News

Dead or Alive 6: Bass, Mila, and Tina back as pro wrestlers; New map “The Muscle”

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Dead or Alive 6: Bass, Mila, and Tina back as pro wrestlers; New map "The Muscle" 1

Koei Tecmo announced today that a trio of older characters will be returning to the join the roster in Dead or Alive 6, the much-anticipated fighting game with very attractive “visuals.”

They announced the return of Bass, Tina, and Mila in a press release accompanied by a trailer. Their press release is here:

“Known as “The King of the Ring,” Bass is a seasoned professional wrestler known for his destructive power and versatile throwing techniques. He’s also the doting father of Tina, “The Superstar of a Thousand Dreams.” And while Tina flashes some of the same versatile throws as her father; including an explosive new slam added to her repertoire, she is also proficient in strikes as Bass trains her to become the top wrestler in the world. But, Tina isn’t the only female ready to fight in DEAD OR ALIVE 6; as professional wrestling fan, Mila, has also been added to the line-up. Nicknamed “The Hot-Blooded Champ,” Mila is a mixed-martial artist known for winning titles as a result of tackling techniques and her expertise in the ground-and-pound game that she hopes will prove fruitful in her quest to ultimately takedown her long-time rival, Bass.”

And a new level called “The Muscle” has been announced. The map is themed as a professional wrestling organization’s arena which matches the return of the characters. So they’re all tied together in a way. To add some flare, the ropes are powered by electricity. And there are flaming pillars to boot.

There was a small teaser released earlier this week which may have had fans speculating other characters rather than these, but with Tecmo’s press release, this should calm some nerves. I expect more news about Dead or Alive 6 coming next week as multiple trailers are now being released alongside some screenshots.

Nytotengu will also be a pre-order goodie and Phase 4 will come with the Digital Deluxe edition of DOA6. There will also be a special event hosted called the Dead or Alive Festival 2018 which takes place next month dedicated to the game.

DOA6 rolls out on February 15th, 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

CoD: Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode will have 120 FPS Cap; Pre-load details

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CoD: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode will have 120 FPS Cap; Pre-load details 2

With Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on the way, releasing on October 12th, PC fans have been debating about when the pre-load launch would be available and what FPS the Blackout mode would be running on launch day. Hardcore fans want the details, and we’ve done some research to find out some of this prized and glorious detail.

The PC pre-load will go live on Tuesday, October 9th. The game will be available on the Battle.net launcher for the first time in the history of the CoD series.

Treyarch also confirmed that the FPS cap will be a decent 120 FPS on PC. Although this may not appeal to those 240Hz gamers, it’s still decent for the majority of players. Treyarch will likely raise the cap (or uncap it) later on. This is to ensure server stability and prevent lag and crashes rather than getting players the best-looking gameplay.

Update: Treyarch plans to raise the cap to 144 FPS when the servers become stable and then uncap it after the first few days of launch.

Fans of the regular multiplayer modes will be running uncapped as soon as the game launches. This only applies to Blackout.

CoD: BO4 is the first game in the series to not have a single-player mode, as fans dig the multiplayer and that’s what Treyarch is focusing on.

Here’s a copy of the announcement from Treyarch regarding FPS and pre-load on PC:

Black Ops 4 Launch on PC

October 12th is rapidly approaching – not fast enough, we know. We can’t wait to get the game in your hands either. We’ve been working really hard together with our partners at Beenox, to optimize the game on PC in preparation for day 1 and beyond.

Over the last few weeks, there are a few questions that have risen to the top of your list, so we’d like to get to them here…

Pre-Loading: Players who have pre-ordered via Battle.net can begin pre-loading on Tuesday, October 9 (PDT).

Blackout on PC: We’re really looking forward to players dropping into Blackout on day 1 – we’ve made a number of updates to the game, all based on your feedback, and we can’t wait to show you how hard we’ve been at work. One thing we’ve seen and heard people ask about is the PC framerate…

Part of our commitment to the PC is to support uncapped framerate in the game.

During the Blackout Beta, we made the decision to cap it at 90fps to monitor performance and online stability. The reason for this approach was that as a Beta we had a lot of testing to do. It made sense for getting the game right for the whole community, and we were happy with the end result and the data we pulled from this approach.

We’ve come a long way since the Beta, thanks to all your feedback, but we still want to roll things out carefully.

Since the framerate affects the load on the servers, we want to ensure that the game delivers a great playable experience for everyone who dives in those first moments.

So, our plan: 

• At launch, we will start Blackout with a 120fps cap on PC

• Ensure the moment the game launches that it has high stability for every player

• Raise to 144fps as soon as the servers are stable

• And assuming all looks good, enable uncapped framerates within the first few days (Zombies and Multiplayer modes will be uncapped starting immediately on day 1.

This is the right plan to ensure a smooth, playable game for the whole community out of the gate.

As always, we are listening and hear you loud and clear. Please share your feedback, and stay tuned for frequent updates on our progress here and on twitter @treyarchpc

/Rob

 

Telltale fires the remaining “skeletal staff”

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Telltale fires the remaining "skeletal staff" 3

Telltale made headlines a few weeks back when players found out that the story-based developer has confirmed that they’re going out of business. A press release from Telltale confirmed the rumors and the main reason was due to no sales.

They then posted some more information in the following days regarding layoffs. They said that a skeletal staff remains of about two dozen employees who will continue to work for the company’s final project- The Walking Dead: The Final Season.

Fans wondered about whether or not they’ll get to see episodes two and three of the game or if it’ll just end abruptly with the first two episodes. Telltale came out saying that with supporters, they’ll continue to finish the game. This made fans happy, even though they’re favorite emotionally-driven storytelling company is about to shut down.

Today, Rachel Noel, the Narrative Designer at Telltale, came out and said that she found everyone has been fired. A post on Twitter marks this event as basically Telltale trying to sweet talk the fans by keeping a small staff for whatever reason, but apparently not. Telltale Games has fired the remaining staff entirely.

After the first announcement was posted on 9/21, studios and members of the industry came out to help with job fairs and support. Now, the rest of the crew needs that same help. From her tweet, it’s apparent that they didn’t expect to get fired so quickly and were met with frustration:

Telltale Games can now be considered to be officially done with its projects. I mean, what else are they going to do without a staff? This is a pretty disgusting move to be doing considering what they just said a few weeks ago. Bad Telltale. Bad.

You can get more info about the layoffs here.

Fortnite’s Dark Bomber skin rolling out today; Epic Games “confirms” with tweet

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Fortnite's Dark Bomber skin rolling out today; Epic Games "confirms" with tweet 4

The Dark Bomber skin is a Fornite skin that was first teased on the loading screens of Fortnite Season 5’s Battle Pass. The skin is finally here after a month-long wait.

Dark Bomber is a doppelganger to the Bright Bomber that was first released to Fortnite back in January of this year. The skin has a lore connection to Kevin, the cube with a glowing aura that has been present in the past few weeks.

Other than that, no details were given, even with the loading screen that was first released last month. But Epic went ahead with a tweet on their Twitter account using a set of emoticons to signal the new Dark Bomber skin.

The clouds and lighting must be the opposite o the rainbow and sun. There’s no doubt about it hat’s they’re referring to the Dark Bomber skin that’s now going to finally be released. The comments range from excited remarks from fans already, which means that Epic is rolling in it. Fans can now purchase the Dark Bomber skin tonight during a launch with a Thunder Crash pickaxe and Dark Glyph glider, which were both detailed in the leaks earlier this week for the V6.01 patch notes.

The game shop updates in about 30 minutes from the time of this writing. Get ready for the slew of new, awesomely grotesque skin this patch. Here comes 6.01! Are you ready for some flashy, dark skins?

SoulCalibur VI: Inferno screenshots and character reveal trailer

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SoulCalibur VI: Inferno screenshots and character reveal trailer 5

Bandai Namco recently announced that the evil Inferno will be joining the roster of playable characters in SoulCalibur VI. To follow up with the burning news, the publisher released a press release with some artowkr and screenshots- to answer some burning questions from fans.

Inferno is the burning embodiment of Soul Edge’s will which is a fusion of many souls its absorbed in its evil lifetime. He has no goals, but he likes to fight and get more souls.

SoulCalibur VI: Inferno screenshots and character reveal trailer 6 SoulCalibur VI: Inferno screenshots and character reveal trailer 7

The screenshots released were more than concept art. They’re fleshed out and almost look like beta footage, but they better, because the game comes out in just a few weeks. The released artwork is likely the near-final concept of Inferno for the game. He’s shrouded by burning fire. The flames that surround him range from orange to purple and he’s definitely on fire.

You can get more info about the game from producer Motohiro Okubo on the current and past situation of the SoulCalibur titles and why the sixth game took so long to create. He was interviewed at Gamesom with DualShockers.

There are also rumors that one of the DLC characters could be a guest character from another franchise, specifically, Geralt from The Witcher series.

SoulCalibur VI rolls out on October 19th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

CoD: BO4’s Blackout Mode gets a new option for picking up items

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CoD: BO4's Blackout Mode gets a new option for picking up items 8

Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 4′s Blackout Mode (the battle royale mode) has been changed slightly. This isn’t the first time it’s been changed. Ever since the player feedback from the successful beta, the game has evolved to meet player demand and to balance the game.

Blackout Mode is CoD’s take on the battle royale mode which many games are jumping upon the bandwagon. Players will be dropped onto a map and compete to be the last one standing. The mode includes all maps from previous CoD games and combines them all into one giant map. A few revisions have been made since the beta that took place from September 10-17th. Player counts increased and several balancing issues were addressed.

Previously, players would have to hold the item pickup button in order to add a new item to their inventory. This was annoying since players would have to stop and stare at an item to pick it up, which wastes valuable time and makes you vulnerable to enemy fire. Now, instead of holding down the button, you can now have the option to simply press it instead to grab loot, but you won’t reload your weapon.

This comes from Game Design Director at Treyarch, David Vonderhaar, who posted a tweet on his Twitter account with an image showing off the new item swap option. He lets players know that this means reloading while looking at items isn’t possible if it’s toggled on:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 rolls out on October 12th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

 

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC Pack free on 10/9; New maps, weapons, modes

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XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DLC Pack free on 10/9; New maps, weapons, modes 9

XCOM 2 will be getting a new, free DLC content pack next week that’s literally packed with new content. XCOM 2 and its expansion XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack will be free on October 9th, 2018 for gamers who own the base game. But it’s not free forever- on December 3rd, the DLC will be had for $7.99. So act fast!

War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack will include three new gameplay modes: Legacy Ops, Resistance Archives, and Skirmish. Legacy Ops is the connection between XCOM: Enemy Uknown and XCOM 2, which takes place 20 years in the future where an alien threat has broken out.

Here’s a video showing off the pack:

Legacy Ops includes 5 missions where you control Central officer Bradford, Lily Shen, and other XCOM personnel as you wade through mission and defeat hordes of aliens hungry to eat you up. This mode will have no base management and is a combat only mode.

Resistance Archives will be somewhat of the same, but with missions that get harder and harder each time you beat them. And Skirmish mode sounds exactly like what it reads- you can “create and play your own custom XCOM tactical missions using the included editor that allows you to modify various settings (map, squad loadouts, objective, enemies, and more.)”

There will also be new maps in the Central Archives mission alongside these new game modes. The developers are remasting several battlefields from the 2012 XCOM: Enemy Uknown and its expansion Enemy Within. Weapons and armor will also be included in the mission. After you complete the mission in Legacy Ops, you can use the weapons and armor in the base game.

There will also be new helmets, soldier attitudes, and photobooth options. There will also be new soundtrack options that includes tracks from the previous game and a new UFO Defense-like track. Lastly, there will be an Offline Challenge Mode that allows players to fight in any of the game’s 100+ War of the Chosen challenges as often as you want to play them again.

Stay tuned for updates.

Splatoon 2 update Version 4.1.0: What’s new?

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Splatoon 2 update Version 4.1.0: What's new? 10

Another update just went live for Splatoon 2. Since its inception on the Switch, Splatoon 2 has sen a bunch of new updates packed with fixes, content, and more. Yesterday, the latest update just rolled up. Find out what’s new in Version 4.1.0.

For starters, players will get access to the game’s final arena called the Skipper Pavillion, which is themed as an old magical temple located somewhere outside the land of Inkopolis. Players will also get a new Booyah Bomb and a new selection of special weapons known as the Kensa Collection.

Lastly, there will be four new music tracks featuring music from artists SashiMori and Diss-Pair.

The latest update can be downloaded by going online on your Switch or manually updating it via the Options menu tucked in the Software icon. Although the 4.1.0 update isn’t much, it’s still worth trying out Skipper Pavilion just for fun. The new music tracks are also pretty cool and catchy. And the new set of weapons are neat to look at.

Splatoon 2 is Nintendo’s latest entry into the ink-slinging domination game and has gone as far as hosting esports events. Although it’s not as popular as other leading esports game and genres, it’s still a decent and competitive game for the Nintendo Switch. If you still haven’t played this game yet and you’re interested in it, you can easily find it for cheap online (eBay, Amazon, etc.).

Here are the game features from the product’s sales page (from Nintendo):

  • Turf War – Team up in fierce 4-on-4 multiplayer battles* to see which team can cover the most turf with ink
  • Salmon Run – 2-4 players* can team up for co-op fun and defeat waves of enemy Salmonids.
  • New weapons – Dual wield the new Splat Dualies and avoid getting splatted with the new Dodge Roll move. Mainstays like the Splat Roller and Splat Charger have been remixed to include new gameplay mechanics, and all special weapons are brand-new.
  • Local and Online Multiplayer – In a first for the series, compete in local multiplayer Turf War battles*, whether in TV mode or on-the-go in handheld or tabletop modes. Online battles also make a return**
  • New ways to play – Play with the Joy-Con™ controllers or the Nintendo Switch™ Pro Controller (sold separately), both of which support motion controls for better aiming
  • Fresh Updates – Similar to the Splatoon™ game for the Wii U™ console, updates will roll out post-launch, adding new content and in-game events.
  • Smart Device Support** – An upcoming smart-device application for the Nintendo Switch system will allow players to set play appointments with friends and teammates, as well as voice chat with friends during play sessions.
  • LAN Play – Up to 10 docked systems – eight players and two spectators – can connect via wired LAN (additional accessories required; sold separately). This feature allows players to create local Private Battle tournaments without the need for an internet connection. Local wireless play is perfect for your regular gaming get-togethers, but LAN Play is where it’s at when you want to organize a serious tournament.
  • Customize – Change your Inkling’s style with different weapons, headgear, clothes, and shoes. Gear isn’t just aesthetic; it offers different boosts in battles.
  • amiibo – Compatible with all Splatoon™ series amiibo™ figures. By tapping these amiibo, the figure’s character will appear in the game and befriend players. Befriend an amiibo character and they will remember favorited weapons, gear, outfits and option settings.

Solomon’s Key, Super Dodge Ball, Tournament Golf coming to Switch Online

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Solomon's Key, Super Dodge Ball, Tournament Golf coming to Switch Online 11

Nintendo Switch Online launched last month and we’re just a few weeks into the new service by Nintendo. The service allows players to save cloud games, play NES classic games, and play online- of course. A trio of new NES titles will be added to the online library on October 10th:

  • NES Open Tournament Golf
  • Solomon’s Key
  • Super Dodge Ball

Each game will have online multiplayer so players can compete against each other in these retro classics that were previously only local multiplayer capable.

NES Open Tournament Golf was released for the NES back in 1991 and a Famicom Disk System version was released in 1987 in Japan. This game was the predecessor for Mario Golf and allows you to play as Mario and Luigi across three courses with Donkey Kong as the accountant and Princess Peach and Daisy as golf caddies. Pretty cool, huh?

Solomon’s Key is a puzzler that came out in 1987 by Tecmo for the NES. Since then, it’s been available on every Virtual Console and the PS4 as an Arcade Archives game.

Super Dodge Ball is exactly what it sounds like. The game is a sports title released back in 1989 by Technos Japan Group for the NES. The game is based on the arcade cabinet of the same name and features a special “bean ball” mode where six players duke it out until only one remain. The game features the full roster of ten teams each with individually-named players respective to each team. This was a lesser-known title, but still was a blast to play.

Nintendo Switch Online can be paid for different lengths, but the yearly subscription is the best deal at $19.99. Buying the service allows players to purchase special NES Joy-Con controllers that work with the NES titles. They’re replicas of the classic NES controllers for some real retro gaming. You can get more details about Nintendo Switch Online here.

Harry Potter action RPG leaked; Game details and trailer

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Harry Potter action RPG leaked; Game details and trailer 12

A Harry Potter action RPG game has been rumored and news has been surfacing the web today. Harry Potter hasn’t made any headlines lately, but he’s back in an online video game that’s been leaked and the gameplay sounds pretty awesome with all the rumors surrounding so far. But then again, it’s all rumors and speculation at this point. The game could just be a cheap phone game for all we know.

The leak was posted on Reddit earlier today with some basic details that the upcoming game is an ARPG (action RPG) set in the 19th century and will allow you to create your own character with unique abilities. The plot is something along the lines of being accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but a late acceptance. From there, you carve your own adventure.

Here’s the post from the original Reddit thread:

Set in the 19th Century (1800s) Wizarding World, this third-person open-world action RPG game centers around your character with unique abilities who has earned a late acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a newly arrived fifth-year student to Hogwarts that demonstrates a latent gift for magic with a unique ability to track and identify remnants of a pottant ancient power.

Upon arrival, strange events begin to materialize In the Forbidden Forrest and trouble begins to brew within the castle walls. Together with Professor Elezar Fig, you embark on a journey through both familiar and never before seen locations to bring to light the truth behind these mysterious occurrences.

On your quest you will craft potions, master new spells, and discover fantastical beasts, you will battle Dark Wizards, Goblins, and other supernatural enemies and uncover the truth about your destiny. The Fate of the Wizarding World lies in your hands.

And here are some key features from the game from the same post:

  • Journey to Hogwarts to become one of 8 different Wizard types.
  • Experience Hogwarts, make new friends, uncover new secrets, and change the fate of the Wizarding World.
  • Experience a new magic system that creates countless possibilities to master magic.
  • Freely explore the Wizarding World for the first time.
  • Choose your house and friends at Hogwarts, and decide to pursue a path of good or evil.
  • Create your own witch or wizard, and experience an all-new story separate from the books or films.

From this, we can assume it’s going to have online capabilities from the “make new friends” feature, unless they mean specifically through NPCs.

Warner Bros. Interactive was seeking senior writers back in 2017 for Avalanche Software with  “with a deep understanding of British culture and grammatical presentation,” which could mean that the Disney Infinity developer could be responsible for this game. Another theory is that this is being developed by RockSteady. Awesome online ARPG or cheap phone game? Who knows.

Here’s a video going around talking about the development of the game and some base concept footage:

https://youtu.be/2-HER1xKQl4

 

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 13

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:

Best-selling PSVR titles of all time documented

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Best-selling PSVR titles of all time documented 14

Mat Piscatella, a video game industry analyst working for The NPD Group, documented the five best-selling games of all time based on the PSVR label in the US. He posted his research via a tweet on his Twiter account. He listed the top five best-selling “PSVR Required” titles in order of sales:

  • Farpoint
  • Worlds VR
  • Batman: Arkham VR
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Driveclub VR

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1047147289532219397

He noted that the ranking was determined by dollar sales. Whether or not you like these titles, sales are the best measurement of how a game performs. While we can argue back and forth with personal anecdotes, Metacritic scores, and even personal reviews, nothing can be said about the sales figures for games.

This is often the strongest measure of success in the industry. Even if you’ve heard a game sucks, as long as it sells, it’s a success.

Piscatella ranked the games by dollar amount and not sales figures. His research only contains PS4 games that require PSVR, not where the VR is optional. Three of the five games were published by Sony and Sony’s offerings have been more popular than others in terms of PSVR

First-party titles seem to be often more successful than third-party games in terms of PSVR sales overall. With only Skyrim and Batman being third-party titles, they need to step it up in order to compete with Sony’s own lineup. Of course, it’s much easier for Sony to promote their own titles on their own PS Store.

VR gaming is becoming more mainstream as companies like Sony facilitate the process. With the rise of more affordable VR tech, like the Oculus Quest, VR gaming is only expanding worldwide. As we get more and more games adopting this tech, we’re entering a new frontier. Or should I say, a new dimension?

Image: PlayStation.

Source: The NPD Group.

Fortnite’s Disco Domination Mode; Season 6 details

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One of the most popular things about Fortnite is the ability to dance with a huge selection of emotes to choose from. Players can select from a variety of smooth moves based on real-life dance moves to just randomness from Epic Games.

Fortnite's Disco Domination Mode; Season 6 details 16

A new Limited time Mode will be released for the worlds most popular battle royale game and will sport these emotes as a major function in this objective-based, exclusive new Fortnite mode.

The name is called Disco Domination, and anyone can guess that its a typical domination-type game mode from many other shooters like Call of Duty and Unreal Championship. Players will fight for control points throughout the map, but players will have to dance on these points in order to score game objectives.

The idea is funny and I can already tell it’ll be hectic. Imagine running into a room with a whole team dancing around on a point and you need to take them down.

There will also be more challenges and easter eggs that utilize motes. The sixth season of Fortnite comes in an update yet to be announced. Players will be able to play across all platforms.

Super Hyperactive Ninja coming October 25th to the Switch

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Super Hyperactive Ninja coming October 25th to the Switch 17

The hyperactive platformer Super Hyperactive Ninja is making its way onto the Nintendo Switch.

After a release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the game will be coming to the Switch on October 25th. Super Hyperactive Ninja is a game built for speedrunners where players control one of several ninjas that are fueled by society’s favorite energy beverage- a steaming cup of coffee!

You’ll have to speed through the many levels by jumping, running, and even wall-climbing as you try to collect all the cups of coffee before falling asleep. As you drink coffee, your ninja will enter Hyperactive Mode, which lets you run even faster and kill enemies even faster than your hyped-up self. Don’t run out of coffee or else the game’s over.

The game also has a one-on-one fighting mode that’s somewhat hidden. The mechanics of it is similar to Super Smash Bros where you fight on platforms rather than a sidescrolling fighter. The mode also has some guest characters like Aragami, Jack from Caveman Warriors, and Ice Cream Surfer’s Ace.

Here’s a trailer of the game:

New Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ad features rapper Post Malone (it’s ridiculous)

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New Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ad features rapper Post Malone (it's ridiculous) 18

Ah, the time for Pepsi, Doritos, and Activision to team up again and market the new Call of Duty game. Like a yearly ritual, we’ll get those infamous “Double EXP” or “special rewards” vouchers for buying specially marked packs of whatever food or beverage. Activision is known to go all out in advertising their new CoD games, with some commercials features celebrities like Rob Riggle and Jonah Hill.

This time, the newest advertising campaign for the next AAA title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, features the face of rapper Post Malone doing various things in a video titled “Feelin’ Like a Rockstar” with the #CODNATION hashtag.

The video is extremely weird and outlandish, but that’s expected. The ad is kind of dumb and cheap, but has a certain appeal but you just can’t stop watching.

The newest CoD will feature an all-new mode called Blackout, which is a battle royale mode we’ve talked about many times. the map is the largest map ever created in any Call of Duty game ever made and features different maps from its legacy.

The game will launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 12th.

The prototype of Cuphead is nothing like the one you know today

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The prototype of Cuphead is nothing like the one you know today 19

On the Cuphead official Twitter account, developers released some early artwork of the game’s development. They tweeted a short clip of the game as a prototype which would eventually evolve into Cuphead– the modern platformer with old-school animation (and a very difficult gameplay style).

After watching the short tweet, the prototype has little-to-no similarities to the final Cuphead we all know and love (and hate). The only things that even look remotely related to the final product are the giant bosses. Developing a game is typically a reserved process unless it’s a crowdfunded sort of project. The process is always interesting to document especially if it’s an indie title that went viral.

Cuphead is one of them. The game sold over 3M copies and was released on Xbox One and PC. The first upcoming DLC is about to be released sometime in 2019, so the game is still going. Plans to expand the game to other consoles is still unconfirmed at this point in time.

Dragon Quest XI S for Nintendo Switch will “take quite some time”

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Dragon Quest XI S for Nintendo Switch will "take quite some time" 20

Square Enix released a video yesterday featuring Hokuto Okamoto and Director Takeshi Uchikawa of Dragon Quest XI. The two key developers talk about the development of their next entry into the Dragon Quest series and localization of the game and explain again why the 3DS version of Dragon quest won’t be released in the West. Simply put: It doesn’t make business sense for Square.

Dragon Quest XI S will be released for Nintendo Switch and is still in the “midst of development” according to these key players in the development of the game. The Japanese version is undergoing the same status and they said to “expect the development to still take quite some time.” So if you’re waiting for the Switch version, don’t hold your breath.

You can view the dev team interview of Dragon Quest VI here:

 

PlayStation Experience 2018 won’t be happening – “Not enough PS exclusives”

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PlayStation Experience 2018 won't be happening - "Not enough PS exclusives" 21

Fans have been questioning for months now on the debacle of whether or not Sony will be hosting PlayStation Experience this year- the fan-powered event that takes place every year in December. As we edge towards the holidays, Sony still hasn’t announced anything regarding when the event would take place in 2018.

Sony’s Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, Shawn Layden, just confirmed that the PS Experience will be canceled for 2018. This was confirmed in this week’s episode of the PlayStation Blogcast (the official PS Blog)

Layden said he knows many fans will be upset over this news. He somewhat trotted on the idea that due to 2019 wouldn’t have an expansive lineup of PlayStation exclusive others than Days Gone and Dreams, so thus, Sony wouldn’t be able to make costs meet to host the event this year. He didn’t want to disappoint fans either by not having any solid lineup of games to show off.

PlayStation Experience may return again next year. This is just due to a coincidental poor lineup of exclusives.

Sony still has other games like Ghost of Tsushima, Death Standing, and The Last of Us Part II, but none of them are worthy to talk about during the event. Sony may attend Paris Games Week again this year, and we may hear something about their first-party lineup before the new year. Let’s get an awesome lineup for next year’s PS Experience.

Devil May Cry 5 will run at 4K and 60 frames per second

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Devil May Cry 5‘s Matt Walker of Capcom just confirmed that the next-gen game will run at a smooth 4K 60FPS.

Many fans will be stoked. Running this visual glory at a smooth 60FPS for that silky-smooth and enjoyable experience would be amazing for fans of the long-running series. Now, it’s really coming this March 2019.

But the catch is that it really depends on what system you get the game on.

PS4 Pro owners won’t be able to play it native 4K. Capcom will be using the checkerboarding to upscale the resolution to 4K. But the 60FPS is true 60FPS. Combine that with upscaled 4K means a smooth, visually applying (just judging by the screenshots so far), and glorious gameplay experience. Whether or not DMC5 will offer a “performance” or “visuals” preference toggle is still unknown at this point in time. So basically, DMC5 will be PS4 Pro enhanced.

Xbox One owners have less information to go on at this point. It may get the same upscaled 4K, but the Xbox One X is already more than capable of running it at native 4K with 60FPS. At this point, we’ll have to only speculate that native 4K with 60 frames per second will be offered for the Xbox One X console, granted that the system has no issue handling the game.

PC players will likely get the naive 4K resolution with 60FPS (to no surprise).

Devil May Cry 5 rolls out March of 2019 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Designing Spider-Man is much more difficult than you think

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The Spider-Man news just keeps coming.

Earlier yesterday, a “documentary” video featuring some developers from Marvel and Insomniac Games was released and the topic of discussion was how key people from both teams working together and approached the development of Spider-Man.

The web-slinging hero is one of the most well-known characters in fictional works through comics, TV shows, movies, books, and of course, video games. Creating him for a modern adoption is pretty difficult- much more than most people would think.

Bill Rosemann of Marvel Games says that making a Spider-Man game is a huge responsibility and uses the quote “with great power comes great responsibility.” Creating Spidey wasn’t easy as the team had to balance modern gameplay design while keeping true to the hero’s abilities. He wanted to make Spider-Man’s world accessible for new fans of the game or series and that’s something that Stan Lee tried to do when he was writing the original comic where Spider-Man was created.

Bryan Intihar from Insomniac Games says that the previous games from the Ulitmate Spider-Man series were important in game design because it proved that you could change the hero and his characters in many ways while remaining “true to what makes him special.” This is pretty cool to know how much they can toy around with the idea when they create a Spider-Man game.

If you’re not sick of hearing about Spider-Man news yet, check out the video below to see how the game was adapted to modern playstyles while keeping true to the original comic in some ways:

League of Legend’s Ezreal next in line for a rework

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League of Legend's Ezreal next in line for a rework 24

League of Legend’s Ezreal is next in line for a rework- following Nunu and Willump earlier this Summer. Ezreal will get a whole overhaul of his abilities to make him relevant and possibly “meta” again.

Riot Games revealed a small glimpse of overhauled Ezreal in action by releasing a new teaser trailer showing off the flashy new abilities, with his “W” being the biggest new change compared to the previous Ezreal reworks. Ezreal also got a new look with a stylistic approach to his character model. Otherwise, he looks pretty much the same as before.

The trailer also presents the variety of skins for Ezreal and how they’ll look after the rework.

At the moment, there’s no specific release date as to when the overhaul will be complete. Following this trailer, there should be a new Champion Spotlight with a detailed look at his changes after the overhaul is complete.

Patch 1.06 is now live for Marvel’s Spider-Man – What’s new?

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Marvel’s Spider-Man gets a new patch on the PS4 today. Insomniac Games has released patch version 1.06 and the download went live earlier today.

The patch varies in size, but the full patch notes are available on Reddit (and for your convenience, listed below). The game is still going strong in sales, especially in the UK, and there will be continual updates for the web-slinging hero and new DLC rolls out next month.

Here are the full patch notes:

New Features
-Added the option to invert the camera horizontally

Fixes & Updates
-Addressed an issue where the game could on load of a save game
-Addressed an issue where players could get stuck inside the Empire State Building spire
-Addressed various issues with Research Stations locking incorrectly
-Addressed an issue where puzzles would be locked out in the lab after investigating an audio recorder.
-Addressed a progression stopper when completing Demon Bases and quitting out of the end
-Addressed a progression stopper when knocking Mr. Negative out of the arena during his boss fight.
-Addressed a progression stopper during point launch tutorial
-Further improved stability
-Addressed various UI issues
-Addressed various animation pop issues
-Addressed various additional issues

Spider-Man was released this month and has been shattering records on the PS4- being the fastest-selling PS4 game of all time and beat out all other games for the PS4’s history. There have also been rumors of more Marvel games coming out due to the success of Spider-Man. This could be the beginning of something awesome.

Anyway, patch 1.06 went live today. Sign in and download the update and get your sling on!

Capcom announces Capcom Connect; Giving away codes for Street Fighter IV

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Capcom has announced a new weekly live stream called Capcom Connect, which will take place on Capcom Fighters Twitch channel every Tuesday starting at 8 PM PT. The show’s all about Street Fighter with news, updates, matches between pros and local players, and code giveaways.

Capcom Connect will be hosted in partnership with the Esports Arena in Oakland, California. The stream will be broadcasted mainly to allow Capcom to connect with the Street Fighter community, ranging from professional esport players to casual fans who watch streams.

The show will cover news about the Capcom Pro Tour tournaments, announcements, fan art, cosplay, pro interviews, and matchups between pro and local talent all over the nation and possibly globally also.

Viewers will get a free chance to redeem codes for Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition by tweeting to Capcom FIghters by using a unique hashtag identifier before 8:15 PM PT on September 25th- the show’s premiere day. The codes are currently reserved for North American viewers.

Telltale may be releasing more episodes for The Walking Dead: The Final Season

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Telltale may be releasing more episodes for The Walking Dead: The Final Season 27

Last week’s news about Telltale shutting down its studio upset many fans who’ve experienced their narrative, cinematic, and storyline-driven works of art. One main concern was whether or not fans will be getting a continued work on their latest project The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Rumors were surfaced that the game would be abandoned from multiple reports, including Melissa Hutchison, Clementine’s VA.

A few hours ago, Telltale Games released a new statement and wrote that the game may end up getting a conclusion after all. Even though the studio will be shut down, multiple partners have approached the company offering help to allow them to finish their latest project that’s on the brink of a shutdown. Telltale said they hope to release episodes three and four later on in the coming future- or as they wrote, “in some form.”

This doesn’t mean that the final two episodes are confirmed. But it’s news for many who are looking for some confirmation that the company still has some hope for finishing their final project. Telltale said they’ll release more info soon.

Right now, The Walking Dead: The Final Season is still scheduled for release tomorrow on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Dark Souls Remastered trailer for Nintendo Switch released

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Dark Souls Remastered for the Nintendo Switch is coming. And guess what? It’s gonna be a relaxing game. Heh.

Nintendo has released a new trailer showing off the new game before it’s launch next month on the Switch. The trailer shows off some of the classic ARPG action we’ve all grown to adore (and hate) about the Dark Souls series with a humorous tale of “keeping calm” while trying to reduce the urge to rage quit and toss your handheld across the room:

https://youtu.be/9sjv8es_gv0

The Switch edition will be a remastered edition of Dark Souls which was released earlier in 2018 on consoles and PC. The Switch version has been delayed just before its launch to later this year. Even with the delay, the game is still planned and confirmed with only a few weeks away from its release next month.

Finally, Nintendo fans will get to be able to experience the meditative and relaxing gameplay that is Dark Souls!

Switch owners will get some goodies like being able to use a new amiibo figure based on Solaire of Astora.

Dark Souls Remastered will release on October 19th for the Nintendo Switch. It’s currently available for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Possibly more Marvel Games coming after Spider-Man’s success

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Marvel’s Spider-Man is still the hottest selling game in the UK right now, and has been crowned as the fastest selling PlayStation first-party title of all time and has shattered records within Marvel and PlayStation games as a whole. And from internet critics all over the interwebs.

Bill Rosemann, Creative Director at Marvel Games, recently responded to a tweet from GameSpot that discussed why Spider-Man selling well was an important factor. Rosemann built upon the thought of the game being “the Iron Man of Marvel video games.” This quite originally was said by Bryan Inthihar, Creative Director over at Insomniac Games. The quote was said during an interview with Kinda Funny Games:

The point is that now this quote really solidifies a new beginning of Marvel console games, a for how Iron Man was one of the first comic book movies that unleashed the Marvel universe to the general population. This will likely be the start of a plethora of quality, first-party, titles based on comic book superheroes from the Marvel brand. But what hero is up next Who knows? It’s all pure speculation at this point. But with its success so far, the fans have spoken and more Marvel games are likely on the way. Fans are stoked about this tweet.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is available exclusively for the PS4. Just about 3.4M players have already experienced the game. This speaks “volumes” already. (Pun not intended.)

Battlefield V Open Beta: Stats, details, changes

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Battlefield V developer DICE has posted a new report with some details from the Battlefield V Open Beta test. Statistics and various fascinating tidbits were organized into an infographic that spanned the duration of the event.

Some interesting details:

  • 36% of players chose to play as Assault (most popular)
  • 14% of players chose to play as Support (least popular)
  • 23,000,000 buddy revives were made
  • 80,000,000 fortifications were constructed
  • 143,139 snowmen were built
  • Tens of millions of hours were played

DICE also went ahead and listed a plethora of changes that’ll be adjusted for the full game’s release on November 20th. Some notable changes are improving player visibility, respawn timers, time to kill, vehicle options, systemic vehicle damage, pilot/gunner visibility.

Daniel Berlin, DICE’s Design Director, tweeted about some other game changes that’ll be adjusted:

DICE has also released a video where they discuss and talk about everything they’ve gathered from the beta in a “dev talk” video:

Battlefield V launches on the 20th of November for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Devil May Cry 5 PC system requirements released

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Devil May Cry 5 PC system requirements released 31

Capcom released some details about the PC system requirements for their newest AAA title Devil May Cry 5. The system requirements were posted on the game’s store page on Steam. From this, we can gather some details on how demanding (and visually impressive) the game will be.

DMC5 is using a new game engine to render, so players will need a modern PC to run the game smoothly. If you want the best of the best, you’ll need a very beefy PC in order to maximize the game’s settings. Surprisingly enough, the game is only a mere 35GB in space, which is relatively small compared to how demanding the reqreuiments are.

Here are the Devil May Cry 5 PC minimum system requirements:

  • OS: WINDOWS® 7 (64-BIT Required)
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4770 3.4GHz or better
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX760 or better
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 35 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: *Controllers recommended *Internet connection required for game activation.

And the recommended system requirements:

  • OS: WINDOWS® 7 (64-BIT Required)
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4770 3.4GHz or better
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX960 or better
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 35 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: *Controllers recommended *Internet connection required for game activation.

Judging from the posted specs, most gamers will be okay with a current or previous generation graphics card. However, the game does require an Intel i7 CPU, which is pretty much the top-of-the-line processor that’s widely available. Even though the i9 is out, it’s not practical given its steep price point and non-adapted technology.

The i7 is affordable enough but is still top tier compared to its i5 and i3 counterparts. Enthusiasts can argue about specs, cores, and cache sizes, but generally, the i7 is superior due to the sheer number of cores available compared to the i5 and i3. Modern games and applications can utilize multiple (or all) cores that the i7 offers.

DMC5 is a CPU-demanding game from the looks of it so far. You can get more details about the game here on Steam.

Telltale Games shutting down (confirmed)

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Telltale Games shutting down (confirmed) 32

Earlier today, we reported that Telltale Games was rumored to be shutting down based on a post from Kevin Bruner, a co-founder of the company. Telltale Games specializes in the narrative, story-driven games such as The Walking Dead, Minecraft: Story Mode, Tales from the Borderlands, and The Wolf Among Us.

Now, Telltale has gone out and confirmed that the company will be shutting down after its final project: The Walking Dead: The Final Season. An official statement reports that the studio has faced financial obstacles in a year “marked by insurmountable challenges” and thus will “being a majority studio closure.” Telltale mentions that the majority of the company’s staff were fired today as a result of the shutdown with only a skeletal staff remaining to finish their last project.

CEO Pete Hawley explains:

“It’s been an incredibly difficult year for Telltale as we worked to set the company on a new course” and that the company “ran out of time to get there.”

Hawley says that even though the company is struggling, they’ve released some of their best content this year and “received a tremendous amount of positive feedback.” He hopes that the staff will spread their “brand of storytelling across the games industry.”

Telltale then said the further info is available regarding their current and other projects will be released in the coming weeks. The statement can be seen on their official Twitter account @telltalegames:

They’ll be releasing more information for the fans who were expecting other titles and wondering what will happen to them soon. For now, it just seems like Telltale will be telling its last tale due to low sales.

 

Telltale Games on its final chapter – Possible shutdown imminent

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Telltale Games on its final chapter - Possible shutdown imminent 33

Telltale Games’ co-founder Kevin Bruner released a report earlier today where one of the studio’s co-founders has officially confirmed that the future for the studio behind epic, narrative-driven, emotional games such as The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead may be ending its final chapter- in other words, Telltale Games may be shutting down.

Kevin Bruner, the former co-founder of the company, posted a personal statement on his blog titled “Telltale closure” and goes over some of the issues the company has undergone, including huge layoffs and is in the thoughts of shutting down. Bruner said that the news comes from various sources that they’re shutting down due to financial struggles in the past few years. Bruner says:

“[He was] saddened at the loss of a studio that green-lit crazy ideas that no one else would consider [and] sometimes it seemed like we had more than we could handle but we stuck together and forged ahead”

Bruner is no longer working for the studio, but he cites very different visions between him and the company’s Board of Directors. He left over a year ago but notest hat he and the Board had different ideas for the direction to take the company and he also filed a lawsuit against Telltale seeking damages for his removal from the Board.

Sources say that the lawsuit is still ongoing between Bruner and Telltale, but his statement does cite various sources that Telltale is about to shut down with only a small staff remaining on the drawing board and is facing major financial struggles.

No official word has been reported from the official company at this time. Stay tuned for updates.