Games

Fortnite tournaments now live with version 6.10

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Fortnite tournaments now live with version 6.10 1

Fortnite now officially has in-game tournaments starting today. The official announcement by Epic Games was made yesterday, and anyone who plays ForFortnitetnite knows that there are always news updates about esports tournaments.

But now, new in-game tourneys allow anyone to join in Fortnite official matches. This news was leaked a few days ago, but the confirmed announcement was made yesterday afternoon by Epic.

The addition was released with today’s version 6.10 update. Each tourney will have players that start out on the same tier, and competitors scoring points through their final placement during matches or by getting kills. Matchmaking will pair players based on skill- sort of like MMR- but it’s not.

Here’s the official announcement by Epic:

On release, the following tournaments will be scheduled in NA*, EU, BR, ASIA, and OCE regions.  Scheduled times will vary by region – check the tournament inside the client for details.

  • Alpha Tournament (Solo)
    • Dates: October 16 – October 21
    • Description: Participate in the first in-game tournament, spanning across several days of daily competition!
  • Beta Tournament (Duo)
    • Dates: October 23 – October 25
    • Description: Grab a friend and take on the world – until you are the last two left.
  • Friday Night Fortnite (Squad)
    • Dates: October 19 – November 30
    • Description: Join your friends every Friday and kick off your weekend with some exciting Squad action.
  • Salty Springs Cup (Solo)
    • Dates: October 27 – October 31
    • Description: One week and three attempts to prove you’re the saltiest that Salty Springs has to offer.
  • Tomato Temple Cup (Duo)
    • Dates: October 28 – November 1
    • Description: Become legends of the Tomato Temple Cup.

*Note: NAE and NAW are combined together into the same tournament, but players will still connect to their nearest server except in low population circumstances primarily when a player has a high score.

The new update also added a rocket launcher and a new trap called the Chiller. There’s also the Discom Domination limited time game mode, so check that out for some laughs.

The game will also be competitive across platforms, so it doesn’t matter what your platform of choice is, you can play competitively against any other (or same) platform. Game balance was a concern since obviously some peripherals are known to give the benefit during matches, however, Epic issues that based on their observations and research, the controller and keyboard are on-par.

Regardless, you can now play with others in tournaments across all platforms. Fortnite is settings the standard for cross-platform play.

Skybound Games hosting AMA to clear fan confusion

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Skybound Games hosting AMA to clear fan confusion 2

With Telltale Games officially shutting down and firing their remaining staff, fans were anxious about what would happen to their final project: The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Skybound Games then took over by stepping in and agreeing to finish the series with the original developers to keep the integrity of the storyline.

But this didn’t quench the minds of fans who still had dozens of questions that went unanswered. So let’s get some answers.

So now Skybound Games is officially hosting an AMA on Reddit (ask me anything) this week on Wednesday, October 17th at 5PM EST on the official Walking Dead subreddit. CEO Ian Howe will be answering questions on the thread that fans have about the project and how the game will continue moving forward after Telltale’s fiasco.

Skybound has done everything right so far by hiring the original staff, and now answering questions. Let’s see how they’ll handle this project.

The next season, Season 3, of The Walking Dead: The Final Season hasn’t been announced, but we’ll probably learn when they’ll release it as it’s a popular question amongst fans and will be guaranteed to be asked during this Skybound AMA.

Stay tuned for updates. We’ll post the most significant questions and answers from Skybound in another post to keep you updated. We’re as anxious as you.

KARNAGE shows off Diamond camo in BO4; Treyarch praised

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KARNAGE shows off Diamond camo in BO4; Treyarch praised 3

The Diamond camo in BO4 is pure awesome. Treyarch has gone to new heights with the camo by adding a new color-changing effect for every five kills you get without getting killed yourself. The camo turns to various shades of blue, red, and green.

But when you get a color change seven times during a single match, the Diamond camo starts becoming animated into a rainbow effect. This was discovered by KARNAGE, a clan on Black Ops 4.

Here, they show off a Tactical Rifle called the Swordfish:

To get the Diamond camo, you have to land 100 headshots with a weapon to get the basic set, then you’ll unlock the next set. Once all the challenges are unlocked for a set, you’ll get the Gold camo for that weapon. Once you earn the Gold camo for every weapon, you’ll get the legendary Diamond camo for all weapons in that glass.

However, there’s one last camo you can get once you unlock- assuming you can get Diamond for every weapon class. The camo’s called Dark Matter, and this one’s only for the most dedicated players. You can guess how you’ll look just from the name. Do you have a Dark Matter camo already? Let us know in the comments!

PS4 users forced to factory reset system after seeing glitched message

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PlayStation 4 users are having a problem with their consoles where it gets frozen and are forced to do a factory reset after getting a prompt from the console. Users are advising other players to set their messages to private after receiving a message on their console. When it’s viewed, it freezes the entire system and requires a complete wipe to get it working again.

The message can’t be deleted from the console dash or the mobile app, but mixed reports surfaced on the web. This bug was found on Saturday and has yet to be fixed. Reddit users are reporting the problem all over the PS4 subreddit:

“Even deleting the message from the mobile app doesn’t work. It happened to me during Rainbow Six: Siege. A player from the other team used a dummy account to send the message and crashed my entire team. We all have had to factory reset. Only one of our guys wasn’t affected and he has his messages private. Do this ASAP to prevent this from happening to you.” (Via Huntstarck on Reddit.)

Setting messages to private will prevent getting this message that locks up your machine- just to be safe. Sony hasn’t reported or announced anything about this problem just yet. Stay tuned for some quick updates on this system-breaking bug.

CoD: BO4 shatters day one sales records in total Activision history

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CoD: BO4 shatters day one sales records in total Activision history 5

Activision came out with a press release yesterday to announce their latest publication, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, has been the most successful day one digital release in the publisher’s entire history. This means that sales for CoD: BO4 broke all previous sales records- including the record set by Call of Duty: WII and broke the record for day one sales on the entire PlayStation Store and release day sales on Xbox One.

PC digital sales were over double that of those set by WWII on first day sales. Player count also grew since last year’s release. The press release also had a remark from Call of Duty Executive VP and GM Rob Kostrich:

Black Ops 4 is an incredible game, and the community’s response to it has been amazing. We have shattered multiple digital day one sales records, and the number of people who connected online on day one to play has grown year on year. But probably the most important thing is that the community is having so much fun across Multiplayer, Zombies and Blackout. We are so incredibly thankful for the community’s trust and support. This is just the beginning, it’s going to be an incredible journey with Black Ops 4.

This is the first entry into the CoD lineup that features a battle royale mode and has absolutely no single-player campaign. BO4 is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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? 6

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.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales preview – 37 minutes of gameplay

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Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales preview - 37 minutes of gameplay 7

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, developed by CD Projekt has released a new gameplay video today. The video showcases 37 minutes of in-game footage showing off more of the game’s playstyle.

The video covers the game’s first act and allows interested players to see both the storyline and the actual gameplay. There are also a few encounters where players can see the turn-based, strategic combat. Over-dubbed commentary by CD Projekt RED Community Manager, Pawel Burza, talks about some of the facts behind the game and guides players through the actual storyline.

Thronebreaker is a single player RPG set in the world of The Witcher. It combines both explorations with narrative-driven puzzles and card battles. Developers that made The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have their own take in this game, which spins on the tale of Meve. Meve is then forced to fight again on a dark journey of destruction and revenge after an invasion in his town.

This game is a spin-off of the popular Witcher series and allows players to explore parts of the world they’ve never seen. Complete with rich characters, explorations, and strategic battles, this is Witcher like you’ve never seen. The game will be available October 23 for PC on GoG.com. A console release for PS4 and Xbox One will follow in December. Currently, pre-orders can be made only through the official site.

Any Witcher fan will surely appreciate this entry- even if it’s not a direct successor to Wild Hunt.

Here’s a description of the video:

The walkthrough focuses on the game’s first act and is rich in both story and exploration gameplay, as well as turn-based card battle combat. The video also features commentary from Paweł Burza (Community Manager), who provides gamers with insight into the world of Thronebreaker.

And here’s the video:

Stay tuned for coverage upon the game’s rollout.

Tfue destroys all of Tilted in one go; Epic releases hotfix

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Tfue destroys all of Tilted in one go; Epic releases hotfix 8

Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney destroyed Tilted Towers in just a few seconds in a viral clip. Epic Games has then released a hotfix to correct the weird bug within the game.

FaZe Clan’s Tfue built a 3-floor build and a ramp next to a  building in Tilted Towers, and then he destroyed the ramp. He was able to destroy the main building in the area. The glitch was likely due to a  recent update Fortnite underwent which made any non-player structures “think” they were created by a player, so they can get destroyed.

He knew what he was doing because he got the bug to work immediately and surprised his many viewers at the same time.

Epic Games released a new update on October 14 to patch this bug:

Bug or not, Epic responded fast and that’s what matters. Keeping an eye on their game shows some form of quality control. You can see the clip here.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection won’t have cross-platform play

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A Blizzard representative confirmed that cross-play between PS4, Xbox One, and the Switch won’t be happening for Diablo III: Eternal Collection.

The release was released to DualShockers and states the following:

“While we love the idea of bringing our players together across platforms, we do not have any plans to implement cross-platform gameplay for Diablo at this time.”

The news follows speculation from a report that rumored the next entry could have cross-platform play.

Yesterday, a report from Business Insider interviewing a Blizzard rep surfaced the web. The gist of the report is whether or not Diablo III will have cross-play. Since Diablo III will have multiple platforms that are near identical and the Diablo series being a multiplayer game, it makes sense for it to have cross-play capabilities.

The Blizzard rep told Business Insider that “It’s a question of when, not if” which hinted at the possibility of all platforms being able to play with one another in the ARPG that is Diablo.

The folks working with Diablo were also said to be working with partners at Sony and Microsoft to enable cross-play with the Switch. Microsoft and Nintendo seem to have no problem playing with other competitors, but Sony was always the odd-man out.

Back in September, Sony did backtrack their decision about cross-play and started considering joining the bandwagon, which surprised many PlayStation owners. Given that the company’s CEO Kenichiro Yoshida saying that the PS4 is the “best place to play,” the turnaround was quick. Fans were surprised with the decision and overall pleased to be able to join others gamers on other systems globally.

With Blizzard’s confirmation on this ordeal, fans now won’t be too disappointed when the game doesn’t deliver what was speculated. Although, just that report made fans happy for that single day. But then again, “it’s a question of when, not if.”

Diablo III: Eternal Collection comes out November 2nd for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Get ready for another epic RPG.

Source: Business Insider.

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

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Fornite's gifting system: Details, rules, and screenshots 10

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 11
(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.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster and XII on Switch: Details and release date

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Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster and XII on Switch: Details and release date 12

Square Enix revealed that they would be bringing new Final Fantasy games to the Switch. This was news back in September of this year and would be the first time many of these Final Fantasy games would be on a Nintendo platform.

A trio of the newest entries into the long-running, legendary series that is Final Fantasy just made the list of games to be ported onto the Nintendo Switch:

  • Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 (HD Remaster bundle)
  • Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Here are some product features (via Amazon)

  • Updated and reconstructed visuals to be Far more realistic and richly textured vs the original game
  • Upgraded models for each character, graphical updates for a more immersive environment, Xbox One exclusive Achievements
  • Estimated gameplay hours: 40-50 per title
  • Sound – players will be able to choose between original sound and the new, re-arranged sound

They’ve all just become available for pre-order. Pricing for X and X-2 HD will be available on the Switch as a collection and will run you mere $49.99- less than the price of a AAA title for these bundled, remastered, epic games.

This is an awesome price, especially if you’ve never played them before. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will also be available for $49.99 and will be the Definitive Edition of FFXII. For the books, these prices are identical to the launch prices on PS4.

FFX is the most recent game that features turn-based strategic combat and does it right. FFX-2 has a newer combat system based on character avatars and equips that focuses more on real-time combat. FFXII is a passive combat system that works by deciding what your character will do before the actual battle takes place.

Each game is wildly different in terms of the combat, so players can literally cherry pick their favorite. PC and PS4 had their share of FF games, now it’s time for some Nintendo action! Awesome.

Release dates have been confirmed. The games will be released on December 31, 2019. So that’s more than a year from now. Regardless, we’ll keep you updated until then.

CoD: Black Ops 4 new patch on launch day; What’s new?

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CoD: Black Ops 4 new patch on launch day; What's new? 13

Treyarch has released a new launch day patch for Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 4 that covers everything from UI to FPS to player count. This is the first major update Treyarch has released so far, and it just so happens that’s it on the launch of CoD: BO4.

Let’s dive in and see what’s new.

The major change is for FPS for PC players. Originally, it was capped at 120FPS. Now Treyarch has raised that to 160FPS this afternoon and eventually plans to remove the FPS cap in the coming days. Now PC gamers can enjoy BO4 without stutter and get that silky smooth G-Sync or FreeSync gameplay they crave.

The right-click bug where a UI would appear in the Personalization menu was fixed. This was pretty annoying to deal with. A few other UI bugs were fixed with menus being persistent when the game starts or Socials/Settings menus being not accessible during Blackout.

Razor Wire also now won’t trigger “team kill” detection in Hardcore modes.

Spawning locations in Domination were fixed.

Some general stability improvements have also been made.

Some other minor fixes were also released to all platforms today. Various UI enhancements for the menus were updated and some stat tracking problems were fixed in Blackout mode. Apparently, some players had XP issues for multiplayer which has also been resolved.

Some mode changes for Zombies have also been added. Easter eggs are now live for all regions so you can hunt down and find the hidden eggs all over the Zombies game modes in Voyage of Despair, IX, Classified, and Blood of the Dead.

And a few other fixes were also done: FFA players would also sometimes appear on a team together, this has been fixed. Players can also now get extra XP for unlocking Reactive and Mastercraft camos. And some game descriptions for Challenge modes were fixed.

Treyarch is monitoring the BO4 subreddit for player feedback and will have another detailed update coming tomorrow, October 13th. Right now, they’re actively listening to suggestions, bugs, and other posts by players across their social channels based on a post on the BO4 subreddit:

“First off: we’re currently tracking everything you’ve been sharing with us here on the subreddit and across our social channels. We’ll have a more detailed update coming tomorrow, so please keep your feedback coming in the comments below in the meantime. We see you.”

Here are the full patch notes (via Reddit):

Welcome to Launch Day! 

After three years, two Betas, and an incredible amount of feedback from the Call of Duty community, we’re finally able to celebrate the official launch of Black Ops 4 with you all!

This only the beginning…

You can expect regular updates and frequent communication from us going forward, just like during our MP and Blackout Betas. The big difference today: October 12th marks the beginning of a living, breathing game that we’re fully committed to over the long haul. There’s going to be a lot to talk about, starting with today’s game update.

First off: we’re currently tracking everything you’ve been sharing with us here on the subreddit and across our social channels. We’ll have a more detailed update coming tomorrow, so please keep your feedback coming in the comments below in the meantime. We see you.

Also, a hugely important piece of news for our Zombies players: we’ve enabled Easter Eggs worldwide in Voyage of Despair, IX, Blood of the Dead, and Classified! Good hunting out there.

We’ve made the following updates to the game today (Global):

  • General
    • Made many stability and UI improvements based on early tracking of live issues prior to official launch.
  • Multiplayer
    • Fixed an issue where Free-for-All players could sometimes appear on a team together.
    • Players are now granted bonus XP for unlocking Reactive and Mastercraft camos.
    • Corrected some inaccurate Challenge descriptions.
  • Zombies
    • Turned on Easter Eggs for all Zombies levels.
  • Blackout
    • Addressed some issues with Merits and stat tracking.

We’ve also made the following additional fixes specific to PC:

  • Framerate
    • Framerate cap increased to 160 FPS; uncapped framerate planned in the coming days.
  • Menus
    • Fixed an issue causing a UI error to appear when right-clicking characters in the Personalization menu.
    • Fixed an issue that caused UI elements to persist on screen when opening the Player menu at the same time as a match starting.
    • Fixed an issue causing the Social and Settings menus to be inaccessible when spectating in Blackout.

And of course, there are many other improvements in the works based on reporting from the community. Here are just a handful of the big topics that we’re working on for future updates:

  • We’re aware that players have been able to use Gestures (often referred to by the community as “Emotes”) to peek around corners in modes where that can create an unfair advantage. We’re currently working on an update that creates two systems for Gestures – the default system that is in the game now, and a competitive version that disables free look and applies different camera settings to prevent using it to see around corners. The default system will be used in parts of the game where corner peeking won’t affect gameplay balance (like the staging area of Blackout), and the competitive version will be used in modes where a more restrictive camera system is needed. We want players to always have fun with Gestures as intended, but never at the expense of fair gameplay!
  • There have been reports of sub-optimal spawning in Domination. We’re aware and working to improve that immediately.
  • Razor Wire should never trigger “team kill” detection in Hardcore modes. This is unintentional and will be fixed.

These and many other improvements are in progress, so stay tuned to this subreddit for future updates. This post is just the first of many. Remember to tag your craziest clips with #CODTopPlays on Twitter, stay hydrated out there, and enjoy everything all three modes have to offer! We’ll see you online.

-Treyarch

Fallout 76: State of West Virginia partners with Bethesda

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Fallout 76: State of West Virginia partners with Bethesda 14

Fallout 76 takes place in post-apocalyptic West Virginia. And the state of West Virginia is doing something to benefit from all this new exposure for their homeland.

Specifically, the state has partnered with Bethesda to promote the new Fallout 76 game by releasing new information on promo events and tours that they’ll have around the state. But the most awesome part is that they’ll have “Vault Boy sightings” as noted from the West Virginia Tourism Office.

Governor, Jim Justice, commented on this newfound partnership between the state and game company:

“It’s finally time the rest of the world sees what a gem West Virginia is. For years, I’ve been saying we have it all: beautiful scenery, the best people you could ask for and more. And now, we get to share a piece of that with people all over the world through the unique lens of this video game.”

News like this is always cool and interesting to see. A budding partnership up until the game’s release between the state and Bethesda will create increased resident happiness as they can appreciate the scenery and what their state has to offer. Prideful residents will be able to show off their homeland in Fallout 76. Pretty awesome to have your state featured in a video game. California next time? Anyone?

The game is coming out next month on the 14th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is available for pre-order.

Ninja plays Fortnite with Ellen on The Ellen Degeneres Show

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Ninja plays Fortnite with Ellen on The Ellen Degeneres Show 15

Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, 27, the most popular Fortnite streamer on Twitch, said he wouldn’t be streaming yesterday as he’s flying over to California. What’s he doing there? He’s a guest on the popular daytime talk show: The Ellen Degeneres Show.

The Fortnite streamer with 3.4M Twitter and 11M Twitch followers made a surprise appearance on the show. Well, actually, it was super undercover as his wife Jessica ‘JGhosty’ Blevins posted a picture on her Instagram that sort of gave the fans the heads up. She posted multiple selfies of her and Ninja on a private jet to California with only the caption that they were “filming something awesome.”

Of course, this rustled up his fanbase (and the internet). It really pays off to be good at something, doesn’t it?

Fans waited a few hours until she posted a photo that showed Ninja’s name on a special dressing room backstage at the show. And then a day later, Ellen had done the interview with Ninja- complete with a video of Ninja playing Fortnite on The Ellen Degeneres Show. They talked about his job briefly. Then the pair sat down for around of Fortnite, with Ellen not getting any kills.

Ninja has also been featured on the cover of ESPN and even played a match of Fortnite with the popular Canadian rapper Drake.

CoD: Black Ops 4’s split screen mode is awesome; Works for Blackout and Zombies

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CoD: Black Ops 4's split screen mode is awesome; Works for Blackout and Zombies 16

Split screen mode has long been a lost art ever since the good old days of N64 gaming with 4 players on a single TV. Most games nowadays don’t have split screen support and require that you and your friend both have their own copy of the game, a TV, and a console.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has split screen, and players are excited over this feature. It’s like a blast from the past. To play with a friend on the same console is awesome. And to play the new CoD is even better.

You’ll both need a PSN or Xbox Gold subscription. You’ll have to log in to each one after selecting the split screen option from the menus. Then you both need to log in to the same lobby together and bam- you’re playing CoD: Black Ops 4 in split screen.

This feature is obviously well-appreciated, as a post on Reddit garnered more than 2K upvotes just talking about how awesome to see something like this in a modern game should be done a lot more often.

Blackout allows split screen multiplayer and is the first ever battle royale game to offer this feature. Zombies also supports split-screen multiplayer also, which is a nice return as it wasn’t available on the Xbox 360 or PS3.

Split screen is available for both Xbox One and PS4, but not on PC yet, which makes sense. If you’re going to play together, you do it on a couch. On a TV. Split screen PC is a whole ‘nother world that’s just not as popular as getting together on a console.

Image: Reddit

EA taking feedback: Which Command and Conquer game to remaster?

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EA taking feedback: Which Command and Conquer game to remaster? 17

A new thread posted on the Command and Conquer subreddit talks about remasters for classic games in the long-running series that’s kind of trailed off in recent years. The anniversary of Command and Conquer is once again coming up, and EA is reported to be reaching out to the modding community for support.

EA seems to be looking for feedback to see which games fans want to be remastered. Deciding which title gets the HD remaster is the big question. The thread doesn’t detail anything else, such as platform, payment, release date, and even whether or not the new Command and Conquer remaster will have microtransactions.

The post comes from a producer at EA, Jim Vessella, who was the Lead Producer of Kane’s Wrath. They’re looking for feedback from fans and plan to return the game series to PC rather than the failure that was Command and Conquer Rivals on mobile. When it was announced at E3 earlier this year, fans were disappointed.

As much as a cash cow mobile games are, not all games should be ported exclusively to mobile platforms in general. Rivals is an F2P strategy game where players fight 1v1 as GDI, Brotherhood of Nod, or Rivals. The goal is to capture a mission silo with control points for a period of time until it launches and destroys the enemy. Fans didn’t like it at E3.

Redwood Studios GM Michael Martinez said that they were trying to build a good strategy game for mobile platforms, and urged fans to give it a try. The most recent Command and Conquer game was released in 2013 called Command and Conquer: Generals 2. But it was canceled later on.

As of now, they have a lot of work to do. They’re working on a slimmed-down strategy game for the phone which is probably just a cheap cash grab like many games on the phone are catered to loyal fans who want the full experience again on its PC origins. They should focus their energy on what the fans want. Regardless, we’ll have to see how Rivals turns out.

New Blackout trailer released; CoD: Black Ops 4 launches tomorrow

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New Blackout trailer released; CoD: Black Ops 4 launches tomorrow 18

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 comes out tomorrow, the 12th of October. With just a single day left in the calendar, the fans are stoked about tomorrow’s launch of the next CoD entry. This one will have no single player campaign and is fully focused on multiplayer. Blacks Ops 4 will also be the first CoD game with a battle royale mode called Blackout.

The latest trailer released for CoD shows off the intense action of Blackout. This mode is apparently the focus of the game and you can definitely see Treyarch put in a lot of their effort. The trailers show a hectic, chaotic war zone with adrenaline-fueled action that just slaps you across the face. Twice. Just watch the trailer and you’ll understand.

CoD’s Blackout mode has gone under many revisions since the beta test back a few months ago. Player counts have increased, FPS has been capped, and much other quality of life improvements like item pickup toggling have been implemented. The focus is on fast-paced combat as 80 players fight to be the last one standing across land, sea, and air. Weapons, throwables, vehicles, and even the radio control car are all shown in the trailer. We also see a flash of grappling hooks and wire traps.

The trailer shows that players will be fighting on the biggest map ever created, complete with character unlocks, perks, and even zombies. Blackout is like everything a player could want packed into a single game, thrown into a blender with steroids, and then lit on fire.

Is the real game actually like this? Probably not. These are all just scenes taken from game footage. There will be slow segments of course, where the game feels like a walking simulator on a such a huge map. Then again, Treyarch has been working hard on this, so who knows how the actual gameplay will be like. But if the actual Blackout mode can meet half of what’s seen in the trailer, we’ll have a very intense battle royale game on our hands. We’ll find out soon.

CoD: BO4 rolls out for PS4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow.

Fallout 76 stress test October 13-14; See if you’re one of the chosen!

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Bethesda announced today that select users on Xbox One will be able to play Fallout 76 starting this weekend.

A server stress test will be conducted in North American servers for Xbox One owners exclusively, which will allow a blessed number of players to explore, tame, and destroy things before the closed beta starts at the end of October.

To get access to this server test, the requirements are that:

  • You’re part of the Xbox Insider program
  • You’ve pre-ordered Fallout 76 on your Xbox One (no surprise)

One of the perks of pre-ordering is the ability to participate in beta tests and server tests like this.

For players who meet the two requirements, all they need to do is log-in to the Xbox Insider Portal this weekend to see if they’ve been selected by Bethesda to stress test the servers. Since it is a stress test, you can be certain that they’ll need a sufficient number of players actually playing the game and doing random things, so there’s a good chance you’ll get access.

Once you’re selected for entry, the official stress test begins October 13th- this Saturday.

As for the closed beta, Fallout 76 will begin on October 23 for those who’ve pre-ordered on Xbox One. Other platforms will be able to start their closed beta sessions on October 30.

Fallout 76 is the next entry into the long-running Fallout series and is the first time players will be able to explore a destroyed world online with other players. The game will have an MMORPG format with shelter building, crafting, and plenty of hunting. Players will be placed in a survival mode as they scavenge for resources and must form alliances- or play it lone wolf style.

And for those who aren’t interested in beta tests or server tests, Fallout 76 rolls out on November 14th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

For Honor hits 15M players; Marching Fire DLC details

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For Honor hits 15M players; Marching Fire DLC details 20

For Honor was one of those games that only did lukewarm upon launch. Sure, it has a player base, but the game didn’t have that level of virality that most were expecting.

The game has been offered for free on PC and Xbox- multiple times. We can easily guess that this is to get more players into the waning game’s player base.

However, these efforts may have finally paid off. Ubisoft’s current game lineup does include some very popular titles, like Rainbox Six Siege, which has built up over 30M players from release until now. Today, they revealed that For Honor has hit 15M total players since its launch back in February 2017. Comparing just these two games, For Honor actually seems to have done very well.

Only a year and a half later, the game already has half the total players of RSS, which is one of their more popular titles released in 2015. But then again, For Honor was offered for free many times already whereas RSS has always been a paid title- unless I missed a promotion somewhere along the lines.

Ubisoft Montreal developed both games with the help of a few other studios during development and upkeep over time. 15M players is still very impressive, even when you have to give the game away to get more players in. Now, the game’s servers are more populated and it’s likely that they’ve established a bigger active player base with all their promotional attempts.

For Honor: Marching Fire is an upcoming update which will add new game modes, such as a 4×4 breach mode, Arcade mode, and various other quality of life improvements. Players will also get a new faction called the Wu Lin, which is a group of martial artists who mastered eastern combat. There’s a new trailer that previews some of the new features coming out in Marching Fire (attached below).

For Honor is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And For Honor: Marching Fire releases on October 16th.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey goodies: Free AC3 Remastered, DLC, “enhanced” versions

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Assassin's Creed Odyssey goodies: Free AC3 Remastered, DLC, "enhanced" versions 21

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey has some exciting news regarding the additional content. Players were happy to discover that they get to play a brand new, remastered version of Assassin’s Creed III. Ubisoft released more details about this awesome freebie today.

The remastered edition comes with the DLC from the game, including the special Benedict Arnold Missions, Hidden Secrets Pack, and Tyranny of King Washington, and even a copy of Assassin’s Creed Liberation– the full game! Liberation even has Xbox One X and PS4 Pro enhanced gameplay and the original version bundled with it so you can see the difference. Talk about generous.

Here’s a game overview of AC3:

“Ignite the American Revolution as Connor, the master assassin born of the beauty and the brutality of 18th century America. As a bloody revolution draws ever nearer, your clan is threatened by a powerful group seeking to crush the American Revolution and control the thirteen colonies. Shocked into action by the devastation of your village, you pledge your life to the cause of freedom, and embark on a decades-long quest to achieve it.”

The base game will also have special enhancements (via Ubisoft):

  • Resolution upscale allowing you to play in 4K & HDR on PS4 Pro, Xbox One X, and PC, and 1080p on PS4 and Xbox One.
  • Higher resolution textures
  • New character models
  • New lighting rendering system: Physically Based Rendering
  • Denser crowd, environments and VFX

So, to recap, here’s what you get with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with the season pass:

  • Assassin’s Creed III (base game with enhancements)
  • Benedict Arnold Missions DLC
  • Hidden Secrets Pack DLC
  • Tyranny of King Washington DLC
  • Assassin’s Creed: Liberation (base game)
  • Assassin’s Creed: Liberation (enhanced)

The first DLC will release in December. It’s an episodic adventure called Legacy of the First Blade. The Fate of Atlantis is the second one and will be out Spring 2019.

MapleStory 2 now available worldwide; Game details and features

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MapleStory 2 can now be played here in the US (and all over the world) starting today. MapleStory 2 builds upon the previously huge success that is MapleStory– the original KRPG that was super popular about a decade ago (and is still playable even today).

MapleStory 2 expands upon the previous game with a completely new take on the genre, changing from sidescrolling 2D to a full 3D environment for players to quest, grind, and party.

Some players have already had a head start on the game, as Nexon, the developer, allowed early access for a paid fee. The game was available on Steam for a price about $25 for anyone who wanted to play early. However, the game was already playable back in Korea a few years ago, but now it’s available for the rest of the world.

MapleStory 2 brings back the classic classes- Archer, Thief, Knight, and Wizard (remember when those were the only classes?), but also brings in some of the newer ones such as Berserker and Heavy Gunner.

The game also brings in the new class, Runeblade, which consists of a swordsman with magical swords infused with the elements and a special 2H blade.

MapleStory 2 has everything the previous game had, such as partying, bosses, dungeons, quests, minigames, special events, and more. The game also introduces world-building for players to “express themeselves unlike ever before.”

Their Steam product page says it better:

“Explore a New Dimension of MapleStory

Get ready to enter a whole new dimension of Maple World, as you and your friends encounter vivid 3D landscapes, a multitude of special events and exciting minigames, and enemies both familiar and completely original. Your all-new MapleStory is just waiting to be shared, and we can’t wait for you to get started!”

Currently, the level cap is 60 and the game has 8 Normal Adventure Dungeons for players to explore. As time goes on, there will undoubtedly be more content added. There’s already a pair of Epic Gear for players to loot, so get your MapleStory on already!

MapleStory 2 is available for PC on Steam and Nexon.

PlayStation confirms PSN name change feature; Program details released

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PlayStation confirms PSN name change feature; Program details released 23

Sony has announced that players can officially change their PSN username.

This has been a long-awaited feature (if you can call it that) that PSN users have been demanding for years. Xbox 360 and Xbox One users could change it anytime for a fee, but PlayStation users are set in stone once their online name has been chosen. They couldn’t change it even if they paid cash.

Microsoft gives every player a default, computer-generated username at the start, but can be changed once for free. Afterward, there’s a small fee for doing so. But the process is painless.

PlayStation announced that they would allow changes to your PSN Online ID. This news surfaced the web this morning and is beginning with a group of guinea pigs. The process doesn’t have an exact date, but they said the ability to change your username “is coming.” The testing phase will end next month. Rumors have been said that the program will roll out to everyone next year.

The first name change is free (just like Xbox), but following name changes will cost $9.99. If you’re a PS Plus member, it’ll cost just $4.99 (about 50% off). The feature works just as how you’d expect, but you also have the options to “display your previous ID with your new ID, so your friends can recognize you.” However, this decision is permanent and can’t be reversed to hide the old and new username associated together.

The majority of games will support the feature, but not all. PlayStation says that “a large majority of the most-played PS4 games” will support it and any game that’s released after April 1, 2018. A list will be released when the program is rolled out so players can refer to it and see if a name change is supported.

“This feature is compatible with PS4 games originally published after April 1, 2018, and a large majority of the most-played PS4 games that were released before this date. However, please note not all games and applications for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita systems are guaranteed to support the online ID change, and users may occasionally encounter issues or errors in certain games.”

Since the feature is still new, users are bound to face bugs, glitches, and errors. They can revert back to their old name for free if they should encounter any, but only one revision is allowed during the preview program.

Halo Infinite won’t be covered at X018: “Nothing currently planned”

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Halo Infinite won't be covered at X018: "Nothing currently planned" 24

Microsoft’s X018 event takes place next month. It’s an event where they’ll step out and announce a variety of projects, reveals, and other goodies that fans will undoubtedly get hyped over. The event takes place during a special episode of Inside Xbox.

Fans have been speculating that there will surely be some Halo Infinite news during the show- the fourth game in the long-running Halo series that dates back to the original Xbox. If you’re one of them, you shouldn’t hold your breath. A tweet from 343 Industries Director of Community, Brian Jarrard, they have absolutely no news to reveal during the event, or is just covering up the news?

He said this in a tweet replying to a fan, saying that there’s “nothing currently planned for X018.” Jarrard did, however, mention about when and where they’ll end up giving out the news about the next Microsoft exclusive- just not at X018. So Halo fans, don’t get trigger finger primed just yet.

You can see the tweet here:

Halo Infinite’s reveal at E3 was one of the features of the entire presentation. Microsoft hasn’t really said anything else about the game since then. Then again, what if Jarrard is just covering up the excitement at XO18? We’ll find out.

Stay tuned for coverage.

Twitch streamer Johnny_Now locks himself in a cage for 30 days

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Twitch streamer Johnny_Now has confined himself to a cage for 30 days. He says that he wants to break his addiction to fast food and unhealthy beverages (soda) and believes that the 30 days locked into a small area will help him break free.

He believes that this will help him “free himself from within,” as he’s also documenting his progress by writing a book titled “Into the Cage: Freeing Yourself Within.”

Physical confinement can surely drive one crazy, but at the same time, there have been historical figures that have been prisoners for extended periods of time and became “cleansed” when released. Although this feat is on a much smaller scale and in a controlled environment (he has an assistant to bring him meals or other necessities and the cage looks like it’s easily broken), this still is pretty impressive for at-will confinement.

Johnny’s profile outlines and details some of his goals:

“I hope I conquer this cage and come out a better, stronger person. But who knows, the cage might easily conquer me.”

“For the next 30 days, I’ll be living in a cage in my living room. This cage will restrain me from my weaknesses, and hopefully help me become a better person.”

He dubs what he’s doing as a “self-improvement” program. He puts on some oven mitts later on and explains how he’s trying to restrain himself- from himself. He notes he’s “addicted to food” and “addicted to sugar.” In other words, he’s a “prisoner to my own desires” and has taken the extreme route of sending himself to prison.

Jonny also plans to change careers and has another adventure up his sleeve after the 30-day challenge. He’s currently on Day 6 of his personal cleansing and will continue. You can watch his stream on Twitch.

Image via Johnny_Now.

XCOM 2: Tactical Legacy Pack now live; Free for a limited time

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XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack is now available for free for anyone who owns both XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen.

This is a limited-time offer as this DLC is only free from October 9th to early December. Afterward, the content pack will run you $7.99.

Tactical Legacy Pack offers three new modes to the game: Legacy Ops, Resistance Archives, and Skirmish Mode. We’ve written about these new XCOM 2 modes in an earlier article when the content pack was first announced. This is perfect for fans who were waiting for a reason to get the dust off their copy of XCOM 2 and give the game another go.

Aside from the new game modes, there will also be new weapons, armor, maps, customization, photobooth options, attitude options, and exclusive soundtracks from XCOM: UFO Defense, Enemy Uknown, and War of the Chosen.

Early downloaders have reported that this content pack had some startup issues, crashes, and other bugs on the XCOM 2 Steam Community hub. Developer Firaxis Games and is aware of these problems and is working for a solution.

For those who don’t already own XCOM 2, it’s available right now on Steam and its War of the Chosen expansion is also on sale. Buy both and get this content pack for free. And to make it even more appealing you can even play the base game for free this weekend on Steam!

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Nuketown revealed: It’s in Russia.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Nuketown revealed: It's in Russia. 27

Treyarch just released a new teaser picture for their upcoming Nuketown map. Black Ops 4 rolls out this Friday and the launch day maps have already been confirmed. Nuketown is scheduled to release next month, but fans are unsure which Black Ops game the Nuketown map will be modeled after.

Treyarch’s latest tweet shows off a city limits sign that reads “W3LCOM3 TO NUK3TOWN” with a population of “11” and counting. To be specific, it’s more like 10.5.

The tweet was written in Russian, which easily suggests that the map will be located in a snow environment, which would actually be the first of its kind for a Nuketown map in Black Ops history. This sets up the scene for some nighttime camouflage and CQC with sniper locations. That’s typical of snowy maps in games- or at least what I imagine first hand.

Nuketown is one of the confirmed maps with the other 14 being available on launch day. The map will roll out sometime next month. PlayStation 4 owners will get to play the map a week early as part of Sony and Activision’s partnership.

Nuketown has been featured in every single Black Ops games since the beginning. With a smaller roaming area, the map is known for intense CQC and fast-paced action, with sniping at close distances (no scope!).

The new Blackout mode will also be in the form of Nuketown Island, where players will land on in an all-out last man standing battle royale mode, which has been revised many times since the beta hosted back in August.

The game comes out this Friday for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. See our coverage of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD are now Xbox One backward compatible

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Two new games made the list of Xbox One backward compatible titles. And they’re magnificent.

Both Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD are now officially playable on the Xbox One and Xbox One X. If you have the physical copy of legendary titles, you can plug them into your console and start another epic espionage adventure. Both games were released as a set as part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, which was released in 2011.

A tweet by Larry Hryb “The Xbox Guy” sparked the news:

This set is the second HD collection released by Konami that made the Xbox One backward compatibility list within the past few months. The other collection was the Silent Hill HD Collection which becomes available for backward compatible play back in July.

Now that Konami has two sets of HD collections available on the Xbox One, players can get those nostalgic feels once again. And for players who’ve never played- you now have a chance to redeem yourself on playing Konami’s top-tier games.

You can see the full list of backward compatible games here.

Funny how this news comes out just after yesterday when Solid Snake (David Hayter) told Vinny of Vinesauce to “squeeze my hog.”

 

 

Overwatch Halloween Terror 2018: New skins, Junkenstein, cosmetics

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Overwatch Halloween Terror 2018: New skins, Junkenstein, cosmetics 29

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!

David Hayter as Solid Snake tells Vinesauce’s “Vinny” to “squeeze my hog.”

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David Hayter as Solid Snake tells Vinesauce's "Vinny" to "squeeze my hog." 30

David Hayter, a voice actor known for his work as Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series has done something spectacular to please his fans. He’s always had a sleek and cool demeanor towards his fans, as you can see from his Twitter account, has honored one of the Metal Gear community’s ridiculous requests.

This time around, he says the line that was popularized by Vincent Jabroni (AKA Vinny). Vinny, a popular Twitch streamer and founder of Vinesauce, received the following line from Hayter:

“Vinny, this is Solid Snake. I’m told that you play a lot of Metal Gear games, and that you’ve devleoped a joke of telling Raiden to ‘squeeze your hog.'”

“So, I only have one thing to say.”

“Raiden, squeeze my hog!”

This was apparently paid by Twitter users Lorelei and Round of Apology. The phrase “squeeze my hog” was made popular by Vinny through his stream. After Vinny heard the line, he laughed and made some remarks. You can see the event in the attached clip here.

Vinny did make sure that the line wasn’t coming from an inappropriate standpoint:

“It wasn’t gross, like I wanted Raiden to squeeze Snake’s hog, like yeah.”

“No, it was much more innocent than that.”

Hayter did have a pleasant time reciting the line, even if it was paid for. He found some humor in it and you can tell because he had trouble holding down his laughter. Vinny laughed simultaneously at that portion of the clip. Vinny replies:

“He’s got a good sense of humor about himself.”

This meme has now been solidified on the interwebs and is forever a part of Metal Gear history. The clip has gone viral with over 220K views at the time of this writing.

Capcom unveils Resident Evil 2 remake costumes, weapons, details

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Capcom revealed some details about its upcoming horror game Resident Evil 2 remake. Specifically, Capcom went over some facts about the Digital Deluxe Edition of this remake of one of the most iconic RE games of all time.

This remake was confirmed nearly 3 years ago and has still been in development since them. Capcom showed off some of the first footage during Sony’s E3 presentation. As we inch towards the release date early next year, Capcom has revealed some more details about the game.

Some major differences include a camera over-the-shoulder rather than the static camera that was both annoying and iconic for its time. Tank controls may or may not still be present. The graphics and artwork for the remake are outstanding. They’re true to the original game with familiar scenes yet with tons more detail and effects.

A tweet posted on Capcom’s Twitter account revealed the following details:

The Deluxe Edition will include a special reversible cover with Claire Redfield on one side and Leon Kennedy on the other. There will also be a trio of exclusive costumes for Claire called “Military,” “Noir,” and “Elza Walker.” Leon will have two costumes- “Noir” and “Arklay Sheriff.”

The bundle will also come with the retro soundtrack option to listen to the old, spooky tunes that once (and still) send chills down our youthful spines. Don’t you remember walking into a door but then the “safe room” music plays? You got that sense of relief compared to any of the other dreaded tunes.

And that’s not all. The Deluxe Edition also comes with the Albert Model Samurai Edge gun. You can see the goods on this promo poster:Capcom unveils Resident Evil 2 remake costumes, weapons, details 32

Resident Evil 2 remake rolls out on January 25th, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The base game and the Deluxe Edition are both currently available for pre-order from most major retailers online.