Bethesda is hosting its first-ever briefing, while the aforementioned Square Enix returns with its own dedicated conference for the first time since 2012.
In addition, there will be the inaugural PC Gaming Show, bringing the total number of briefings to eight over the course of three days.
GameSpot will be on the ground at E3 2015 in Los Angeles. We'll liveblog most of the briefings and bring you all the news as it's announced.
E3 proper begins June 16 and runs through June 18. We'll also have previews, opinion pieces, image galleries, interviews, and more.
For now, check out the full E3 2015 press conference schedule below. What are you hoping to see this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Square Enix has moved the time of its E3 press briefing, avoiding a conflict with Nintendo.
The Final Fantasy publisher will now host its briefing on June 16 at 10 AM PDT. That's an hour later than the 9 AM start time it had previously announced--something that immediately raised questions, considering that is traditionally the spot occupied by Nintendo.
Sony today announced it will occupy its usual timeslot on June 15, giving us a full E3 press briefing schedule, which you can see below. GameSpot will be reporting live from E3 all week.
The newest Humble Bundle features Paradox games. Paying any price gets you games like Magicka and Knights of Pen and Paper, while paying $15 or more also gets you Europa Universalis IV, Crusader Kings II, and more. Alternatively, check out the new Humble Weekly Bundle.
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.
Harmonix revealed Rock Band 4's first six songs earlier today, and we'll see the gameplay debut in just a few more hours.
Rock Band 4's first gameplay will be showcased in the Twitch stream below at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET. To date, we've yet to see the game in action since it was revealed in early March.
Rock Band 4's first half-dozen songs, as revealed to IGN, will be showcased during the hour-long stream. Those songs are as follows:
Avenged Sevenfold - "Hail to the King"
Fleetwood Mac - "You Make Loving Fun"
Jack White - "Lazaretto"
The Killers - "Somebody Told Me"
Spin Doctors - "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
The Who - "The Seeker"
You can listen to all six in the Spotify playlist below.
Gamers eager to learn more about Star Wars: Battlefront now have a date to circle: June 15. That's when developer DICE will release the first gameplay footage to the public, through publisher Electronic Arts' briefing at E3 in Los Angeles.
Battlefront designer director Niklas Fegraeus shared the morsel of news on the game's website. He went on to tease that DICE has "great plans for E3" overall.
At the Star Wars Celebration in April, DICE showed off a Battlefront gameplay demo behind closed doors. E3 next month will be the first time, provided there are no leaks, that the public gets to see the game in action.
All that's been released publicly to date is a flashy CG trailer. It was quite impressive, but there was no actual gameplay on display.
Also in the blog post, Fegraeus revealed a new Battlefront mode called Squadron Fighter. In this mode, players will "engage in huge Starfighter battles over canyons big enough to be truly epic." The game won't have space battles, however.
Battlefront launches November 17 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Those who preorder will receive access to the free Battle of Jakku expansion on December 1, while everyone else will get to play it on December 7. This content is themed around upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
GameSpot will be on the ground in full force at E3, bringing you all the news as it's announced.
While at the Tower, you can now trade in Ascendant and Radiant materials for Glimmer and Motes of Light by interacting with the Speaker. The commendation requirement for purchasing new gear has been removed, and any you might have can now be turned into 250 reputation gains with the Vanguard, Crucible, or various factions.
Other changes include moving the first Relic in Salvage mode so that it's in a more centralized location, and fixing various weapon issues.
The notes point out that there is currently an issue where Legendary Engrams will drop that aren't recognized by the Cryptarch--they'll be mistakenly turned into Shards. Bungie recommends you hang on to any of these new purple Engrams you're lucky enough to find until next week, when another patch, 1.2.0.1, is released. You'll find patch notes for that update--which also introduces the new connection recovery system--at the bottom of this post, beneath the 1.2.0 notes.
1.2.0.1 goes live at around 10 AM PST on Tuesday, May 19, which is when Destiny's second DLC pack, House of Wolves, will be released. The expansion is included with Destiny's $35 season pass, and is also available on its own for $20.
Destiny 1.2.0 Patch notes
Weapons
Fixed an issue in which Vex Mythoclast was not respawning with primary ammunition
Fixed an issue with the Hive Disruptor perk, which now appears in the Black Hammer perk set again
Fixed an issue in which the Phantom Gift and White Nail perks would become interrupted when non-precision damage occurred from other perks
Bonus damage from other perks (e.g., Explosive Rounds, Hive Disruptor) no longer interrupts the count
Three precision hits within the time window will trigger the intended refund bonus
Fixed an issue in which the Hive Disruptor perk did not work correctly with sustained damage events (auto rifles, pulse, etc.)
Oracle Disruptor perk now triggers more often
Hive Disruptor perk now triggers more often, but does less damage per event
PVP
Salvage: Moved the first Relic to more consistently appear in a centralized position on the map
Fixed an issue that caused players to wait an excessively long time to respawn
Tower
Faction reward packages will no longer produce Shards
The Speaker will now exchange Ascendant and Radiant Materials for Glimmer and Motes of Light
Xûr will now exchange Strange Coins for Motes of Light
Commendations are no longer required to purchase gear
Commendations can now be converted to receive +250 gains in Vanguard, Crucible, or Faction reputation
Note: Etheric Light will not be made available for ascending gear until the release of House of Wolves
User Interface
Vendor Interaction Panel has been updated to support Quest chains
Vendor Interaction Panel now has better animations and fewer popping issues
Number of buffs that can be displayed on the Character screen has been increased
Inventory item stacks that have reached their highest possible count will now display gold numbers along with an alert in the tooltip that maximum quantities have been acquired
Audio
Added improved feedback for players who take damage from energy weapons
Companion
Fixed an issue in which the Mercury Grimoire card was not being awarded
Retroactively awarded the Mercury Grimoire card to players who have found the "Mercury Memory Fragment" Dead Ghost
Vendor items, damage types, and perks will now be visible on Bungie.net and the Mobile App
Technical
Addressed a crash on Xbox One that was induced when too many explosions/projectiles were generated
Fixed an issue that affected the network quality user interface
Indicators will no longer display persistently bad ("red") quality after a user's connection recovers from a temporary quality issue
The quality indicators should now always correctly reflect a user's live connection quality
*Addendum
We have discovered that Legendary Engrams will drop in 1.2.0 that the Cryptarchs will not recognize
Hold on to all newly-acquired purple Engrams until May 19th to benefit from their upgraded decryption skillset
Destiny 1.2.0.1 Patch Notes
PVP
General
Added a new Daily Reward package upon completion of the first game in the Daily Featured Crucible playlist
Added Passage Coins to reward streams across all playlists, including the Daily reward package
Increased Crucible Mark drop rate across all playlists by 100%
Increased Crucible Reputation earnings across all playlists by 100%
Increased Rare Weapons and Gear drop chance for completing games across all playlists by 100%
Added Legendary Weapon drops into the Crucible reward stream across all playlists
Added Dark Below maps into all Crucible playlists for all players to enjoy (Pantheon, The Cauldron, Skyshock)
Iron Banner
Adjusted the power curve for Iron Banner playlists to accommodate the competitive range of power in House of Wolves
Across one Iron Banner event, players competing in Iron Banner with more than one character on the same account will receive a reputation boost for the lower-ranked characters to reach parity with the higher-ranked character more quickly
Six additional Iron Banner bounties have been added to the bounty rotation
Removed an errant buff from Iron Banner Control playlist
Etheric Light will now be available at Ranks 3 and 5 in Iron Banner
Tower
The Cryptarch will no longer convert newly acquired Legendary Engrams to Shards (possibilities include gear/weapons or exotics)
Daily Heroics will produce Motes of Light in lieu of Shards
Ascending: Year 1 Legendary and Exotic gear can be upgraded to the highest power levels available in Year 1
User Interface
The Control UI above the mini scoreboard has been fixed & returned to the players HUD
Technical
Added a new "Connection Recovery" System
Specific player networking problems will now be fixed instead of kicking affected players to orbit
This will be enabled first for Trials of Osiris and rolled out to other activities over time
Assassin's Creed Syndicate, the latest game in a series where two fictitious groups stab one another throughout history while fighting over the fate of the world, appears to have a historical inaccuracy.
As discovered by Reddit, the Syndicate trailer that debuted this week features a scene in which we see a train adorned with the British Railways logo. That's all well and good, considering the game is set in London, but therein lies the problem: It's set in the 1868 version of London, and the astute Redditor points out in the image below that British Railways didn't come about until 80 years later in the real world.
Ubisoft, fortunately, has a built-in excuse thanks to the nature of the series, where all of these scenes set in the past are being accessed through the genetic memories of someone in the present day. As such, it leaves some wiggle room for these kind of apparent oversights, which can be attributed to the present-day person suffering from indigestion, or something of the sort.
Story elements aside, past Assassin's Creed games haven't always been historically accurate, either. Unity's Notre Dame, for instance, was modified to make it more interesting for the game.
Sony on Friday announced the time and date for its E3 2015 press briefing. The PlayStation 4 company's show will be held at the usual time, starting at 6 PM PDT on Monday, June 15.
The event itself will take place at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles.
With Sony's announcement today, the entire E3 briefing schedule has now been confirmed. You can see the full schedule of events below. GameSpot will be reporting live from E3 all week, bringing you news from each briefing and more, directly from the show floor.
The first-person shooter genre was forged in the grey, stone halls of Castle Wolfenstein. This medieval monument turned Nazi fortress carries all manner of connotations for the series which bears its name. But what is it about these connotations that compels us to return to Wolfenstein's corridors? Why, after 23 years, is it still exciting to find secret walls and gun down Nazis in this cold and oppressive castle?
For me, Castle Wolfenstein has an almost mythological quality about it--as much as a mythology can form around a video game locale. It is where first-person shooters as we know them were born, and it was the first testing ground of the genre's required skillset. With that skillset, Castle Wolfenstein presented a straightforward but difficult challenge: "Escape me."
Everything you need to know about Wolfenstein is in this one screenshot.
Wolfenstein 3D
The look and feel of Castle Wolfenstein was established in 1992 with the release of Wolfenstein 3D. Though later games render the location with new levels of fidelity, Wolfenstein as a place is always immediately identifiable as the same one from this game in particular. Its walls bear an imposing contrast between their grey stone and the warm reds of the swastika banners draped over them. As you blast your way to freedom, stern portraits of Nazi officials, or of the Fuhrer himself, watch wordlessly. The castle's decor doesn't hide its medieval origins, with ornate chandeliers stretching across ceilings, and hanging cages painting a grim visage of its lower dungeons.
Its walls bear an imposing contrast between their grey stone and the warm reds of the swastika banners draped over them.
These origins are also the source of its secret pushwalls: What were once escape passages for kings under siege now conceal Nazi gold and other treasures. But this version of Castle Wolfenstein didn't feel much like a real location, as its levels were designed more like a maze to puzzle your way through than as something approaching a real castle interior. Yet the narrative fantasy of your escape from capture still felt well-realised. You searched for keys to open locked doors, all the while surviving on scraps of prison dinners and dog food, scrounging weapons and ammunition from the bodies of fallen Nazis. After killing the castle's boss, a massive foe with even bigger guns, the camera spins around you as you triumphantly leap toward freedom. With that, the self-contained story that is your escape from Castle Wolfenstein concludes--appropriately enough, because it needed to stand alone as Wolfenstein 3D's freely available shareware release.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Now this is what I call a castle.
Just over ten years later, Return to Castle Wolfenstein brought us back to those grey stone walls and red banners. But this time, the game set out to establish Castle Wolfenstein as a believable location. No longer did its walls twist and turn in a 3D representation of a 2D maze, but they opened out into dining halls, sleeping quarters, and even outside onto spacious courtyards where you could divine the castle's location as being high in the mountains from the snowy vista beyond.
Grounding the iconic elements of Wolfenstein 3D in something closer to reality was fascinating because it attempted to create a concrete representation of the blanks your imagination filled in from the previous game. Secret pushwalls were reimagined as compartments behind loose bricks or maps mounted on walls, along with traditional sliding bookshelves and hidden anterooms--all of which hid now-expected Nazi gold. The narrative of your escape from the castle itself was also leant greater bombast and drama; rather than leaping toward freedom, you steal a cable car and make a precarious journey down the mountain range, with Castle Wolfenstein disappearing into the fog at your back.
We finally get to see Castle Wolfenstein from the outside.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Which brings us to Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - our third trip through the eponymous Nazi stronghold. The Old Blood extends the narrative surrounding Castle Wolfenstein even further by showing your initial disguised infiltration and giving you time to wander the fortress unimpeded. But you are inevitably caught, and the familiar narrative begins again. The castle's history is also divulged in written notes, detailing a medieval king and his explorations of the occult. Much of this history is hidden behind this version of the castle's secret walls, so your reward for exploration is not points or Nazi treasure, but narrative context.
The castle's history is also divulged in written notes, detailing a medieval king and his explorations of the occult.
But those secret walls are rare in this version of Castle Wolfenstein, because The Old Blood presents this location as one that's being torn away from the inside by the Nazis in their occult explorations. Those iconic grey stone walls have literally been demolished and dug through, revealing crypts and catacombs that hide centuries-old secrets. These makeshift tunnels twist and turn in on themselves in ways not possible 23 years ago. While this helps to develop the overall plot of The Old Blood, the story of your escape from Castle Wolfenstein itself now plays out at a slower, more sedate pace, as the game's new stealth mechanics recontextualise the prison break as a stealth mission, not a multi-level gunfight.
Everything Old is New Again
The more things change...
Castle Wolfenstein has been many things: a prison, a fortress, a dungeon, an occult laboratory. But its role in the Wolfenstein series has always remained the same. It is the first challenge you must surmount. It is hostile territory, and you must make it out alive. It is an architectural representation of the enemy force conquering space and recontextualising its purpose. It is what will happen to the rest of Europe if you don't escape its bowels.
But it is also the origin story for an entire video game genre, bringing with it a kind of purity and simplicity which makes shooters appealing at a base level. When you return to Castle Wolfenstein, you're not just revisiting a fictional location--you're visiting a museum. That is where Castle Wolfenstein's mythological quality comes from, and that is why, no matter how the context may change, we keep returning to its grey stone walls.
While Oculus VR is still keeping the Oculus Rift's price under wraps, the company on Friday cleared up another major lingering question about the device. In a blog post, Oculus revealed the Rift's recommended PC specifications. To get the "full Rift experience," the following system setup is recommended.
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output (required)
2x USB 3.0 ports (required)
Windows 7 SP1 or newer (required)
"The goal is for all Rift games and applications to deliver a great experience on this configuration," Oculus explained. "Ultimately, we believe this will be fundamental to VR's success, as developers can optimize and tune their game for a known specification, consistently achieving presence and simplifying development."
Previously, Oculus vice president Nate Mitchell said about the Rift's system requirements: "You're going to want a nice gaming rig. We're not talking about a high-end, crazy computer, but something that would run modern games well today."
For a much deeper dive into Rift's PC requirements, check out this detailed blog post from Oculus chief architect Atman Binstock. He says the configuration mentioned above "will be held for the lifetime of the Rift," and notes that price should drop over time if you need to upgrade your existing setup.
Binstock also revealed resolution details for the Rift consumer model.
"On the raw rendering costs: a traditional 1080p game at 60Hz requires 124 million shaded pixels per second. In contrast, the Rift runs at 2160×1200 at 90Hz split over dual displays, consuming 233 million pixels per second," he explained. "At the default eye-target scale, the Rift's rendering requirements go much higher: around 400 million shaded pixels per second. This means that by raw rendering costs alone, a VR game will require approximately 3x the GPU power of 1080p rendering.
The Rift consumer model launches in the first quarter of 2016, meaning it will arrive before April. As mentioned above, pricing has not been announced, but Oculus said today that fans can expect "more news" about the device in the lead-up to E3 next month.
Joining Rift next year will be Sony's PlayStation 4 headset, Project Morpheus. Meanwhile, the ViveVR headset, from Valve and HTC, is due to launch later this year. Pricing for both headsets has not been announced.
Guillermo Del Toro has discussed the recent cancellation of Silent Hills, saying that its demise, and the parting of ways between Konami and Hideo Kojima, was "completely unexpected."
Speaking in an interview with IGN, Del Toro, who was co-directing the title with Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, said the creative duo decided they wanted to push technology to the cutting edge and create a "very, very atmosphere-drenched" experience.
"The completely unexpected happened, which was Kojima and Konami separating. It's kind of left me reeling."
Asked if Del Toro would return to video games, the Hollywood director said, given his experiences so far, he wasn't sure, going on to reference his failed partnerships with THQ and the surprising split between Konami and Kojima.
"Well, you know, I've tried twice and I don't know if I'll ever come back to the form," he said.
"In one instance, the company [THQ] went down, and in the second, the completely unexpected happened, which was Kojima and Konami separating. It's kind of left me reeling."
Before being attached to Silent Hills, Del Toro was working on a horror title with THQ. The game, called InSANE, was later cancelled, as THQ entered into bankruptcy.
Although Konami has not yet outright confirmed Kojima has left, it is believed he will depart following the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Konami has removed the Kojima Productions logo from official artwork for The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes. It also removed references to titles being "A Hideo Kojima Game" from marketing material. The Kojima Productions logo was also removed from the Silent Hills/P.T. website, before Silent Hills was outright cancelled.
Blizzard Entertainment is celebrating Diablo III's third birthday with a special cow-themed in-game event.
The developer has introduced an Elite cow enemy named Herald of the Queen to the game on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
Players who find and kill this enemy (people are reporting seeing the cow all over the place) will get to enter a portal that transports them to a location known as Not The Cow Level.
There, they will square off against even more angry bovines. The special cow level will remain available though May 21.
Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Diablo III players won't get experience the udderly weird level, but they can enjoy a 100 percent bonus for EXP and Gold through May 21, Blizzard explained in a post in its forums. This buff applies to the Ultimate Evil version of the game only.
Two new classes have been revealed for upcoming action game, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III. Developer NeocoreGames provided details on the Bounty Hunter and Constructor classes, both of which feature in the trailer that can be watched below.
The Bounty Hunter class will specialise in long-range weapons that dish out physical damage, utilising mechanical seekers to track, mark, and taunt enemies. This class can also use decoys to explore dangerous areas from a distance, using them to lure out monsters.
The Constructor class will also specialise in fighting at range. Using a vast gun platform, the Constructor can summon mechanical allies comprised of command turrets, using "ornithopters" and "dismemberbots" to do his bidding.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III will be released for PC via Steam on May 22. In addition to a single-player mode with six character classes, the game will offer a four-player online co-op mode and an eight-player PvP mode. The game takes place in Borgovia after the civil war has concluded. Titular protagonist Van Helsing in his quest to hunt down a "former ally turned into fearful archvillain" and unearth "the darkest secret about the birth of the modern Borgovia." The past of Lady Katarina shall also be addressed. Like its predecessor, Van Helsing III will include tower-defense mini-game sequences.
Bungie's ongoing charity drive to raise money to support the Nepal earthquake relief effort has reached new heights. Bungie Foundation manager Christine Edwards explains as part of the Bungie Weekly Update that sales of the charity t-shirt have reached $750,000, while publisher Activision is kicking in $50,000.
"This number is astonishing, and it is because of you and your generosity," Edwards said.
The number is likely to grow even further still, as Bungie's Nepal Aid T-Shirts will remain on sale until May 24. You can buy one of the shirts--which also comes with a free Destiny in-game item--right now for $25 at Bungie's website. 100 percent of proceeds go to the Direct Relief charity, which provides medical supplies and other forms of support for the people affected by the earthquake.
The earthquake in Nepal has killed more than 7,000 people, and left thousands more injured, according to the latest estimates.
"Very quickly, this has become one of our most effective fundraisers," Bungie said. "Like your community, you make the world a better place, Guardians. We thank you--and so do the people you are helping to recover and rebuild."
Today, May 15, is the last day for Xbox 360 owners to pick up their free copy of Mafia II. 2K Czech's 2010 action game is currently free for all Xbox Live Gold subscribers as part of Microsoft's Games with Gold.
Starting tomorrow, Mafia II will be replaced by racing game F1 2013. That game will be free for subscribers through the end of the month.
At school or work? You can add Mafia II (normally $20) to your queue through the Xbox Marketplace website or by way of the SmartGlass app for your mobile device.
GameSpot scored Mafia II an 8.5/10 back in 2010. Reviewer Kevin VanOrd wrote, "Mafia II's exciting action and uncompromising mob story make for an impressive and violent adventure."
Nintendo has announced a second Splatoon testing period will be taking place for just one hour on May 23 and 24.
The demo of its upcoming paint-shooting, territory-grabbing team shooter will be available on May 23 at 23:00 BST/May 24 00:00 CEST. The very short test window precedes the release of the game on May 29.
Wii U owners that downloaded the demo during the last test period, or do so in the upcoming test period, will be entitled to a ten percent discount off the game when purchased from the eShop. The discount offer will last until June 4.
Splatoon puts a family-friendly twist on the classic team-based arena deathmatch formula. It casts players as anthropomorphic squids, arming them with paint guns, and tasking them with working together to cover the the map in their colour.
Russia's new Kurganets-25 armored vehicles are operated by an unexpected input. State-owned Russian news publication Sputnik reports that the new vehicle line, a hybrid of an armored truck and a tank, is controlled using a PlayStation-like input interface.
Why a video game controller? Albert Bakov, vice president of manufacturer Tractor Plants, explains:
"I spent two years on convincing the designers to make the console similar to a Sony Playstation gamepad, to make it easier for a young soldier to familiarize himself with it."
"As it turns out, a steering wheel is dangerous for the rib cage during an impact and when climbing out. It takes up more space but provides nothing."
No images of the Kurganets-25 controller console have been released.
The new infantry fighting vehicle--which is outfitted with a 30mm cannon, a coaxial machine gun, and four guided missiles--made its public debut earlier this month as part of a World War II victory remembrance parade. The tank is currently being evaluated and is expected to enter mass production in 2016.
The latest iteration of Sony's DualShock PlayStation controller
On display in the video is a fight sequence where Batman and Nightwing team up to take down a room of thugs. At any point, players can switch between the two heroes, keeping their combos and specials intact.
Rocksteady also explains that it had to increase the number of enemies in fight scenes to accomodate having two hero characters instead of just one. In addition to Nightwing, the Dark Knight will fight alongside Catwoman and Robin in other portions of the game, Rocksteady explained.
The video also features a spoiler-heavy Q&A portion, with Rocksteady answering questions about Arkham Knight's story mode, including sequences featuring The Riddler and more.
Double Fine previously said the Xbox One version would be released around the same time as the PC version. GameSpot has contacted Double Fine for an update on the console release.
Project lead Brad Muir responded to worries by assuring backers the Xbox One news wouldn't cause issues.
"Nothing has changed with our plans to bring Massive Chalice to the PC and to make it available for our backers first," the studio said in an update to backers. "YEAH! During this time we'll be porting the game to the Xbox One.
As soon as we're done porting the game, we'll launch it as a console exclusive on Xbox One. We're super stoked to have this additional support in giving Massive Chalice the next-gen console treatment!"
The game's first seven levels are available for free. After completing those, players will have the option to purchase additional levels individually or as part of various bundles. Pricing is available below.
Stretchmo advances the series formula of pushing and pulling blocks by, as it name suggests, allowing players to stretch blocks to help them advance through puzzles. Certain blocks can stretch from every side.
What's more, the game comes with a level-creator tool called Stretchmo Studio.
Stretchmo is not Nintendo's first free-to-play game. Earlier this year, the company released Pokemon Shuffle, a match-three style puzzle game in the vein of Bejeweled or Candy Crush.
Stretchmo Level Packs:
Mallo's Playtime Plaza ($4.99): 100 progressively challenging levels that introduce the basics of the game.
Poppy's Sculpture Square ($2.99): 50 puzzle levels shaped like animals and objects.
Corin's Fortress of Fun ($2.99): 50 levels featuring new gizmo obstacles and enemies.
Papa Blox's NES Expo ($2.99): A treat for retro fans that features 50 levels based on classic NES characters.
Stretchmo Bundles:
Bundle featuring all four attractions ($9.99).
Bundle containing "Poppy's Sculpture Square," "Corin's Fortress of Fun," and "Papa Blox's NES Expo" after "Mallo's Playtime Plaza" has already been purchased ($6.99).
Bundle of the remaining three attractions after purchasing either "Poppy's Sculpture Square," "Corin's Fortress of Fun," or "Papa Blox's NES Expo" ($8.99).
Destiny developer Bungie has revealed a new solution to help combat networking issues in the popular shooter. Say hello to "Connection Recovery." As explained in the latest Bungie Weekly Update, this new back-end feature should help players "stay rooted in the action" and not get booted back to orbit as often.
Matchmaking engineer Damian Frank discussed the new feature. First, he explained why Bungie decided to develop the new system.
"If you've played for long enough, you've probably been kicked back to orbit at some point," he started off. "This happens when basic network problems occur on the Internet. If you can't talk to our servers because some network router somewhere got too busy, you may be kicked to orbit. We've been working hard on improving this aspect of the player experience."
Frank went on to explain how Connection Recovery should help fix the most common kinds of networking issues for Destiny. However, he also explained that it's not a perfect system.
"Connection Recovery will leap into action and attempt to reconnect you," he said. "It won't always work, because the underlying networking problem may be too severe, but it gives you a fighting chance at rejoining the server you were playing on. If it's successful, you'll keep your progress and your Fireteam."
When a Connection Recovery is in progress, players will see their screen fade to black before being prompted with a message that informs them Bungie is attempting to reconnect them. This message will include the type of error players encountered. If the Connection Recovery is successful, players will be respawned "after a short time." If not, players will be kicked back to orbit.
The Connection Recovery system will launch with House of Wolves next week on May 19. However, the feature will only be available through the new Trials of Osiris multiplayer event, at least at first.
"We know that disconnections are going to be especially frustrating in Trials, so it seems like a good place to start," Frank said. "Once we have a better feel for how it's going to perform in the real world, we plan to add it to almost all activities--if all goes well."
What do you think about the new Connection Recovery system? Let us know in the comments below.
Social gaming giant King is bringing its wildly popular match-three puzzle game Candy Crush Saga to Windows 10, the next operating system from Microsoft, it was announced this week.
In fact, Candy Crush Saga will come pre-installed for everyone who upgrades to Windows 10 or downloads a new copy of the OS "for periods of time," Microsoft explained in a post on the Xbox Wire.
Candy Crush Saga for Windows 10 also includes cross-platform play with the iOS and Android versions.
What's more, Microsoft teased that other games from King will be coming to Windows 10. However, none were named outright.
This news comes as King shares have tumbled following an earnings report that warned investors about "softer" revenue for the current financial quarter.
As suspected, Microsoft has now confirmed that it will reveal new IP during its briefing at E3 next month. Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed the news on Twitter, bluntly stating, "We will have new IP at E3."
He didn't share any further specifics. Last month, Spencer sounded unsure about Microsoft's new IP plans for E3, as he said that Microsoft "should have new exclusive IP at E3."
Overall, Microsoft boasts that its E3 showing this year--which will focus more on first-party games--will highlight the "greatest games lineup in Xbox history." It's a bold claim, for sure, but it's not the first time Microsoft has talked about having a huge games lineup.
Also on Twitter, Spencer shared that Microsoft will talk about more than just games during its E3 briefing. "There are some platform features we'll want to talk about," he said. He didn't go into specifics.
Finally, Spencer addressed the fact that Microsoft will be the first of the Big Three (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) to hold its briefing this year. He's not worried about going first.
"We set our tone and show," he said. "Others can react if they want to, but I'm comfortable being the first platform briefing."
As announced yesterday, Microsoft's E3 2015 briefing is scheduled for 9:30 AM PDT on Monday, June 15. GameSpot will bring you all the news as it's announced.
In our Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review we awarded the game a 10 and said it's "one of the best games ever made."
"The Witcher 3 is always in a crescendo, crafting battle scenarios that constantly one-up the last, until you reach the explosive finale and recover in the glow of the game's quiet denouement," said GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd.
"But while the grand clashes are captivating, it is the moments between conflicts, when you drink with the local clans and bask in a trobairitz's song, that are truly inspiring."
Our Ori and the Blind Forest review was also very positive, the game received a score of 9, and was described as "beautiful" and "unceasingly clever."
The Enhanced Edition is described as a "full makeover" of the original game--which has sold nearly 1 million copies--featuring a "truckload" of changes, creative director Swen Vincke tells GameSpot.
Among the changes are a new interface designed specifically for controllers, as well as co-op play in the form of online and split-screen locally. Meanwhile, full voice acting has been added--featuring actors Alix Wilton Regan and Alec Newman--and more endings have been introduced.
"We went a little too overboard with it; we called it an Enhanced Edition, but I really think that we made it much more than enhanced," Vincke said.
In terms of visuals, Vincke tells GameSpot that the Xbox One and PS4 editions are aiming to run at full 1080p.
Divinity's new console edition also adds "hours" of new content by way of new quests, giving players new locations to explore and challenges to take on. New endings have also been added, Vincke says.
In addition, the Enhanced Edition will come with changes to the crafting system, variations to enemy encounters that should make the game more difficult overall, and storyline tweaks to make the game feel fresh for people who already played it.
"We were a little bit unhappy with some of the compromises we made on the narrative side of things, so we're just going to take the opportunity to change everything," Vincke says. "The ending wasn't that rewarding, so we added a lot to it. On the endings side, we really added a lot."
The Enhanced Edition's online co-op mode, which Vincke says you really have to play to understand, supports online play. However, there won't be matchmaking support, at least not right away. "We haven't cracked that particular piece of the code yet," Vincke said.
In addition, Larian has announced that the Enhanced Edition is also coming to PC, Mac, and SteamOS as a free upgrade for existing players. Vincke points out that gamers will need a 64-bit rig (compared to 32-bit for the original) with DirectX 11 to run the Enhanced Edition. Full system requirements will be announced later.
The Enhanced Edition is due out later this year for all platforms, but Larian has not announced a firm release date.
Finally, Vincke told GameSpot that the massive success of Original Sin--which was originally funded on Kickstarter--was a "huge turning point" for Larian overall. Looking to the future, he confirmed that Larian has multiple projects in the works, the first of which might be announced this year.
"It allowed us to do a lot of things we couldn't have done before. And we're doing those now," he explained. "We're experimenting a lot. We have two RPGs in production, which we're not just ready to announce yet, but hopefully we'll talk about at least one later this year."
Vincke also said he sees the turn-based RPG genre making a comeback, with plenty of room for further growth. "It's a genre that has a lot of potential where you can still do a lot of things that haven't been done before," he said.
Shares in King, the mobile games company known for its Candy Crush Saga series, fell as far as 14 percent following its most recent financial report.
The slump comes after King warned that it expects "softer" revenues, between $490 million to $520 million, in the current financial quarter. Despite this poor outlook, King's first quarter net income rose to $164 million for the three months ending March 31.
King chief executive Riccardo Zacconi was nevertheless optimistic about the corporation's performance, pointing out that three of its games are among the top-ten grossing games on the Apple and Google app stores.
Looking forward, the company said it plans to bring Candy Crush to Windows 10 devices, and also launch the first of its new games in the second half of 2015.
"We are pleased by the sustained popularity of our games, which is also reflected in our second consecutive quarter of company-high network reach metrics and we look forward to leveraging the extraordinary power of our massive player base in launching new innovative games in 2015 and beyond."
Despite King's struggle to maintain the same level of profitability, mobile games remain a key area of investment for the games industry in general. Nintendo recently announced it has entered into a deal with the global mobile games publisher DeNA, which includes the creation of "new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which [both companies] will develop specifically for smart devices."
Shintaro Asako, the chief executive at DeNA West, has said he believes Nintendo's IP has the gravitas to reach unprecedented numbers of smartphone players. While Candy Crush Saga peaked in 2014 at 93 million daily active users, Asako thinks DeNA and Nintendo can top that.
"I've wanted to create something globally successful, not only for kids, but for mid-aged people and beyond," Asako said.
"The game should attract a huge range of people. We wanted to get a huge audience like Candy Crush, like 100 million users. We wanted to create something with that kind of DAU [daily active user] base."
Bandai Namco has released a new trailer revealing android fighter Jack as the newest member of the character roster.
Various iterations of Jack have been playable in Tekken over the years, each sporting a different look. His latest incarnation features a pink mohawk and neon lights in the seams of his body panelling.
As always, Jack looks like he packs a big punch. In the trailer he can be seen making up for his relatively slow movements with sweeping punches and crushing kicks that deal big damage to Alisa.
Watch the trailer below.
Tekken 7 was announced last year. The game, which is powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 4, is already in Japanese arcades, but Bandai Namco has yet to announce when it will ship on consoles and in other territories.
With Rage Arts, players can input specific commands, which are believed to be specific to fighters, to initiate a Rage State. In this state attack damage is increased and special moves become accessible.
Power Crush relates to a set of special moves that can't be interrupted by attacks, but still leave you vulnerable to taking damage. You can use them as much as you want, but at the risk of chipping away at your health bar.
Is it your dream to go to the biggest gaming event in the world, E3? Thanks to Samsung Galaxy S6, GameSpot AU is giving one lucky reader the chance of a lifetime to attend this year's expo and win a Samsung Galaxy S6 phone!
To enter this competition, simply put together a video answering this question: NEXT is NOW with the Samsung Galaxy S6. What do you think is NEXT for the future generation of gamers? Look into your crystal ball and tell us in your video!
The video itself can be no longer than two minutes and must be uploaded to YouTube, Vine, or Instagram and linked to us.
The GameSpot AU team will pick our three favourite videos based on their creativity, and then put them up for a public vote. The video which has the most votes when the competition closes will be chosen as the winner and sent to this year's E3!
Competition closes on Sunday May 31 at 11:59PM AEST, so get your entries in fast! This competition is only open to residents of Australia. All entrants must be over 21 years of age.
Unraveled is a 16-bit role-playing game for PC in the style of Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana that's currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.
If you're a fan of Secret of Mana, you might want to check out Unraveled as the team behind it recently announced that Secret of Mana composer, Hiroki Kikuta, is writing the game's main theme song. You can hear a sample of the enchanting track below.
On the Kickstarter page, Kikuta is quoted saying, "I'm always looking for fabulous projects to get me excited. When I saw Unraveled, I felt strongly that this game was special. It has substance. The setting and message are very unique and create a beautiful and emotional world that I wish to explore through my music."
Composer Dale North will also lend his talents to the game, composing the main score.
What you hear above is a draft of the main theme. If you want to hear the final version, Unraveled will have to first hit its full funding goal of $15,000.
The game's story follows a little girl whose family has gone missing at a ship breaking yard, and Unraveled aims to bring attention to the real-world plight of workers in the ship breaking industry in India. You can find out more about the game on its Kickstarter page.
The NPD Group has released its monthly sales report for new, physical sales in the United States during April 2015, and the newly released Mortal Kombat X has come out on top.
MKX is not much of a surprise, being the highest-profile release during the month. Specific sales figures were not shared, but we do know it sold better at retail on PS4 than it did on Xbox One. NPD analyst Liam Callahan noted this was the biggest month ever for the franchise in terms of sales, as well as the second-largest first month for a fighting game behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl's March 2008 launch.
Grand Theft Auto V came in at the number two spot; notably, PS4 and Xbox One sales outpaced those of the debuting PC version, but NPD data only tracks new, physical sales at retail. In other words, people who bought it directly from places like Steam are not reflected in these charts.
Compared with April of 2014, software sales were up 13 percent to $256.7 million from $227.6 million. Liam Callahan says this was thanks in large part to sales on current-gen consoles. "For new physical console software, eighth-generation consoles sales grew by 200 percent in revenue, which offset declines from seventh-generation consoles of 62 percent, and portable declines of 32 percent," he said. "Overall, console software increased by 20 percent, leading to overall video game software growth of 13 percent."
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