Carmageddon: Reincarnation, which revives the "points for pedestrians" destruction derby-style car game series, will leave Steam Early Access and get a final release on April 23, developer Stainless Games has announced.
"You've been through the Early Access Pre-Alpha, you've been through Beta, and all along the enthusiasm, support and brilliant feedback of the Carmageddon community has been helping to get us to the holy grail… That is The Game… FINISHED OFF!" Stainless Games said.
The final game's Career Mode will span 16 chapters, each including 3-4 events, with 50 events to compete in overall. The multiplayer mode will allow up to eight players online or over LAN, and includes six event types: Classic Carmageddon, Car Crusher, Fox 'n' Hounds, Ped Chase, Death Race, and Checkpoint Stampede.
There are also nine maps, 36 race routes, and 24 vehicles to choose from, unless you were a Kickstarter backer, which will get you a special edition bonus car.
Cities: Skylines has achieved remarkable success in such a short time since its launch. It's not undeserved, as our review points out, but there are still a few issues with the game that have yet to be resolved with updates. Though these issues don't ruin the experience, their resolution would result in a game that makes your city planning more fun and a little less tedious.
Thankfully, the game is easily moddable. New features, new buildings, and tweaked systems are available to be installed directly from the Steam Workshop page. We've pulled together ten of the best mods that feel like essential additions for any mayor's budding metropolis.
Not since Streets of Sim City have we been able to get this close and personal with our virtual citizens. This First-person Camera mod allows you to toggle a new camera mode, by pressing the Tab key, which allows you to stroll your own impeccably designed streets. Play with citizens in the park, check out your wind turbines up close, or just creepily follow one citizen as he journeys to work and back each day. You need to get to know people if you want to be the best mayor possible.
Traffic management is crucial in Cities: Skylines, and it's hampered by the less-than-perfect traffic AI. Long story short: you want to avoid having intersections that require cars to stop at all. This is why you should browse Timboh's Marvellous Interchange Emporium--a package of massive, complex interchanges and roundabouts that don't require cars in any lane to ever stop. Plus, interchanges are just amazing.
Who's bright idea was it to only allow players to place individual trees, one at a time? It's madness. That's why you need to download the Tree Brush, a tool that lets you paint trees in a large radius--similar to the way in which you paint districts. With just a click and a few swipes of the mouse, you can have beautiful, lush forests covering the whole map.
Personally I've never had to bulldoze an abandoned building because my city is so perfect that no-one would ever want to leave, but we can't all be as civically-gifted. Use this Automatic Bulldoze mod to make your abandoned buildings automatically disappear, which is a treat for especially large cities beset by crime, fire, or buildings full of corpses due to the lack of a cemetery. You know what they say: out of sight, out of mind.
New York is known as the city that never sleeps, and since Cities: Skylines doesn't ship with a day/night cycle, technically my city can never sleep so it follows that it is on par with New York. Only, with fewer murders. To keep things that way, you should allow your citizens to get some shut-eye by installing the Day Night Cycle mod. Not only does it provide some variety to the lighting effects, but you'll also get a better sense of the passage of time.
I find it incomprehensible that the game shipped without an auto save function, especially since it costs cash to undo recent mistakes--like the wind turbine I accidentally put near the park swing set. Unlike me, you can avoid civil lawsuits from grieving mothers by installing this Auto Save mod, which allows you to set how regularly the game periodically saves your city.
Personally, I think there isn't enough concrete in Cities: Skylines. So why not turn your city into a grey Bolshevik paradise with the Soviet Buildings pack and its crown jewel, Lenin Square. After all, what better way to simulate the redistribution of wealth, and the brilliance of central planning, by giving you absolute power--down to the ability to rename individual citizens.
If you're sick of bulldozing the houses of citizens who send snarky messages to you through the in-game Chirpy app, then you need this Reddit For Chirpy mod. This changes the messages that appear from a fake social media feed, to real-life topics or replies from your preferred actual subreddit. Set it to the Cities: Skylines subreddit for a deliciously meta experience.
I lied when I said there wasn't enough concrete in Cities: Skylines. What I actually meant was, there isn't enough colour. Though the game already features a couple of colour grading options accessible through the settings menu, they don't offer visuals as gorgeous as the True Colour Correction mod. The effects here are on the subtle side, but they help to enhance the game's slightly dull palette without being too distracting. Sorry Lenin, we're trying free markets for a while.
Remember how I said traffic management is crucial? Well, one oversight Cities: Skylines made was a failure to provide in-depth visualisation for how traffic is actually flowing. The game shows heat maps, but it's not enough information to troubleshoot congested areas. Download the Traffic Report Tool to see arrows that show exactly how traffic is flowing, and how heavy it is on each road.
Strike Vector, a blazing fast aerial-combat game first released on PC last year, is coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as Strike Vector EX, indie developer RageQuit has announced.
The multiplayer-only Unreal Engine 4 game plays a lot like an arena shooter, only each player is piloting a customizable, mech-inspired ship that can instantly switch between a jet and hover mode, allowing you to zip around the game's huge maps quickly and with great precision.
"RageQuit Corporation's debut Xbox One and PS4 game has been fine tuned to provide instant feedback and tight console controls for players to light each other up amidst futuristic, industrial structures," RageQuit said in a press release. "Players gear up their ships to deploy specific strategies for each mission (paired with personal, bada$$ styles) to engage in frenetic multiplayer skirmishes."
Strike Vector EX is set to release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in summer 2015. You can buy the PC version of the game on Steam for $12.
Since the release of the first episode last month, players have been complaining about performance issues with the PlayStation 4 version of Resident Evil: Revelations 2. A recent update improves the PS4 game's frame rate, though it reportedly still suffers from some issues.
Digital Foundry examined how the patched version of Revelations 2 on PS4 compares with both the Xbox One and unpatched PS4 versions. It's a notable improvement, estimated to be anywhere from 10-15 percent better than the unpatched version.
However, while cinematics and certain segments run more smoothly on PS4 following the patch than on Xbox One, it's the Xbox One version that manages to usually stay closer to 60 frames per second. Digital Foundry's analysis found the lowest frame rate on PS4 following the patch was 31fps, compared with 27 in the unpatched PS4 version and 44 on Xbox One.
"Overall though, there's still the sense that Resident Evil Revelations 2 is one of the more poorly optimized titles based on the mature MT Framework engine," the report states. It notes that their high-end PC was unable to run the game at 60fps at a 1440p resolution, whereas older, better-looking MT Framework games like Resident Evil 5 and 6 could run at that frame rate even at 4K.
Revelations 2's final episode was released earlier this week alongside the full retail version. There's no word on whether Capcom has any further patches planned that will impact performance, but we do know that online support for Raid mode will be coming in a free update on March 31.
Microsoft has detailed the next Xbox One system update, which brings with it some minor, but much appreciated new features.
The April system update is being distributed to preview program members first, as usual, but it'll be coming in two parts. The first of these should now be in the hands of testers, and consists of three features, as detailed by Major Nelson.
With the update installed, achievement notifications will include more than just the name of the achievement you've unlocked. You'll be able to see the description for the achievement, sparing you the effort of having to open the achievements app in order to see exactly what it is you just accomplished. Should you want to still open the achievements app, it should now open more quickly when launched from a notification.
Party chat has been improved and will now help to identify what problem may be preventing you from chatting with other users. It will do this by informing you of networking issues or privacy settings that are getting in the way of being able to chat, as well as by identifying other problems--such as your Kinect's chat being disabled, as shown in the image above.
Finally, game hubs are being made more easily accessible from the activity feed. You'll be linked to a game's hub from posts involving that game, including achievements, video clips, and screenshots.
Details on the features coming in the second part of the April update's preview will be announced next week.
The PlayStation 4-exclusive role-playing game Bloodborne will be released worldwide next week. The game is being made by From Software, with director Hidetaka Miyazaki returning with the Dark Souls team to lead development. Like the Souls games, Bloodborne strives to be challenging, but will introduce the ability to attack foes with firearms.
"As you receive damage from enemies, your health bar depletes. If you play defensively and back off, that health is lost forever. But in Bloodborne, you can actually claw that health back by launching a well-timed counter attack."
A Microsoft survey is asking players if they're interested in playing a remastered version Alan Wake on Xbox One.
Images of the survey, which were first posted to Reddit, asked participants if they'd buy a remastered version of the game and recommend it to friends. Interestingly, it specifically asked if a free copy of a remastered version of Alan Wake would make them preorder Remedy Entertainment's upcoming game, Quantum Break.
Other options in the survey offered as potential preorder bonuses for Quantum Break include a $5 discount, an exclusive in-game outfit for your character, an additional 20 minutes playable chapter, and a chance to win a trip to Remedy's studios in Finland.
Last year, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said that Remedy is currently too busy working on Quantum Break, but that if Microsoft was ever to make an Alan Wake 2, Remedy would have to be the developer behind it.
Remedy's Quantum Break is due out on Xbox One in 2015. Prior to working on Alan Wake, the studio was best known for having created the Max Payne series.
Would like a remastered version of Alan Wake on Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.
Yesterday, an Xbox Store listing revealed that the Predator, the alien from the movie of the same name, will be a playable character in Mortal Kombat X for those who buy the game's premium edition.
Now, publisher Warner Bros. officially announced that the Predator will be included in one of four pieces of DLC. The other three pieces of DLC add the previously announced Jason Voorhees, Tanya, and Tremor. Each of the packs will also include new skins for existing characters.
Here's a complete breakdown of what's included in each of the packs:
The Ultimate Horror Pack:
Playable character Jason Voorhees
Horror skins Vampiress Mileena, Kraken Reptile and Pharaoh Ermac
The Klassic Pack #1:
Playable character Tanya
Klassic skins for Kano, Sonya and Liu Kang
The Predator / Prey Pack:
Playable character Predator
Predator-themed skins Commando Johnny, Infrared Scorpion and Carl Weathers as Jax
The Klassic Pack #2:
Playable character, Tremor
Klassic skins for Quan Chi, Jax and Kung Lao
In the Americas, all of the above content will be included in the Kombat Pack, which comes with the Mortal Kombat X Kollector's Edition by Coarse, Limited Edition and Premium Edition. The Kombat Pack will also be available for purchase separately for $30.
At launch, Kombat Pack owners will get the Samurai Pack, which contains three new skins: Ronin Kenshi, Samurai Shinnok and Jingu Kitana. Those who buy the Kombat Pack will also get the content earlier, before it's sold individually.
Nintendo Reveals Plan to Develop Mobile Games: After years of holding true to its long-held strategy of releasing games only for its own hardware, Nintendo this week announced a landmark partnership with DeNA to bring its catalog of beloved IP to smartphones and tablets. The first of these games will be released by the end of the year.
First Details of Nintendo's Next System, the "NX":There was Nintendo news aplenty this week, as the company also confirmed that it had started work on a brand-new system. Unfortunately, we don't know much at all about it. Nintendo will talk more about NX in 2016.
Here's a juicy rumor. Sources have told Videogamer that Warner Bros. is preparing to enter the "toys-to-life" market with a game of its own based on the LEGO franchise. The market is currently dominated by Skylanders, Disney Infinity, and Amiibo. But LEGO is a juggernaut franchise itself that stands on its own. The game, believed to be called LEGO Dimensions, is rumored to launch later this year.
The first teaser trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2was released this week. It's more of a recap of what happened in the first installment. But I'll take anything I can get right now to keep me busy until the movie hits theaters later this year.
Where are games going in the future? No one really knows. But veteran industry designer Clint Hocking (LucasArts, Ubisoft) has offered his own take in this deep dive blog post.
Gaming media veteran Geoff Keighley has launched a new podcast series called Gameslice, and the first episode will be tough to follow. In the debut episode, Keighley talks with Valve's Gabe Newell and Erik Johnson about Steam VR, Steam Machines, and the future of gaming. Before you ask, no, there is no talk about Half-Life 3. But it's a great listen all the same.
Strike Vector is a ridiculous and beautiful dog-fighting game that the young teen in you has always dreamed of. It's coming to PS4 and Xbox One.
The subtitle for the upcoming Hitman game may have been revealed. Publisher Square Enix has trademarked "World of Assassination," which certainly sounds like it would fit with the decidedly violent Hitman series. Read more here.
Augmented reality is an exciting, if not far-off, technology concept. The folks at Magic Leap, a company that wants to "bring magic back into the world," has released a concept video for its own AR technology. And it's damn impressive. Check out the full video below.
Want to help NASA hunt for asteroids? Now you can! "Protecting the Earth from the threat of asteroid impacts means first knowing where they are." Check out this app to help ensure that an Armageddon-style catastrophe doesn't destroy the world, OK?
Bohemia Interactive has announced that Arma 3's next DLC, called "Marksmen," will arrive on PC starting April 8. The expansion adds more weapons, attachments, and gear. In addition, accompanying the DLC is a "major" game update that adds a new multiplayer mode, as well as fresh training courses and a new showcase scenario. The update also makes tweaks to weapon handling and sound, Bohemia says.
Electronic Arts has trademarked something called "Unravel." Is it the name of their next game? It's too soon to say, but with E3 just around the corner, you never know.
Curse has announced a new deal with upcoming Gladiator-style arena game Bloodsports to be its official wiki. As part of the deal, Curse is also giving away beta keys for the game--head here to get one.
If all your life you'd been waiting for someone to cover the Silent Hill 2 theme music with an accordion, today is your lucky day.
Gameloft's mobile game based on the hit movie series Despicable Me has reached a whopping 500 million downloads. That's the equivalent of about one in every 14 people in the world. It's actually a pretty fun game; download it now here for iTunes, Google Play, or Windows.
The writing's been on the wall for some time, but Microsoft has now made it official. The days of Internet Explorer are coming to an end. Microsoft is killing the brand, The Verge reports. Though Internet Explorer will have a minor place in Windows 10, Microsoft is going all-in with a new, better browser currently codenamed Spartan.
Curious about Microsoft's controversial "parity" clause for Xbox One games? Eurogamer did a deep dive into the subject with ID@Xbox European boss Agostino Simonetta. Check out the full interview here.
Did you watch Showtime's Dexter?Remember the intro scene, where Dexter is going through his morning routine? Can you remember exactly how it unfolded? That's the focus of a new video game. Finish Dexter's morning routine before the music ends or you lose. Check out a trailer.
Fallout developer Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming crowdfunded role-playing game Pillars of Eternity has gone gold. That means development on the game, the 10th most-funded Kickstarter project and the second most-funded game of all-time, is finished. The game has been in development for 2.5 years and is now ready to launch across PC next week.
Following last year's news that Crytek might be facing financial hardship, the German-based developer/publisher now says it has lined up a "huge" licensing partner. "It was a huge one, probably the biggest one," Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said in a new interview with Develop. "I can't say anything more in detail, but hopefully we'll be able to announce it with the partner soon."
Remember the "You're Not You When You're Hungry" commercials from Snickers? Now there's a video game version. Check out the funny spot in the video below.
Good news and bad news for Xbox One owners. Microsoft has heard your calls for a new feature that will let you listen to music while playing a game without having to use Snap functionality. This feature is in the pipeline for a future update, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer. The bad news? It won't be here for a long time.
@thekeenpaladin It's on the list but further out. We know how we'd implement, just other things getting done first.
Celebrity modder/hacker/amazing person Ben Heck has revealed his latest creation. It's a small contraption that lets people who only have one arm play pinball. Glorious. See how Heck created the adapter in the detailed video below.
VR isn't just for games. It could also impact other industries, including film. If that happens, producers will need to be careful when making a horror movie for VR. According to Unfriended producer Jason Blum, horror movies in VR might be simply too scary to handle. "I think it would be too intense. I think you could honestly make something that would just be too much," he said in a new interview with The Verge.
There was no shortage of disappointment being expressed online following this month's debut of a RollerCoaster Tycoon World gameplay trailer (above). The graphics and cartoon-y art style were derided for not being much of an improvement upon 2004's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, but the game's developer insists World is not complete, and that significant visual improvements are coming.
"Since the switchover of our development team this past fall, we have focused on core functionality and 'under-the-hood' engine work," reads a blog post on the game's official website. "This is why there has not been significant visual progress on the title."
You might then ask why a trailer was even released, if it was only going to lead to the kind of reaction that ensued. "Our intention in releasing our pre-alpha gameplay as a trailer was to show that there is progress being made," the developer says. "RollerCoaster Tycoon has meant so much to so many people over the years, and it's entirely your prerogative to feel protective of the franchise, just as it's ours to assure you that it's in good hands. Our hope in releasing the trailer in its current state was to offer some reassurance that gameplay and features were coming along."
The final version of World will sport improved graphics thanks to a move from a Unity 4.6-based engine to a Unity 5 engine. Describing the early results as "extremely promising," the blog says we'll be getting to see the new look "by this summer."
"We know that today these words must ring hollow, but trust that we are doing everything we can to make the game look excellent," the blog states.
As for the cartoonish art, changes are coming. "In response to requests and comments from our fans, we can confirm that our teams will be adjusting the art in the game to make it not only higher definition (taking advantage of our engine upgrade) but more believable/realistic overall, while still keeping the charm of RCT," the developer says. "We want the rides to feel like they can be found in real life. Even though some of the rides may never actually exist, we want them to look like they could, and are constructed with real materials.
"Along with this, we are also taking a pass on our Americana theme to make sure those rides are closer to those you may find today when visiting your favorite amusement park."
A release date for World had not yet been announced, though a "mid-2015" date is listed on the game's Steam page. It now sounds as if that may not end up being the case.
"We will not release the game until we know that it is truly ready," the developer says. "If the game needs to be 'put back into the oven,' then we will do it. We have waited for more than 10 years for the next great edition of RCT, and we plan to take the franchise to new heights with RCTW. We will take the time required to achieve that goal.
"We will communicate on the expected release of RCTW later this year."
Sony has kicked off its latest flash sale on the PlayStation Store, discounting the prices of more than two dozen games, many of which can be had for less than a buck.
The full list of deals follows below. You don't need a PlayStation Plus membership in order to take advantage, but you will have to act before March 23 at 9 AM Pacific.
After announcing its intention to implement the planned subscription system for H1Z1's Battle Royale mode, Daybreak Games has decided to delay doing so due to players' feedback.
On Twitter yesterday, Daybreak president John Smedley revealed that the company would soon be adding a monthly pass allowing unlimited access to Battle Royale. Currently, the game provides free access to Battle Royale, but it was known that it would eventually become a premium mode that required either a real-world money fee or a ticket that could be earned in-game.
"[W]e've decided to offer a monthly pass for BR for $6.99 (699 SC)," Smedley tweeted. "It's coming in the next few days. We are seeing much higher usage of BR and we're very excited about it and wanted to offer an alternative to event tickets."
With the game still being in early access and players--who paid for the game--effectively serving as QA testers for Daybreak, fans were understandably frustrated with the news. As GameSpot's early access review noted last month, the game is far from complete.
In response to the outcry, Smedley announced on Reddit that Daybreak (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) will hold off on implementing the monthly pass.
"We've listened to your feedback. It came through loud and clear," he wrote. "From our perspective we've been really super clear about our plans from even before day 1 regarding this. What's also clear though is that you expect more from us in terms of quality level so that's what we're going to do. We'll focus on bugs, awesome new stuff and adding a ton of features to BR and our main game to make you feel like you're more than happy to pay for it. Only then will we charge for it."
Battle Royale is a mode inspired by the Arma mod of the same name. It amounts to a last-man-standing multiplayer mode where players compete to survive in an increasingly limited area (poison gas gradually works its way in from the outside). For many players, it's the definitive mode in H1Z1 as it currently exists.
H1Z1 entered early access back in January, but does not currently have a final release date. It's available on PC, with a PS4 version planned for the future.
Steam has kicked off a free weekend event for a pair of quality games that you can check out (and then buy for cheap) this weekend.
Tropico 5 can be downloaded and played as much as you want for free from now until this Sunday, March 22, at 1 PM Pacific. If you want to keep playing beyond then, the full version is 75 percent off until Monday at 10 AM, dropping its price to just $10. Alternatively, if you know anyone else who might be interested in a copy, you can pick up the two-pack for $17.49 or the four-pack for $30.
Killing Floor is also free to from now until Sunday at 1 PM. And, just like Tropico, you can pick up the full thing for 75 percent off ($5). The six-pack also carries the discount, bringing its price down to $24.98, and all of the game's DLC is also on sale, ranging in price from $1.24 to $1.99.
Tropico 5 is the latest game in the city-building franchise, while Killing Floor has a sequel coming out later this year.
Amazon prices are accurate as of publishing, but can fluctuate occasionally throughout the day.
GameSpot's gaming deals posts always highlight the best deals we can find regardless of retailer. We also occasionally use retailer affiliate links, which means that purchasing goods through those links helps support all the great content (including the deals posts) you find for free here on the site.
GameSpot has contacted Sony to find out more and will report back with anything we learn. We do know Gravity Rush 2 is currently in development, although the company hasn't offered many details about it.
Gravity Rush was one of the best games released for PlayStation Vita early in its lifespan (and was originally meant to land on PS3). It's an action-platformer where players are able to manipulate gravity--hence the title.
As GameSpot's review noted at the time, the combat was somewhat lacking, although the game's visuals were widely lauded, and with good reason.
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