Graphics cards manufacturer Nvidia has posted a new video which highlights the kind of special effects you'll see in Batman: Arkham Knight if you have an Nvidia card that supports its GameWorks modules.
Batman: Arkham Knight has looked graphically impressive in every gameplay video we've seen, but GameWorks adds additional effect, like smoke and fog that react to movement in fight scenes, paper debris that gets kicked up, enhanced rain effects, and more.
According to Nvidia, this is the GameWorks technology you can see in the video in the video:
It's been four months since we've wondered about the current state of EverQuest Next in our "Games Gone Missing - where are they now?" video feature. Yesterday, the game's senior producer Terry "Fairan" Michaels gave us the latest update in a Producer's Letter posted to Landmark's official site.
Landmark, a standalone game that lets players create their own buildings with a powerful creation tool, was always designed to test some systems that will be incorporated into EverQuest Next. Michaels said that after taking care of a recent character and claim wipe and issues associated with it, the team is shifting its focus to those features.
"As the team has wrapped up the various pieces related to the wipe and the bugs associated with it, we have been shifting our focus and resources over to work on the highest priority tasks and systems that will be used in EverQuest Next," Michaels said. "While we do this, we're working in areas with high amounts of creative risk. This means that while we know what we want to do, we know it will take an unknown amount of iteration, tweaking and sometimes drastic direction changes to get these in game and working the way they need to. Because of this, we simply cannot commit to any dates, because until we get much closer, even our best estimates are educated (but still fairly wild) guesses."
Michaels guaranteed that Landmark will still get updates, but on a less regular scedule than players have been used to over the past year. He also clarified that though the team is shifting its focus to EverQuest Next, that doesn't mean the game will be coming out this year.
Development on EverQuest Next and Landmark began under Sony Online Entertainment, but earlier this year the company announced that it was breaking away from Sony to operate as an independent company known as Daybreak Game Company.
A player who goes by the handle Rydou has set a new speedrunning record for Fallout: New Vegas, beating the sprawling post-apocalyptic role-playing game in a mere 27 minutes.
Rydou used a few tricks to hit that time that not might be clear just by watching the video below. Rydou skips dialogues at the beginning of the game by quicksaving and quickloading, and the player character isn't taking much damage because the game is set to the very easy mode.
Rydou also takes advantage of an interesting glitch to get a speed boost.
"When you cripple your leg, you get slower, and then when you heal it, you're supposed to get your speed back," Rydou says in the description to video above. "By quickloading just before getting crippled, you can confuse the game into giving you the speed back without actually ever losing it ( because we don't actually really get crippled). So you get a huge speedboost, and walk at 165% of your walking speed."
Just before Bethesda aired the world's first Fallout 4 reveal trailer on Wednesday, you could sense an almost carnival-like atmosphere sweeping through online games communities and social media. Finally, they were all saying. At long last, we can see it. Six years since the release of Fallout 3 (a game that critics still discuss with a tinge of reverence) Bethesda was ready to greet us with its successor.
Three minutes and four seconds later, however, the mood had changed. No longer was there unanimous enthusiasm. Instead, comments generally fell into three categories: Those whose exhilaration reached an all-caps climax, those who complained about the graphics, and those who complained about those whom complained.
It would be insincere to address this topic without confessing that, yes, I found the trailer to be fairly unmoving. And yes, it was hardly an oil painting. But I wasn't as deflated by the looks as I was with the direction. Retracing the narrative of Fallout 3, and skipping across a world that closely resembles it, could hardly be described as an inspiring choice for a brand new game.
Fallout 4's visuals have become a matter for debate - see more of the game's art for yourself by clicking on the thumbnails below.
That's the reason, I think, why people's views on graphics had split and envenomed once the trailer dropped. Quite simply, there was little else worth discussing. For now at least, what we understand about Fallout 4 is that it offers the same kind of hero, with the same kind of story, in the same kind of wasteland. Observe that the most enduring blockbuster franchises (Zelda, GTA, Metal Gear, et al) always shuffle these elements with each new release. So, faced with apparently little else than a next-gen upgrade of an old idea, what else would you discuss other than the merits of the upgrade?
But, as much as I understand why some might be disappointed by the graphics, I also think they should keep an open mind about Fallout 4's potential. If it even comes close to what its predecessor had achieved, it will be an intoxicating open-world RPG that is laced with choice, consequence, and character. Fallout 3's inherent ugliness (most of which was designed by choice) never once lowered the game's status as a modern masterpiece.
Faced with apparently little else than a next-gen upgrade of an old idea, what else would you discuss other than the merits of the upgrade?
We also need to draw a line under what we really want from trailers. Most of us like to occasionally partake in the drug of hype, but not when the promise becomes unrealistic, with smoke-and-mirror trailers running on ultra-high-end PCs that no console could emulate. If a company like Bethesda provides a realistic graphics target for its game trailers, does that really deserve such scorn?
On that point, I'll confess this too; There's always been a bankrupt logic to pre-release game trailer analysis, because it's entirely feasible that the final build will be dramatically different to what the reveal trailer depicts (this would hardly be a first, as demonstrated here, with the first non-cel shaded trailer for Borderlands). All negative assumptions about Fallout 4, and its opening trailer, could easily fall apart once Bethesda shows the E3 build in action. Until then, let's keep the faith.
Elite: Dangerous yesterday got a free major update called Powerplay, which add faction gameplay to the space simulator, developer Frontier Developments has announced.
Each faction, or "Power," is an organization that controls a section of human-occupied space. Each is led by a different figurehead, and comes with a different biography, political leaning, and faction-specific perks. Players can join one of these Powers, guide their strategy and take on special mission to earn valuable perks, reputation bonuses and credits.
Players can take combat-oriented missions or work to expand a Power's trade monopoly.
Frontier Developments said that the changes to the mission system are so comprehensive that any incomplete missions you have in progress at the time of the update will be removed from your mission list.
You can find out more about the update in the complete patch notes here.
Frontier Developments also released a training video for the Powerplay update, which you can watch below.
"Amazon is committed to gamers, and building great teams who are excited to use Twitch, the AWS cloud, and technical innovation to radically evolve gameplay," Amazon said. "We believe that games have just scratched the surface in their power to unite players and will produce some of the future's most influential voices in media and art."
Developer Tripwire Interactive released its cooperative first-person shooter Killing Floor 2 in Steam Early Access back in April, and by all accounts it was a great success. In its Early Access review, GameSpot said that Killing Floor 2 was awesome, even if it launched with just three maps and seven characters.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Tripwire Interactive VP Alan Wilson said that Killing Floor 2's Early Access was successful because the developer treated the fact that players were paying $30 for it very seriously.
"We do not subscribe to the view that things that go into Early Access should be broken," Wilson said. "Yeah, there's probably going to be the odd, lurking bug. But at that point, we're asking people to part with their money, and they should not be getting a broken product. I think that's where a number of people are going wrong with Early Access. They're treating it like a paid beta."
As Wilson explained, and as we've seen with cases in which Early Access games were in such a poor state Valve had to be pull them from the Steam Store, not everyone takes Early Access as seriously as Tripwire interactive.
"I think when they threw Early Access out there, Valve were expecting developers to be... mature about it--let's put it that way--to be mature about it and respect their clients and get it through their skull that you're asking for money at this point, so you do not piss about."
Fallout 4 Announced: After so many rumors, Bethesda finally officially announced Fallout 4 this week. And the news will keep on coming, as Bethesda will talk about and show more of the game at E3 next week.
XCOM 2 Announced: 2K this week announced the sequel to its acclaimed turn-based strategy game. It's launching this November only on PC.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Announced: This new bundle for PlayStation 4 will launch in October, featuring remastered versions of the first three games. There's no multiplayer, but it does come with access to the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief's End multiplayer beta.
THE OTHER STUFF:
Video game media veterans Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb will host the first-ever Bethesda E3 press conference, the publisher announced this week. Bethesda kicks off E3 this year, holding its event the evening of Sunday, June 14. Expect Fallout 4 news and more.
Oculus VR, the company behind the Rift headset, has an internal VR movie production studio and they announced their next project today--a movie called Harry. It stars a hedgehog who just wants to hug people, but he doesn't get many takers for obvious reasons. Watch a trailer here:
DomiNations, the new mobile game from the new version of Big Huge Games, is off to a hot start. 60 days after launch, the game has now seen 7.2 million downloads, as players have trained 1.6 billion troops and battled 50 million times.
Disney already has Disney Infinity, but Playmation sounds potentially even more exciting. It morphs real toys with video games and more. Read all about it here.
The Kickstarter campaign for We Happy Few, a drug-fueled psychedelic game from Compulsion Games (Contrast), has now gone live. Pledge at least CAD $60 and you'll receive access to an early build of the game. What's We Happy Few all about? Here's the synopsis.
"In We Happy Few, just about everyone but the player is high on a drug called Joy, and they're not fond of Downers. Avoid attracting too much attention to yourself, and you may find a way to escape the eerie city of Wellington Wells." For more on We Happy Few, check out the Kickstarter.
The developer of This War of Mine, the intriguing game that showed war from a different perspective, is branching out for its next project. Thanks to the success of This War of Mine, developer 11bit is hoping to make a AAA-style project next. Read all about it here.
Following its release for consoles, Ubisoft's Tetris Ultimate is now available on PlayStation Vita. You can buy the game today on Sony's handheld for $30 at physical retailers and $15 through the PlayStation Network as a download. It supports up to two players across nine modes: Battle, Battle Ultimate, Marathon, Endless, Ultra, Sprint, Time's Up, Landslide, and Haunted.
Curious about the history of potions in video games? This video, from Curse, acts as a nice primer.
The Harvest Moon franchise is expanding to new platforms. Natsume has announced that the next game in the series, Seeds of Memories, will be the first available for Wii U and PC. What's more, Natsume will release a new, as-yet-untitled Harvest Moon game for iOS and Android, the company announced.
June's Forza Horizon 2 DLC has been announced and released. The content is called the Duracell Car Pack and it's out now on Xbox One for $5. It comes with five new cars, while everyone gets a free car. Get all the details here.
World of Warcraft is a hugely popular, enduring, exciting game. But if there's one critique over the years, it's been that it doesn't look so hot. But what if the game were developed in Unreal Engine 4? It might look something like this totally amazing render.
The folks behind the epic video series Man at Arms have published their latest project, and it's amazing. Their challenge was to build Narsil, Aragorn's sword from The Lord of the Rings without using modern blacksmith methods. Amazing. Watch the process here.
Big-name game studios Sega and Daybreak (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) have left the Entertainment Software Association. That's the group that represents the video game industry's interests in Washington. They also put on E3 every year. Read the full story here.
For the Love of Spock. That's the name of a new Kickstarter documentary from Leonard Nimoy's son, Adam. It's a movie primarily based on Spock, and is hoping to launch next year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. Check out the Kickstarter here.
Oculus has announced the winners of its latest VR Jam. Check out the blog post with all the winners, including the $200,000 grand prize, here.
Mistwalker's new mobile RPG, Terra Battle, has announced some impressive milestones following the game's release earlier this year. Check out all of the marks here.
Cristiano Ronaldo will star alongside a troll named Hugo in a new endless runner game due out for mobile devices. This is not a joke. Check out the first footage of the game, which is called Ronaldo & Hugo: Superstar Skaters, here.
The era of plastic musical instrument is set to return in a big way this year with new hardware-focused rhythm games from Guitar Hero and Rock Band. But while Rock Band is taking a more traditional stance and incorporating both instruments and DLC from previous games, Guitar Hero Live is starting over from the beginning.
To learn what goes into choosing those songs, and possibly get some clues as to what additional songs we'll learn about next, we talked with FreeStyle Games studio head Jamie Jackson in the Q&A below.
GameSpot: Earlier GH games were very much guitar-focused, but you're branching out into pop and even electronica/dubstep with GH Live. How come?
Jamie Jackson: In the past five years since the last Guitar Hero game launched, there has been a complete musical renaissance. I think if you look at the way people now discover music--whether it be through Pandora, Spotify, Soundcloud, or what have you--you find that genres have evolved and diversified so much in the past few years alone.
At FreeStyle Games we are insatiable about all different types of music, and we really want that to shine through in Guitar Hero Live. And of course, we're still staying very true to rock. You'll still have the mind-melting heavy metal, both new and classics, and many favorites from the past. You'll also see a ton of new songs that have never been in previous Guitar Hero games. We can't wait for fans to check them out.
Are there any core tenets that every song in the game needs to have?
At the very base, the song has to have the type of energy that makes it fun to play. With the new six-button layout of the guitar controller, we try to find music that really takes advantage of the design, whether it be through a particularly challenging chord progression or a killer guitar solo.
What makes a good Guitar Hero song?
I'd say a lot of what I described above. Anything that takes full advantage of the new guitar controller layout. There's that one Gary Clark Jr. song, "Don't Owe You a Thang," that's just so fun to play because your fingers are all over the fret board at a super fast rate. When you get into a flow and you hit all the notes, it's a total rush.
How do you balance accuracy and getting that "feel" of playing a guitar versus making something that's just plain fun to jam on?
I think that's the beauty of the new guitar controller. Like we've said before, we found in research that there was a barrier to entry with songs that required you to use your pinky finger, or as we affectionately call it, the "danger pinky." So while we wanted to mimic the feel of playing a guitar by altering the button layout to better resemble a chord-playing experience, we also wanted to make the game more accessible through various difficulty levels for those who don't want such a huge challenge. Still, at the top level, all the notes are marked up, so it's gonna be a challenge.
Have you focused on different songs because of the button layout (more chord-based tunes versus songs that require lots of work up and down the neck)?
Well, the goal is to have a variety of both, and certainly there are some songs that have great catchy hooks and others that have just mad crazy solos. But then you have a bunch of songs that have a mix of both. Take for instance "Cry of Achilles" by Alter Bridge. That song starts with some heavy chords, but then towards the end you have some really interesting tempo changes and a great solo, which we think just makes for a really well-rounded Guitar Hero experience.
Why no rhythm guitar?
For Guitar Hero Live we really want to make the guitar the star. You are the one anchoring the band with your skills; you are the heart and soul of the song.
Have any artists come to you, or have you been doing all the pitching to artists/labels?
It's been a good mix of both. We've been working closely with major labels as well as indie ones to get music that we love in the game. It's not uncommon for us to talk to the labels about a certain artist, but then they'll present us with another band and we say, "Yes, get them in this game." We can't wait to announce more songs in the coming months.
How are negotiations going with Led Zeppelin? But seriously, have you talked to them?
Unfortunately there's nothing I can really say on that front…
With just a week left before the end of the Kickstarter campaign for his new game, Bloodstained, Castlevania veteran Koji "IGA" Igarashi and Mega64 have teamed up to release a new video wherein IGA shows off his vampire-hunting skills.
The video focuses on the Mega64 guys' encounter with a vampire. Igarashi shows up, whip in hand, to take care of him, but not before embarking on a truly daunting quest to collect the vampire's worldly belongings in order to summon him.
The video follows below, but beware there is a bit of NSFW language.
Although the video itself doesn't mention the game, this is meant to promote the Kickstarter for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night that began last month. The project has already far exceeded its $500,000 goal, and currently sits at just over $3.4 million.
All of that extra money will go toward funding the development of extra content, from additional modes to new levels, music, and more. By surpassing $3 million, it'll now come to Wii U in addition to PS4, Xbox One, and PC; should $3.5 million be raised, a Vita version will be developed, too.
Since its release last week, Nintendo has been slowly adding new content to Splatoon's multiplayer mode. Following the best addition of the bunch--an NES Zapper-style weapon--another new weapon will be released later today.
The Inkbrush, as it's called, is just that: a giant paintbrush that you can run around with it. According to the official Splatoon blog, it plays like the existing (and extremely effective) paint roller weapon, but is somewhat faster.
It's also described as "not the strongest offensive weapon." While using it, you'll have access to the Sprinkler sub-weapon and Airstrike special weapon.
The Inkbrush rolls out for free tonight, June 5, at 7 PM PT. That's the same time that Nintendo previously released the aforementioned NES Zapper weapon (called the N-Zap '85), a new map, and the online ranked multiplayer mode.
More updates are on the way for Splatoon, including a major one in August. Little is known about what else Nintendo has in store, save for an online mode called Rainmaker that features a new weapon.
Splatoon, a third-person shooter (sort of) launched exclusively for Wii U on May 28. For more, check out GameSpot's review.
Battlefield developer DICE's upcoming shooter Star Wars: Battlefront will let players customize their characters, but there are, as you might expect, limits to what will be allowed.
The official Battlefront Twitter account offered some insight into Battlefront customization after a fan raised a question about it. "Yes, we will offer customization," EA said. "That said, we won't be letting players create purple Stormtroopers or change Darth Vader's suit color etc."
Outside of a flashy CG trailer, EA has yet to show any Battlefront gameplay, at least publicly. GameSpot editor Chris Watters saw gameplay during a behind-closed-doors presentation in April; read his impressions here.
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.
Similar to much of the game-themed DLC items in the past, both the Animal Crossing and Devil May Cry gear comes in the form of armor and weapons for your Palicoes. The DMC gear includes the traditional Dante look, while the Animal Crossing gear lets you dress up your companions like Isabelle and Mr. Resetti.
If you're more interested in something for your character, Capcom has collaborated with Square Enix to allow Tesuya Nomura to design player and Palico gear "specifically for the western version" of MH4U. You can see his creations in the video above and in the images below.
Alongside all of this, there are also new quests, guild card customization options, and a bonus Palico. Here's the full tally of everything included, courtesy of Capcom's blog:
14 new quests
5 new weapons
1 complete armor set
4 Palico weapons
4 Palico armor sets
1 bonus Palico: Pink Pal
3 guild card backgrounds
6 guild card titles
You can download all of this now from the in-game DLC menu, though keep in mind much of this is split up. You'll need to download it all individually, rather than being able to simply download one big pack.
The next set of free DLC will be available on July 3.
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