Publisher CD Projekt, parent company of Witcher developer CD Projekt Red, announced today that most PC players play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on CD Projekt's distribution platform, GOG.com. This is surprising because Steam is the most used platform by a large amount.
In a press release, the company revealed that over 690,000 people play the game through GOG, a substantial number considering it sold 4 million copies total across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. In fact, GOG didn't just edge out Steam--more copies are activated on GOG than on all other PC distribution platforms combined.
Most likely, people flocked to GOG for the discount deals, which included up to 20 percent off of pre-order purchases. GOG also appealed to players for its insistence on keeping the Witcher 3 DRM-free. Green Man Gaming, another distribution platform, also sold GOG keys for the game at a discount, which could have helped drive people to GOG.
The company also released some other stats about player usage through GOG. According to the statement, the sales account for "more than 21.5 petabytes of game and bonus content delivered, 3.5 million achievements unlocked, and 1,770 combined years of game time spread over 190+ countries."
CD Projekt Red is still coming out with free weekly content for the game, and will continue to do so through July. This week's DLC includes new cards for Gwent and a quest about a town run by pigs.
Capcom has poured cold water on speculation that future iterations of Street Fighter 5 could appear on Xbox One.
The latest entry in the company's long-running fighting game franchise was revealed in December as a PlayStation console exclusive. However, due to Capcom's history of iterating its Street Fighter games, some fans suspected that a possible Super or Ultra edition of Street Fighter 5 could be a way to bring the game to Xbox.
However, a Capcom representative has told GameSpot that Street Fighter V, in any iteration, would never ship on Xbox One.
"One comment we see a lot is that something like a Super Street Fighter 5 is going to come out on Xbox," said the representative. "But the reality is that this is a real partnership. We are console exclusive for this franchise for this numbered run."
Speaking about the close relationship between itself and Sony, Capcom has said the partnership will yield benefits beyond marketing support.
"We're not talking about how we're handling post-launch content, but I can say the relationship with Sony does open doors for things we haven't been able to do in the past," the representative said.
"The relationship serves a gameplay and development purpose, and not just a marketing value."
Xbox games executive Phil Spencer previously responded to the announcement that Street Fighter 5 is coming exclusively to PlayStation 4 for its console release.
"Business deals happen," he said. "We won't do all of them. When we have a first party franchise in a genre I'd rather invest in ours."
"There is a mix of deals to do," he said. "But making sure we own IP [that] Xbox gamers love is critical [in my opinion]."
Spencer went on to say: "I'd love it if Xbox fans could play all the games, but business just makes some deals happen. It's all part of competition."
During Oculus VR's Rift press conference on Wednesday, the company announced that it is creating a platform for game distribution similar to Steam.
Called Oculus Home, the platform will house all of the virtual reality games that are compatible with the Rift headset. Unlike Steam, however, Home works with the headset so that you do not have to remove it to launch, buy, or discover games. Home will also have a social component: you can see what your friends are doing and view their favorite games.
Game pages also feature scenes from the games, which Oculus says will allow users to look around and get a feel for them before purchasing.
During this conference, Oculus also announced that it was partnering with Microsoft and bundling in an Xbox One controller with every headset. Later, Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac announced a VR game called Edge of Nowhere. Oculus VR also unveiled its strange-looking motion controllers, the Oculus Touch. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about the Rift.
The strange-looking, circular Touch is comprised of two controllers, one for each of your hands. Each has a traditional analog stick, two buttons, and an analog trigger, as well as haptic feedback and what Oculus calls the "hand trigger." Touch is also capable of tracking "a set of finger poses" that work to "recognize natural hand poses like pointing, waving, or giving a thumbs-up," Oculus founder Palmer Luckey explained during today's press conference.
"Developers have been working with gamepads for years in VR; they've proven you can make really compelling content with a gamepad," Luckey said.
"Brendan [Iribe, Oculus CEO] talked about how excited we are to include the Xbox One controller as part of the Rift, to make sure that developers have something that they can target, that they know every single person who has the Rift will have. Something that they can design their game to work very effectively with. And the Xbox One controller is a key part of the current virtual reality puzzle."
Luckey described the Xbox One controller as the best way to play certain games, like Lucky's Tale and Eve Valkyrie, but he then brought up the subject of future games, which will need a different type of input device.
Oculus is hoping the Touch will be exactly that. "These are going to take virtual reality gaming to the next level," Luckey said.
He describes Touch as "a pair of track controllers" that offer "hand presence, the sense of feeling as though your virtual hands are actually your real hands. This is critical to nailing the sense of overall presence. Once you have your hands involved, you really need tracking to be absolutely perfect, accurate, and low latency, or you're going to feel like your hands are dead."
Luckey went on to talk about offering a controller that allows you to do things like pick up, fire, and throw away a gun naturally, as well give a thumbs-up or wave.
"We want to enable a lot of different types of virtual reality experiences: entirely new, VR experiences; genres of games that have been around for decades that are being brought into VR; hybrid experiences that incorporate the best of traditional input with the best of Virtual reality input."
We'll have more on Oculus Rift and the Oculus Touch as we approach E3 next week.
More stories from today's Oculus Rift E3 event follow below.
Update: Oculus also today announced its own VR controller, the Oculus Touch. You can read more about that here.
Original Story: The Oculus Rift headset will come with an Xbox One controller, and Xbox One owners will be able to stream their games to the Rift, it was revealed on Wednesday during Oculus VR's media briefing.
Oculus VR chief executive Brendan Iribe announced at today's press conference that, rather than provide a controller of its own, as was widely expected, the VR headset will come with an Xbox One controller and a wireless adapter for connecting it to your PC. This doesn't preclude the possibility that it will offer an alternative controller, but it appears the Xbox One controller will be the standard for now.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer joined Iribe on the stage to explain that the Rift will offer native support for Windows 10, making it easy to use the device with the upcoming operating system.
More interesting was an expansion of the previously announced feature that will allow Windows 10 users to stream games from their Xbox One to a PC. Oculus Rift owners will be able to stream Xbox One games (through a PC) to the Oculus Rift headset. However, based on a very brief demo, it looks as if this won't offer a proper VR experience; you'll instead be playing games on a screen in a "virtual cinema."
A video showing this with Forza Horizon 2 suggested all this does--besides put the video directly in front of your face--is add head-tracking support that allows you to adjust the camera by moving your head.
While this partnership might come as a surprise, keep in mind Microsoft has a stake in Facebook, which owns Oculus.
We'll have more details on all of this as they become available.
More stories from today's Oculus Rift E3 event follow below.
During the Oculus VR E3 Conference on Wednesday, Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games announced Edge of Nowhere. The game, due out in 2016, will be exclusive to the Oculus Rift.
Insomniac chief executive Ted Price appeared on stage during the event to talk about the game, which is presented in third-person and follows an adventurer trekking through a snowy environment.
He stressed that Edge of Nowhere was built from the ground up for virtual reality, not simply converted.
We'll have more on Edge of Nowhere as it becomes available.
Steam's annual Summer Sale has begun, and with it dozens of games have received heavy price cuts. As always, some games are selected for flash sales to have even lower prices for a few hours. Additionally, like last summer, there's a community event that can lead to other discounts, although nothing has been unlocked yet.
The community event works by using the summer sale badges that you can acquire by buying games on sale. You can also receive them by crafting game badges or trading with friends. Then, using those badges, you can join the "Monster Game" to "fight enemy monsters as you heelp your team level up, unlock new abilities, and achieve community milestones," as the Steam page explains. If your team does well, you can unlock discounts on games for the entire community.
The next set of flash sales begin in 12 hours.
Personally, I'll probably buy Metro Redux and the Homeworld Collection. What are you going to buy, or what games are you holding out for? Let us know in the comments.
GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.
Like DayZ and H1Z1, ARK: Survival Evolved is another Early-Access survival game that has received an explosive amount of attention. But does it provide something different enough to warrant all the publicity? In short, no. You can collect materials, craft items, and tame dinosaurs, but many of those features are not exclusive to ARK, nor are they any better here. Serious functionality problems and lag exist, sapping enjoyment and crippling immersion. Still, it's not completely awful. Given the chance, you can have a lot of fun, even if there are not many fresh ideas at this stage of development. The game can be entertaining at times and frustrating on occasion, but the evolution of survival it is not--at least not yet.
Welcome to Jurassic Ark.
When you first wake up on the mysterious island, the game's primary drawback immediately becomes clear: performance. ARK has the trappings of many Early-Access games, but even with this caveat, it is incredibly sluggish and randomly glitchy. You may have to spend a lot of time in the graphics options menu clicking buttons and sliding bars until the frame rate becomes tolerable. Of course, this means you have to accept an uglier game to get better playability. This is what I had to do, so you'll have to forgive some of my screenshots. I could only run the game in a blend of medium and low settings. On high settings, the game can actually be quite attractive, with lush, green jungles, roaring waterfalls, and stretching grasslands with flora swaying in the wind. It's a shame to watch said flora blend into pixelated green blobs just a short distance away. Another major issue is server lag. Stuttering certainly occurs, but you have to enter a fight against a man or a beast to see it at its worst. In battles, players and creatures spring back and forth, to the point where any fight becomes a frustrating disarray of rubberbanding bodies.
Entering the game, you settle down on the island, which is populated by your fellow players, dinosaurs, and other extinct monsters. Creating your character is the first step, and ARK gives you a choice between a male and a female form, with many additional options -- and I mean a lot of options -- for shape and size. The results are interesting to say the least. In my travels, I met grotesque mutants with giant heads and stubby arms as well as many other variations. It is amusing to see what others have come up with, but be prepared to encounter some nasty looking folks. You awake with little more than your underwear and a map that slowly fills in as you explore. On your HUD you'll find indicators monitoring stamina, food, and hydration levels. Weather, such as fog, will creep through the island, and rain will shower down, further stymieing the frame rate. Similar to DayZ, the game also introduces status effects. Extreme cold can damage health, while heat has a strong effect on your hydration levels. Sprinting through a steamy jungle will often leave you searching for sources of water or otherwise reaching for your waterskin.
Stay away from those horns!
Crafting is fairly rudimentary if you're familiar with survival games. You punch trees to acquire chunks of wood and pieces of thatch, and you can gather rocks scattered on beaches or jungle floors. These materials can be combined to create a rock pick-axe that can shatter boulders so you can obtain more materials, such as flint and chunks of metal. A metal, diamond-shaped implant on your left arm displays your inventory and menus for leveling up crafting; the latter features recipes, include instructions for tools, weapons, and parts to create structures. You can carve raw steaks from dinosaurs and dodos that you kill, and you can pick berries from bushes. However, the type of berries that could be harvested seemed random. There are multiple types of plants, but I couldn't figure out whether one bush or another was more likely to give certain berries.
Other than that oddity, as I began my journey into collecting various goods, everything appeared to be in order for a survival game -- save for one interesting surprise. As I was going about my business, I heard a gaseous rumble, and I was informed that I had defecated. I looked down and, sure enough, there it was. Huh, I thought, that is new. Naturally, the defecation has a purpose besides being instantly hilarious (I'll grow up some day). You can use fecal matter that your character and animals expel as fertilizer to grow new plants for fiber and berries when you decide to create your own farm.
Surviving on the island rewards you with experience points and more crafting options. As you level up, you can boost one of many attributes, ranging from health to stamina. Leveling up also grants you a small handful of points to spend on engrams, which unlock even more recipes and item tiers. Thatch structures make way for buildings crafted from wood, and the slingshot makes way for the bow, which you can eventually trade in for greater firepower, such as pistols and automatic weaponry. But there is a steep time investment to consider. You have to reach level 15 just to unlock a bow and arrows, and it took me around 10 hours to reach that rank. The time requirements also tie into a major criticism I have with the structures. Walls made from thatch and wood can easily be destroyed by anyone with a hatchet and a few minutes of time. You can eventually upgrade to powerful metal walls and doors, but I was nowhere near that point. Every time I logged back in, I found my character dead, my base ruined, and all my materials and food pilfered. It's almost enough to make you defecate in fury.
Unlock dinosaur dossiers to gain some history on the wildlife.
ARK's primary draw is the dinosaurs, large and small, that populate the island. But don't expect the shock and splendor of Jurassic Park with large, migrating herds of brontosaurs or clever raptors surreptitiously assassinating any lost traveller who wanders too deep into the jungle. Instead, animals tend to stay where they spawn, meandering about without much purpose or urgency. On occasion, a meat-eater will attack a herbivore, but a battle of titans it is not. Utahraptors swarm their prey, nipping and slashing for several minutes, sometimes longer. It's not an exciting event to watch whatsoever. The two sides slowly hack or bite, usually without moving locations or moving just a tiny bit, until eventually one side emerges victorious. A larger-scale battle between, say, a tyrannosaurus and a stegosaurus, is impressive only because of its size, not because of its content.
Even facing most animals on your own is hardly risky. With many fights, if you can stay near the back end of a beast (or at least out of reach of its pointy bits), you can take it down with a steady stream of whacks using your stone hatchet. The exceptions here are the faster predators, but with the aforementioned lag issues, you can usually deal with them quickly by standing still and waiting until they bound into your vicinity. All this considered, we can conclude that at this stage, the most attractive aspect of the game (i.e., the creatures inhabiting the island) is also the most vapid--at least until you learn how to make some friends.
Why walk when you can ride a utahraptor?
You can tame dinosaurs, which can be used as pack mules or sometimes as mounts. I found this to be my favorite activity in the game because it gave me a goal and provided a welcome challenge to overcome, which I wasn't getting running around picking berries and crafting huts that kept getting raided. Taming a dinosaur is relatively simple. The process involves rendering it unconscious, either by punching it, pelting it with rocks, or using a tranquilizer arrow, then earning its trust by feeding it the correct food according to the creature's correct diet--meat for the carnivores and berries for the herbivores. All the animals on the island have varying levels, and your tamed dinosaurs will level up, granting you the opportunity to increase their health and carrying capacity over time.
But, with a dinosaur at your side, wouldn't it be better to ride it? The answer is yes, always yes. As you level up, you unlock saddles you can strap on to various dinosaurs, ranging from the slow-moving phioma to the speedier utahraptor and even the flying pteranodon. The raptor tears across the land, leaping far distances and using its talons to rip enemies to shreds. ARK's world begins to open up once you start riding dinosaurs. Without having to rely on your slow legs, traveling far distances becomes possible, and the joy associated with exploration soars.
0008: Beams of light signify when a supply drop is about to touch down.
The more you pry open the world, the more activities and enigmas you discover. Hidden caves, both on the surface and below the water, are scattered across the area, guarded by ferocious creatures. You can also find hints of mystery on the island. Three enormous obelisks, colored red, blue, and green, float lazily in the sky. The odd, alien structures could have something to do with the device imbedded in your arm and/or the random supply drops that appear and slowly fall from the sky in a beam of colored light. All of this suggests that some semblance of a crazy science experiment or "Hunger Games" plot is lurking just below the surface. You can also track down bosses to battle, such as the broodmother, a giant arachnid queen.
In its current state, ARK: Survival Evolved doesn't provide many surprises. It is unquestionably a survival game, complete with core gameplay and issues that have often defined its mates in the genre. But including the words "survival evolved" in its name makes you think it offers the next stage in what should be expected from the genre. ARK, however, doesn't quite shake the foundations, notwithstanding the included thunder lizards. The developer promises more content, including procedurally generated environments, gas-powered vehicles, and a whole lot more. I want to remain optimistic because I did encounter moments of good fun in the game. The developer a year left until the game's projected release, so if they can smooth out the rocky performance and add some fresh elements, ARK: Survival Evolved may eventually be something worth all the surrounding hype.
What's There?
A survival game with dinosaurs to tame, buildings and items to craft, and a load of performance issues that hamper the fun.
What's to Come?
More of everything, including weapons, animals, bosses, and biomes. The developer also promises better performance, and that the "game will sparkle like a shiny diamond before it is considered ready for Full Release."
ARK: Survival Evolved is less of a step toward evolved survival as much as it is a shuffle. Still, there is entertainment to be found here, so long as you're willing to invest the time and weather the performance issues and server lag.
Warner Bros. on Thursday released a funny new video for its upcoming action game Batman: Arkham Knight, showing a bunch of celebrities playing Rocksteady's conclusion to the acclaimed series.
The movie, which you can watch below, was produced by Warner Bros. and Rocksteady in partnership with Saturday Night Live's Taran Killam, who directed it.
Here's a list of the celebrities who appear in the video.
After multiple delays, Arkham Knight launches June 23 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. For a closer look, check out some images in the gallery below.
Last month, game designer Koji Igarashi launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new project called Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The game has now become the most funded video game ever on Kickstarter, passing the $4,280,000 mark by the time of this writing. Bloodstained blew through the second highest-funded project, an RPG called Torment: Tides of Numenera which collected a little more than $4,188,000.
Bloodstained is a game in the same style as original PlayStation Castlevania titles. A side-scrolling RPG with explorative elements, it is meant to be a spiritual successor to the games that Igarashi helped develop. He is most famous for his work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which came out in 1997 for the PlayStation.
The campaign began with a relatively modest goal of $500,000, but it quickly gained momentum and exceeded that mark in a single day. Since then, the campaign total has met several stretch goals, allowing the game to include local co-op, a speed run mode, and Vita and Wii U ports, among other features.
There are still 35 hours left in the Kickstarter campaign. The next stretch goal, at $4,500,000, would allow Igarashi and his studio to develop a prequel mini-game.
Oculus VR's E3 video briefing, which is expected to bring news about the Oculus Rift consumer model, begins in under an hour. You can watch the entire event right here through the Twitch embed.
While Capcom isn't quite ready yet to reveal its latest roster of Street Fighter 5 characters, the publisher has offered key new details on the game's underpinning moves and mechanics.
Below you'll find a video breaking down of those new mechanics, explaining why V-Skill has replaced focus attacks, how V-Trigger brings new life to each combatant, and how V-Reversal reintroduces a key manoeuvre from the Alpha series.
Further down you'll also find overall impressions from GameSpot's panel of Street Fighter experts (Peter Brown, Erick Tay, and Tamoor Hussain), who share their thoughts on the latest demo build having wrestled with it for several hours each. (In short, they think it's pretty awesome).
And for those of you who can't get enough of how badass the the electric effect looks on Ryu, or how distinguished greying Bison looks, below you'll find 20 new images from the game.
Ubisoft has released a new video Q&A with the developer of Tom Clancy's The Division, who talk about various elements of the game including loot, character customisation, and animations.
Lead economic designer Andrada Greciuc discussed how The Division handles loot in response to a query about a drop that was denoted with a large orange marker, saying the game features several tiers of rarity
"The orange ones you see was the highest rarity and it was very flashy so you notice it. We make sure that when you get a good item, you don't overlook it," she explained.
"The lower rarity items are also marked, you should be able to find them as well, they're just not as flashy. Also, not all kills grant loot, so that's why you didn't see [a notification] after each kill."
Senior character artist, Emil Mujanovic, appears to provide insight into how players will be able to customise their characters in The Division.
"We have a good system in place where we can actually customise regions of our gear," he explained.
"For instance, the chest piece has up to three variants we can change. There's an outer layer, a middle layer, and a bottom layer. That way you don't bump into the same guy with the same gear and be like 'Oh, I don't feel as unique or as important in the game anymore.' Plus you get to look how you want to look."
And of course, there was the issue of the door closing, which senior technical animator Matthew Lee addressed.
"We have a bunch of animators who are door closing experts, they basically closed car doors all day just for this one animations. Obviously, you're going to be able to do this on a lot of different cars in New York."
"We weren't getting the right results on the Swedish cars so it was pretty important that we went and got authentic New York car doors."
After being told to provide a real explanation, Lee, who will forever be remembered as a rapscallion, said the animation used "a blend of motion-capture, key framed animation, and human inverse kinematics" to track the door, place the hand on the door, and shut it.
In May, The Division was been delayed and is now expected out early next year. An outline of games coming during the company's 2016 fiscal year (which runs April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016) listed The Division as coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC during its fourth fiscal quarter, which translates to January-March of 2016.
Video games are already big business, but the industry has not even come close to realizing its full potential. That's according to Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Desilets, who said in the July issue of Game Informer that his ultimate goal is to build "the Titanic for games."
James Cameron's movie is one of the most commercially successful films in history, generating billions at the box office back in 1997. Video games have made billions before, but have not achieved as much widespread appeal as that film, Desilets said, and he thinks he knows why.
Some have suggested that the commercial appeal of video games is held back by their interactive nature. Not everyone can manipulate a controller, but just about anyone can sit in a theater and watch a movie.
Desilets thinks the video game industry, which is still very much in its infancy compared to film, can grow to new heights if games take on new subject matter and if developers can leverage the power of consoles and PC to better match the kinds of subtleties we see in film.
"I believe video games are not there yet," he said. "We feel like Grand Theft Auto is big. GTA is nothing compared to Titanic, where a billion and a half people saw that movie. How come so many people watched that movie? Because interactivity can scare off a lot of people--but also because of the subject matter."
"We can't have the same subject matter in movies in video games because of the nature of the medium," he added. "We ask a lot from the machines, and it's tough to portray subtleties from with those machines. But the subject matter comes from the human condition--that interests a lot of people. The subtleties cannot be portrayed well in games yet, so we're stuck with some subject matter."
If there is to be a Titanic of video games, the story and characters must be more fleshed out and nuanced, Desilets said.
"The goal is to someday build the Titanic for games," he said. "For that you need characters that are not assassins. It's all about trying to come up with subject matters that are more than, 'I'm shooting stuff, but I have emotion' that I feel games are stuck in."
E3 2015 is nearly upon us and with it comes yet another Microsoft press conference. Last year, the company made it a point to focus more on the Xbox One's games rather than its entertainment features. But what does the company need to do this year to keep gamers interested? We asked our editors what they would like to see from Microsoft and what they think the company needs to do to win the hearts of gamers everywhere during E3 2015. Check out their answers and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Here are links to our other E3 2015 editor round-ups!
What Would You Like To See From Sony During E3 This Year? (Coming Soon)
Pictured Above: Halo 5: Guardians
The game of catch up | Alex Newhouse
The Xbox One's sales are behind, but the console's fall lineup is shaping up to be a behemoth. With Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6, and several other big-budget exclusives, Microsoft is perfectly poised to strike at the PS4's position. Along with hammering home its lineup, however, I think Microsoft needs to reveal a hardware refresh. That console is far too bulky, and with its power brick it is significantly larger than the sleeker and lighter PS4. As a person who travels a lot with his consoles, I personally would love for an Xbox One Slim.
Show Scalebound | Peter Brown
I'm not a big fan of Microsoft's heavy hitters, like Halo and Forza, but I'm very interested to see more of Scalebound, the verdant action game that features a warrior/dragon tandem. It's being made by one of my favorite developers, Platinum Games, a studio that typically crafts over the top, stylish action games. My imagination runs wild when I try to picture Scalebound in my head, but I'm sure Platinum will subvert my expectations and create something totally original, and completely unexpected.
Pictured Above: Scalebound
PC gaming and higher resolution | Zorine Te
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd like to see Microsoft talk more about PC gaming. Specifically, more details on what Windows 10 will mean for PC gaming. Showcasing what DirectX 12 can do would also be of interest to both PC and Xbox One gamers; Microsoft could tell us what it can do for gaming, and why gamers should care. On the console side of things, I think needs to step it up a notch and give the Xbox One what it needs to get on graphical parity with the PS4. Too many times have I seen stories about the inferior resolution in the Xbox One's versions of games.
Fix the interface, and show us some games! | Rob Crossley
My kingdom for a new Xbox One Dashboard. Microsoft is leading the way on console support with monthly updates and improvements to the Xbox One operating system, but I've criticized its tragically bad interface before, to the extent that I don't think it can be saved by tweaks alone. Otherwise I think the Xbox One line-up is looking strong, with Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Scalebound especially, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they play. It's probably a little too early for Gears of War gameplay, but a trailer explaining its direction would be welcomed. Also, Cuphead. More Cuphead.
Pictured Above: Cuphead
Go big or go home | Eddie Makuch
Just like last year, Microsoft again finds itself in the position of underdog as it relates to the Xbox One vs. PS4 sales race. The company's back is not against the wall, however, not by any stretch. But Microsoft has the opportunity at E3 this year to go big and really make a splash, bringing the fight to Sony and heating things up for the upcoming holiday.
Halo being one of my favorite franchises, not only from Microsoft but overall, I am very excited to see and learn more about Halo 5: Guardians at E3. Tell me about the story. Show me how large-scale multiplayer works. Finally talk about Steven Spielberg's Halo TV.
I would also like to see Microsoft announce some kind of Xbox One backward compatibility solution. This would most likely, if it does happen, be done through a PlayStation Now-like streaming solution. Microsoft has already said this is totally possible. It would not only allow third-parties to make more money off back-catalog games, but it would help people coming over from PlayStation 3 to know that they could play all the Xbox 360 exclusives they might have missed.
Cut the malarkey | Kevin VanOrd
I feel like it's easier to say what I don't want to see from Microsoft. No Kinect, no dashboard, no Project Spark-related tease, no self-congratulatory talk of new partnerships with television networks and sports leagues. Bring me the diversity of games Sony shows year in and year out. Microsoft's internal developers are easy guesses: Halo, Forza, Crackdown, Gears. (A new Gears, please, not a remaster.) But Microsoft's own studios can't carry the show; it's up to third-party developers to show their stuff. Put Valve on the stage and announce Dota 2 for the Xbox One, Portal 3 or (dare I wish it?) Half-Life 3. (I'm out of my mind, right?) Focusing on indies would also help, particularly if the company is ready to show off how it plans to make Xbox One development accessible to everyone.
Pictured Above: Rise of the Tomb Raider
Give me a reason | Daniel Hindes
I'd like to see Microsoft try to give me a reason to buy an Xbox One. It will need to do nothing short of reinventing the console's entire image to do this. I'm not interested in the entertainment functionality or split-screen features--I just want the console to play the best games at their best detail. Apparently the move to DirectX 12 will help some of this, so Microsoft needs to demonstrate this in action. If the new controller that was leaked which contains a standard headphone jack is also a real thing, then that will further help bring the console up to par with the PS4 in terms of convenience.
Bridging the gap | Justin Haywald
Sony's PS4 has a commanding lead in overall console sales, but that doesn't mean Microsoft can't catch up. Having a strong slate of third-party Xbox One exclusives to show off at E3 would go a long way toward bridging the gap with PS4. And equally interesting would be a focus on Windows 10 functionality. The all-encompassing new operating system could open the door for not only playing Xbox One games on your PC, but also streaming PC games to your Xbox One. And there are also the gaming possibilities of Microsoft's VR tech Hololens. So far, we've only seen a MInecraft demo, but I'd love to see how the headset could work with the Xbox One.
The release date was revealed by the studio's creative director Dan Pinchbeck, who also said it has launched a dedicated website for the game featuring exclusive images, music, and writing not found anywhere else.
"We want to set the scene for this game, introduce you to characters and themes of the story," he said, discussing the website.
"There's going to be a lot more news about Everybody's Gone to the Rapture coming out between now and launch, including a development diary which lifts the hood on how we got from the first ideas to this game we've poured heart and soul into over the last three years; another mini-documentary and lots more."
A new trailer provides a brief taster of the game, which takes place in the aftermath of an apocalypse. Players take on the role of six characters dealing with the fallout and must explore, among other locations, a peaceful-looking town in the English countryside and piece together what has happened.
Unlike most post-apocalyptic games, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture presents the end of the world as a serene, eerily idyllic place. The game is being developed by The Chinese Room, in partnership with SCE Santa Monica, using CryEngine and, as a result, looks visually stunning in trailers.
Read our hands-on impression for a deeper dive into Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and for a closer look check out the new screenshots below.
UK developer Team17 on Thursday announced that 2001's Worms World Party, one of the last 2D games in the strategy series, is returning to PC with a remastered version this July.
Worms World Party Remastered contains the same gameplay, game modes (single-player and up to six-player multiplayer), and humor from the original, but adds better visuals, as it's presented in 1080p/60fps. The improvements don't stop there, however, as the new version comes with full controller support, as well as support for Steam leaderboards, achievements, and cloud saves.
The game launches on PC through Steam and GOG on July 8 for $15. Back in 2001, GameSpot scored Worms World Party a 7.4/10. "Those who've never played a Worms game or never got around to picking up Worms Armageddon will thoroughly enjoy Worms World Party," we wrote at the time.
For more on the remastered version, check out some screenshots in the gallery below.
Frictional Games, developer of acclaimed first-person horror titles Penumbra and Amnesia, has released a trailer for its next game, Soma.
The trailer, which you can watch below, features a narrator talking about traumatic events in a strangely cheery tone, while viewers are taken on a quick tour through a series of creepy environments.
Naturally, this all crescendos into the appearance of a disturbing looking figure and a panicked escape from something unseen.
SOMA has been in development for nearly five years and takes place in an abandoned science facility. Unlike most horror games, it trades jumpscares for building up tension slowly and putting players on the very edge of their seats.
Citing a "reliable source," the site reports that Ouya's debt holders are spurring the sale, explaining that it would cost around $10 million to buy them out.
GameSpot sister site CNET and TechCrunch also report that Razer is interested in making a deal for Ouya, creator of the Android-powered microconsole of the same name.
Razer said in a statement, "We do not comment on speculation or rumors and will reach out if and when we have substantive information to share." Ouya has not commented on the matter.
Nintendo and Best Buy are teaming up yet again, this time to offer fans a chance to play the upcoming Wii U game Mario Maker before its official release later this year.
The retailer has announced that, on June 17 and June 20, around 100 Best Buy stores across the country will have the game available in-store for anyone to play.
The demo period runs 4-9 PM on June 17 and Noon to 5 PM on June 20. Check out the retailer's special event page to find a store near you.
Play the game during the trial periods at Best Buy and you'll also receive a special 30th anniversary Super Mario Bros. button. If you preorder two qualifying Wii U or 3DS games, you'll receive a seven-button set, but you need to be a My Best Buy member to score the deal. Head here for more information.
Mario Maker lets players create their own 2D Mario levels and then share them. The game launches in September. For lots more on Mario Maker, which could also come to 3DS, check out the video below.
As suspected, 2012's action game Darksiders II is getting a remastered version call the "Death-initive Edition," publisher Nordic Games, which bought the franchise from THQ, announced on Thursday.
The Darksiders II Death-initive edition, which has been updated to run in native 1080p and features better lighting, as well as improved character and environmental visuals, will come with all previously released DLC. Pricing was not announced.
The new version of Darksiders II is in development at Gunfire Games, which is reportedly staffed "almost entirely" of people who worked on the Darksiders at original developer Vigil Games.
"This isn't a simple port," the developer said on its website. "We've put a lot of time to improve both the visuals and gameplay to make it on par with current releases. It's been fun adding more polish to a game that is near and dear to our hearts."
Looking further ahead, Nordic Games also said it is considering a port of the 2010 original Darksiders for new consoles, and is also thinking about Darksiders III.
"Naturally (and extremely excitedly!), there will be a large-scale project based on Darksiders, but for now it is very important for us to take care of the existing games and make those available to a broader audience," the company said in a statement. "Bringing Darksiders 2 to current gen was a logical step for us and the team at Gunfire Games know their trade inside-out, so we easily and quickly had lots of ideas that we wanted to realize for this specific edition."
When I play Grand Theft Auto V, I usually hop into a nice sports car, for the speed and the looks. But clearly I've been playing the game wrong all this time.
YouTuber BlackSmokeBilly has pushed new videos (via Kotaku) of epic truck stunts that are really just amazing.
Watch as he performs flips and corkscrews in cars that have no business pulling off such stunts--and he sticks the landings. The final video might be my favorite, however. I won't spoil it for you, but be sure to watch.
The Nintendo 3DS family of systems has now reached 15 million units sold in the United States, becoming the eighth Nintendo system to reach that mark in the country. Nintendo said in a statement that the success of the platform was made possible by the array of great games available for it.
Since then, Nintendo has released games from its biggest franchises for the device, including Super Mario, Pokemon, Mario Kart, and recently, Smash Bros.
In Nintendo's announcement today, it did not list all of the other seven Nintendo platforms to reach 15 million unit sales in the US. But Destructoid has confirmed with Nintendo that the others are: the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii.
Worldwide, the 3DS has sold more than 52 million systems. System sales data for the remaining major regions, including Europe, Japan, and others, was not made available.
Nintendo went on to say that, even though the 3DS has been on sale for more than 50 months now in the US, it "continues to resonate" with players. Backing this up, Nintendo revealed that, in the first six months of 2015, 3DS hardware sales have risen by more 50 percent compared to the same period in 2014.
A significant portion of this growth is attributed to the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the latest revision of the system that that launched in February.
"While crossing 15 million units is certainly a significant milestone, we are equally excited about the new momentum we've created in 2015 thanks to new hardware and an unrivaled library of software," Nintendo marketing executive Scott Moffitt said in a statement. "With more great games on the way and a hardware system for every type of gamer, 2015 is shaping up to be one of the stronger years yet for Nintendo 3DS in the United States."
Nintendo also updated its life-to-date hardware sales numbers for the US today. Since the NES first arrived in 1985, Nintendo has sold nearly 270 million pieces of Nintendo hardware in the country. This includes nearly 145 million handheld units and around 125 million home consoles.
Lee was hospitalized for respiratory problems and heart failure and died Sunday in London, according to The Guardian.
The news was only released today because Lee's wife of 50 years wanted to speak with family first.
Lee is also known for his roles as Dracula and as a Bond villain in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun. He also played a lead role in 1973's The Wicker Man.
Star Wars fans may also recall that Lee played Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Ahead of E3 next week, Electronic Arts and DICE have released a new image of their upcoming shooter, Star War: Battlefront. Published on Twitter, the image shows a band of rebels on what appears to be Hoth.
"Its location is no longer a secret," reads the image's description.
Though we've seen a flashy CG trailer, DICE hasn't released any Battlefront gameplay footage publicly to date--but that's soon to change. During EA's E3 briefing next week, the publisher will release gameplay for the first time.
As you might have guessed, the new Ratchet & Clank runs at 1080p; frame rate is 30fps. These details were confirmed by developer Insomniac Games community lead James Stevenson.
"Our goal was to match or exceed the fidelity of CG animated movies," he said on the PlayStation Blog. "When we first started we realized that was actually possible with PS4. Pretty exciting."
The new Ratchet & Clank game for PS4 will launch in spring 2016 alongside a full-length animated movie based on the series. Both the game and the movie were previously expected to launch in 2015, but were recently delayed. For more on the movie, check out its star-studded voice cast.
Stevenson also confirmed that, as suspected, the new Ratchet & Clank game will cost $40, not $60.
In addition, Stevenson clarified that the new Ratchet & Clank is "way bigger" than the most recent release, Into the Nexus for PlayStation 3, and should offer about 10-12 hours of gameplay. Of course, this is just an estimation, and Stevenson stresses that the game will also offer upgrades and trophies to unlock.
In addition to the much-improved visuals, Ratchet & Clank will feature new planets, bosses, and weapons, as well as a modernized control scheme. These weapons consist of both brand-new weapons and some returning from the Ratchet & Clank Future games, such as the Groovitron that forces nearby characters to dance. Also making a return here is the Bouncer weapon from Going Commando, but you'll need to preorder the game in order to get your hands on that.
Expect to hear much more about the game as we approach E3 next week.
The free version of PlayStation 4 racing game Driveclub, which was supposed to launch alongside the main game last year but was later delayed indefinitely, is now closing in on its release.
"We're in the final stages of development now," game director Paul Rustchynsky said to a fan on Twitter.
The PS Plus edition was put on hold, with Sony saying it would not release the game until it was confident that the servers would hold up.
If you'd rather play another Sony-developed PS4 racing game, we learned this week that Gran Turismo 7--which will have better crash physics--should launch before 2017.
Are you planning to check out the PS Plus edition of Driveclub when it arrives? Already moved on? Let us know in the comments below.
Shadow Warrior 2 is in development, publisher Devolver Digital has confirmed.
A Facebook post on the Shadow Warrior page links to a website with the logo for the sequel. The post also asks "Who wants more Wang?," as a cheeky puerile reference to the first game's protagonist.
The post also confirms the sequel will once again be developed by Flying Wild Hog. The timing of the tease suggests the game will be more fully revealed at E3 2015.
"If you're going to remake a game known for its tacky humor, this is the way to do it," said our reviewer. "The crassness is here, but it's merely seasoning in a colorful old-school first-person shooter that allows excitement to build organically from the way its systems interact."
"If you saw Duke Nukem's 2011 appearance as a personal slight, you'll be glad to know that Lo Wang still stands tall and proud."
The game was also praised for its high-energy, colorful shooting action, great diversity of weapons, with lots of reasons to use them all, and robust upgrade system."
GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.
In the time that I've spent with it so far, Lego Worlds has been an utter delight. Whenever I think I've seen everything it has to offer in its current state, suddenly there's a camel rolling around comically in the sand, or a vampire jealously guarding a motorcycle, or a pig snuffling around the top of a massive cupcake.
This game is a treat.
Most animals will be your BFF if you ask nicely.
Based on what's playable now and what's planned for the future, Lego Worlds' focus is exploration and building, and it already excels at both. There is a surprising variety of biomes to drop into its generated worlds, along with a slew of interactive objects--too many to name, with countless unique interactions available. During my first few hours of play, I found myself riding a bear and fighting robbers in an area littered with oversized puddings, as the sun crested gold over a chocolate-topped mountain. Soon enough, I had traded my bear friend for a dinghy and set out toward a patch of green across the water.
Mobility is key in Lego Worlds, whether you are spurring a cranky bear through a field of candy or traveling by foot. Characters can climb up the sides (and even undersides) of just about any object placed in the world, from pine trees to pagodas, and when climbing is combined with double-jumping, exploration-minded folks will have little trouble getting wherever they want to go. And there are plenty of reason to explore. New objects, characters, vehicles, and animals populate the inventory, while chests littered across the world spit out gleaming plastic studs to use as currency--as will most other objects, when punched hard enough. Larger, rarer chests may also have items like weapons in them, but considering that you can take down a zombie with a couple bare-handed swipes, these seem mostly ornamental.
Climbing is an unexpected but welcome feature for explorers.
Studs can also be used to unlock props and playsets to build with in the world, and building is where Lego Worlds shines brightest. Rather than giving you blocks made of specific materials, Lego Worlds instead provides you with dozens upon dozens of different brick shapes, colors, and even opacities to build with. That's simple enough, but the real brilliance of Lego Worlds' building system is how rarely it gets in the player's way. Bricks do not follow any particular rules, so there's no need to worry about gravity or logic or even lining up the studs of the bricks themselves. The camera is always where it's needed, while the avatar is always just out of the way, and switching between placing, moving, and deleting bricks is accomplished with a few deft clicks. Have a change of heart about the color of the walls? No need to rebuild, just paint it over. Brick variety is also staggering, and when you consider that making a chair in Minecraft still involves crafting up a set of stairs and two wooden signboards to slap on either side, it's easy to appreciate the creative freedom that a full range of shapes can provide. The best part of all this is that laying plain bricks costs the player absolutely no currency or resources, so it's easy to dig right into building if that's what you're there for. There's also terraforming, which can be accomplished with a standard range of terraforming brushes or with a line-up of entertaining specialty vehicles, including steamrollers, bulldozers, and even lawn mowers.
But Lego Worlds still has its fair share of kinks to work out. The lack of a windowed mode is a big pain for those who likes to multitask while they build or wander, and I've personally had to contend with disappearing cursors and uncooperative menus more than once. Given how good the game both looks and feels otherwise, these are fairly minor grievances. I can live with a fickle "undo" function, for example, when I can remove the offending block with a single right click either way.
Terraforming the old fashioned way.
Of course, the conversation around Lego Worlds (and countless other building-oriented sandbox games) inevitably leads back to Minecraft, which doesn't do anyone any favors. While there are similarities between the two, there is a certain type of Minecraft fan who will find little of interest in Lego Worlds. It doesn't offer much in the way of survival mechanics or scarcity of materials, and there's no hint of either in the game's list of promised features. This means that those who savor spending their first night in a new world dug into a tiny hillside bunker, hoarding coal and raw pork chops, may be left wanting. The same is true for those who appreciate the creep of progress as they gain access to better and better materials for more advanced crafting recipes. It's best to scrap any hopes of crafting altogether, because this just isn't that game.
A lot of promising sandbox games have stagnated in their early access or beta stages. I've personally been burned before, and I have a hard time imagining another "craftlike" enthusiast who hasn't. As much as I enjoy Lego Worlds' charm and usability, I would still describe its future as uncertain. It will take a lot more than camels and bears and unbelievably user-friendly building controls to stand alongside the genre's biggest successes. While it demonstrates an impressive understanding of how you engage with exploration and building in wide open worlds, that won't be enough to sustain it without even more content and the implementation of promised features, such as online multiplayer. Lego Worlds' foundation is rock-solid; the developer just needs to keep laying the bricks.
What's There?
There are loads of biomes ready to explore, as well as creatures, characters, vehicles and items to interact with. The game also has a full set of building and terraforming features already implemented, though there may still be more in the works.
What's to Come?
The list is long, but most notably they're promising more biomes, items, characters, buildings, vehicles, as well as new liquid behaviours, underwater exploration, cave systems, improved AI and online multiplayer.
What Does it Cost?
$14.99
When Will it be Finished?
Early 2016
What's the Verdict?
It's an absolute delight to explore and build even in the game's current state, but there's still plenty of room to grow. Like so many other early access craftlikes, maintaining regular updates will make or break LEGO Worlds.
Next week is the E3 conference, during which many new trailers and gameplay videos will be released to the world. But some developers also release them during the weeks before E3. It can be overwhelming to keep up with the pre-E3 trailers, so we've gathered them all in one place. Check them out below!
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