirmed. But the system is in the code of the game, so we can expect Fortnite gifting to go online eventually.

You can check out more screenshots at FortniteINTEL.

Overwatch Halloween Terror 2018: New skins, Junkenstein, cosmetics

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Overwatch Halloween Terror 2018: New skins, Junkenstein, cosmetics 6

Boo!

The hero shooter Overwatch is now back in full swing once again for its annual All Hallow’s Eve event through their Halloween Terror event. How many names does one event need? Their spooky, costume party Halloween celebration officially started today, October 9th, and will run through the rest of the month until Halloween day, on the 31st.

The event itself will include new skins, cosmetics, and Halloween-themed levels with full moons, spooky lighting, and cheap, but cute, Halloween effects.

The Junkenstein’s Revenge game mode is also back in action. For those who missed it last time, it’s a special game mode that includes four-player co-op where they play like a typical horde. Players choose from Solider: 76, McCree, Hanzo, and Ana to fight the evil Junkenstein and his evil creations. It’s definitely worth checking out if you haven’t played this limited-time game mode before. Junkenstein’s Revenge is just for casual play- there’s nothing competitive about it.

Overwatch costumes will be offered throughout the Halloween Terror event. Previous skins will be once again available for purchase through loot crates, but new skins will also be available for purchase for heroes like Wrecking Ball, Reaper, and Sombra. Many of these costumes have been already leaked by the community.

If you haven’t been keeping up to date with Overwatch, you may as well give the world’s most popular arena shooter a go- it just may scare you back into action!

Insomniac Game’s Spider-Man makes a cameo in Spider-Verse movie trailer

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Insomniac Game's Spider-Man makes a cameo in Spider-Verse movie trailer 7

Spider-Man is making another spin. While fans are coming off the hype around the latest blockbuster hit from Marvel, Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse shows off some footage of the web-slinging hero in action- once again.

This time around, Spider-Man appears in a new trailer for the upcoming film, even though he’s in a much smaller role. Around the 1:37 mark in the trailer, you can see the white-spider version of the suit in a case, which appears in Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4. Look in the background and you’ll clearly see that it’s an easter egg reference to the game released last month and shattered records for game sales on the PS4.

Only a part of the white-spider suit is visible, but there’s no doubt that it’s the same suit from the Insomniac Games. Bill Rosemann, Marvel Game’s Executive Director and James Stevenson, Community Director, and Yuri Lowenthal, Spider-Man himself (in the game), all reacted to the news on Twitter:

You can check out the new trailer for the Spider-Man: The Spider-Verse here:

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey trailer shows off the “Power of Choice”

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Assassin's Creed Odyssey trailer shows off the "Power of Choice" 8

Ubifost released a new trailer of its next game in the Assassin’s Creed universe- Odyssey. The trailer is titled “Power of Choice” and showcases how player influences can affect the outcome of the game.

The trailer is a firsthand demo of how player choice plays a huge role in the game. Players can choose and customize everything from the character, dialogue choices, abilities, battle approaches, and even the armor style. If anything, this is the most open-ended Assassin’s Creed game to date. With the success of Origins, Odyssey takes a similar approach to player freedom and kicks it up a notch (or two).

Odyssey is scheduled for release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 5th. Early access is available to those who purchase one of the special editions of the game, which can be pre-ordered right now from major retailers.

Here are some official selling points (taken from the Ubisoft product page):

  • LEGENDARY SPARTAN HERO – Embark on your journey from outcast to legendary Spartan hero.
  • ANCIENT GREECE AWAITS – Explore an entire country full of unexpected encounters in untamed environments and bustling ancient cities.
  • CHOOSE YOUR PATH – Your choices shape the world around you. Play in a living world that constantly reacts to your every decision.
  • FIGHT EPIC BATTLES – Charge into epic clashes between Sparta and Athens in battles pitting 150v150 soldiers against each other.
  • SAIL THE AEGEAN SEA – Recruit crewmembers and customize your ship as you explore and battle your way on the open seas.

The game will be available in a variety of different versions. The Gold Edition costs $99.99 and includes the base game, season pass, and the Secrets of Greece mission with 2-day early access.

The Digital Deluxe Edition costs $79.99 and includes the Deluxe Edition pass. Pre-orders get The Blind King mission and the Secrets of Greece mission.

The Ultimate Edition costs $119.99 and comes with the special missions, Deluxe Edition pass, and a 2-day earlier access.

There are also two special editions of the game. The first is the Spartan Edition, which retails at $159.99 and includes the following:

  • Early access starting on October 2.
  • Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey Gold Edition and additional digital content including: the Deluxe Edition Pack, the Season Pass, which will give players access to all upcoming major expansions, as well as the additional mission The Blind King.
  • By Ubicollectibles : The Spartan Leap statue (height 15.55 in)
  • The Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey Steelbook™.
  • A 64-page art book featuring the original designs and concept art from the Ubisoft Quebec artists.
  • An exclusive lithograph by Hugo Puzzuoli from Ubisoft Quebec.
  • A printed version of the game’s hand-drawn world map.
  • The selected game soundtrack.

The second is the Pantheon Collector’s Edition, which will cost $219.99 and includes:

  • Early access starting on October 2.
  • Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey Gold Edition and additional digital content including: the Deluxe Edition Pack, the Season Pass, which will give players access to all upcoming major expansions, as well as the additional mission The Blind King.
  • By Ubicollectibles : Two statues forming The Nemesis Diorama (height 39.5cm, width 65cm).
  • The Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey Steelbook™.
  • A 64-page art book featuring the original designs and concept art from the Ubisoft Quebec artists.
  • An exclusive lithograph by Hugo Puzzuoli from Ubisoft Quebec.
  • A printed version of the game’s hand-drawn world map.

There are plenty of goodies to be had for those hardcore fans of Assassin’s Creed and plenty to get excited about.

ASUS ROG Smartphone – price, specs, and details

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ASUS ROG Smartphone - price, specs, and details 9

The ASUS ROG smartphone has some impressive features. If you’re a gamer and you want the most gamer-forward smartphone on the planet, the ASUS ROG is a worthy contender. We’ve scoured the web and got our hands on some of the finer specs on this phone and compiled it into one place for easy reading.

Display

The phone has glass on the front and rear. It has a black glass display that offers the phone extra protection and a nice little shimmer to it. Gaming smartphones have unconventional designs and the ROG is no exception. It has speakers on the top and bottom for surround sound and a single front camera with some photosensors.

It’s powered by a 6-inch super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1080 x 2160 pixel resolution with a 402 PPI density. It has an 18:9 aspect ration with a refresh rate of a buttery-smooth 90Hz for full gaming immersion and HDR support.

Hardware

It’s powered by the Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon SoC with an octa-core CPU clocked at 2.9GHz. As for the GPU, it’s loaded with the trusty and reliable Adreno 630GPU. It’ll take nano sim cards (up to two).

Dimensions and Weight

It measures 158.5 x 76.2 x 8.6mm and weighs 200g.

Operating System and Storage

Android Oreo OS is the core operating system with the ASUS ROG gaming UI. It’s been tweaked for better performance and allows an overclocked CPU with 8GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 512GB of onboard storage.

Camera

The phone has a standard 12MP camera in the back with an 8MP front-facing cam with a slew of features like PDAF, face detection, and dual tone dual-LED flash. IT can record 4K, 2K, and standard 1K video. The rear camera can capture 2160p video at 30FPS and the front can do 720p at 30FPS. The rear cam can also do panoramas, touch focus, geo-tagging, autofocus, and face detection. Pretty much standard now.

Battery

The battery is a 4,000mAh removable unit with a 24 hour 3G talk time. It charges 66% in 35 minutes with Quick Charge 3.0 technology. It also has dual USB Type-C ports.

Sensors/Connectivity

Digital compass, accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, fingerprint scanner (rear), 3.5mm jack, loudspeaker, USB Type-C 3.1, USB Type-C 2.1, and face unlock.

Software

Video streaming, active noise cancellation, image/video editor, document viewer/editor, MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player, MP4, WMV/H.265, FM radio, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, maps.

Networking

It’ll support 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE. It’ll also support GPRS, EDGE, 3G/WCDMA/HSPA, WLAN, HSPA+, WiFi hotspot, 4GLET, and NFC.

Suggested Price

The ASUS ROG smartphone will retail for approximately $780-$950 USD, though this unconfirmed at the moment. It’ll only be available in Black at the time of this writing.