CD Projekt Red is working on a new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt patch that will, among other things, address performance on PlayStation 4 and implement a range of bug fixes. Writing on the game's forums, community manager Marcin Momot said the upcoming patch, 1.09, will include a "massive" number of changes, though the full changelog has not yet been published.
"The patch is on the way," he explained. "Was just looking at the changelog and it looks really impressive-- the list of changes is massive. The update will bring a lot of fixes and improvements including PS4 performance (as well as other platforms) plus many more. We ask for a bit more patience."
A release date for the 1.09 patch was not announced. Releasing it in October alongside The Witcher 3's first expansion, Hearts of Stone, would seem likely, but this is not confirmed.
Hearts of Stone launches on October 13. GameSpot recently played a chunk of the expansion, which is expected to add around 10 hours of gameplay and you can read an excerpt from our preview below.
"Hearts of Stone is full of varied quests to follow, and striking characters to meet," editor Mike Mahardy wrote. "It's also well paced, a facet that's hard to come by in an open-world RPG, wherein players have every chance to venture off the beaten path."
Neocore Games, the studio behind The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, is moving away from the pulpy gothic-noir mythology of its previous games. Rather, it's setting its sights on the grim sci-fi universe of Warhammer 40K, developing the first action-RPG based on the tabletop gaming property. The result is Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr.
As its name implies, the game is about the Inquisitor, a brutal and powerful character class from the Warhammer 40K universe that's a part of a clandestine police force bent on the fanatical purging of demonic threats. Set in a space sector created specifically for the game, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr features two separate modes for you to sink your teeth into: a story mode and an open sandbox mode called the Inquisitorial Campaign.
While unorthodox for an action-RPG to be split in such a way, the decision was an intentional one to help differentiate the various aspects of Martyr's gameplay, to better capture the spirit of the Inquisitor class while giving you a choice over what type of content you wish to tackle. Fortunately, you're free to switch between them, but according to the game's lead writer Viktor Juhász, it's recommended to play story mode first.
"The story mode in Martyr is a traditional single player experience that serves as an overall introduction to the 40K universe, the Inquisitor as a class, and the new mechanics we are going to implement differently from the Van Helsing series," Juhász told me during a recent interview. "But if you'd like, you can start with the Inquisitorial Campaign."
Compared to the story mode's more contained structure--which puts you in an Alien-like horror scenario where you investigate an ancient spaceship--the Inquisitorial Campaign is a sandbox mode built for a more dynamic gameplay experience, focusing more on the various activities that the Inquisitor also participates in within the 40K universe.
Playable with up to four players, the Inquisitorial Campaign allows you to freely explore the game's massive sector, complete randomly-generated missions, and experience a narrative specifically triggered by the actions you take. Additionally, the game features a base building element where you can create your own personal fortress and invade ones built by other players online. But since the Inquisitorial Campaign offers you the freedom to explore the sector as you please, it lacks a difficulty curve, making it tougher than the story mode.
While Martyr is a traditional isometric action-RPG built from elements seen in Neocore's Van Helsing games, it will also sport alterations to the formula that focus on a more tactical approach.
"Unlike with Van Helsing, we downsized the number of enemies on-screen and introduced a cover system, which is a very new concept in action-RPGs," Juhász said. "It'll require you to consider tactics. Are you going to attack the cover because they're destructible? Are you going to move behind them to flank your enemies? Your enemies might even switch sides and hide behind other cover as well, so we have a new AI that will regulate the behavior of monsters, for instance, like an AI that acts as a leader for smaller groups."
But new mechanics aside, the game would fall flat if it wasn't faithful to its universe's lore and the audience of hardcore Warhammer fans who follow it. Thankfully, many of the devs at Neocore are 40K fans themselves and are collaborating with Warhammer IP owner Games Workshop to create an experience that will appeal to its different audiences.
"We are really trying to create a game that appeals to the fan base while also creating a game that invites people unfamiliar with the universe," said Juhász. "This is one of the reasons why the story mode and Inquisitorial Campaign are different. The story mode can serve as an introduction to the world, while the Inquisitorial Campaign--with its randomly generated open world missions--can be considered a large playground for those who already know what to expect. We're trying to reach all kinds of fans, action-RPG fans and the 40K fans, and we do hope that they might meet at some point."
As an action-RPG, Martyr shows promise in the unique aspects of its split-up design. With the personality of the 40K universe, the game stands out among its contemporaries, and is bound to attract the attention of its fans based on its subject matter alone. But all of this could mean nothing if the game's mechanics aren't sound enough to attract the attention of the most ardent action-RPG fans. While it's too early to know for sure, I look forward to seeing what Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr has to offer when it launches in 2016 for PC, and PS4 and Xbox One sometime later.
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a partnership with the Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer team that will see its players wear Halo 5: Guardians-branded jerseys during their matchup Sunday against LA Galaxy.
The game kicks off at 6:30 PM PDT / 9:30 PM EDT on October 3 from CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Sounders are already sponsored by Seattle-based Microsoft (and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is one of the club's owners); this new partnership is an extension of that relationship.
In a statement, 343 Industries boss Bonnie Ross said many developers at the studio are also big fans of the Sounders; they're looking forward to watching the game in person on Sunday, she explained.
This new campaign marks the first time any MLS team has changed its jerseys mid-season. In addition to the game jerseys, Microsoft has created Halo-branded warmup jerseys that players will wear as they prepare for the match.
Microsoft will sell these jerseys at CenturyLink Field, but only 200 will be available and there was no word on if they will also be sold online. If you're attending the match, however, you're likely to get a free Halo 5/Sounders t-shirt, as Microsoft is giving away 20,000 of them at the event.
In addition, Microsoft is bringing a life-size Halo Warthog vehicle to the stadium, while people dressed in Master Chief and Spartan Locke armor will also be on-hand to take pictures with. On top of that, Microsoft will hold a scavenger hunt at halftime with the jersey as its grand prize.
More details about this weekend's festivities are available at the Sounders website. Halo 5 launches on October 27 exclusively for Xbox One.
RollerCoaster Tycoon World, the latest entry in the long-running park simulation and management series, will launch for PC on December 10, Atari announced today. The publisher also confirmed that preorders for the game have now opened; everyone who pre-buys receives access to upcoming betas and some skins.
A standard version of RollerCoaster Tycoon World goes for $50, while a Deluxe Edition will sell for $60. This premium package also comes with extra content like more maps, terrain options, a digital art book, and the classic panda mascot seen in past games. You can preorder the game on Steam or via its website.
The game is being produced in partnership with Six Flags, which is supplying developers with real-life park blueprints, details on ride physics, and guest traffic patterns. There will be two pre-release betas, but start-dates have not been announced. Earlier this year, the developer insisted it "will not release the game until we know that it is truly ready. If the game needs to be 'put back into the oven,' then we will do it."
The last proper RollerCoaster Tycoon for PC, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, was released in 2004.
Davey Wreden, creator of acclaimed indie game The Stanley Parable, has announced a new first-person narrative game titled The Beginner's Guide. It is described as a game with "no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand."
Wreden has launched a teaser website for the game, which will be released on October 1 for PC and Mac for $10. For the first week after release it will be discounted by 20 percent.
Wreden's previous game The Stanley Parable was first released in 2011 as a mod built using the Source engine. It was re-released as a standalone game in 2013, and was met with very positive reception in GameSpot's review. It scored a nine out of ten, with reviewer Carolyn Petit praising the game's witty writing and ability to respond to the player's choices. The Stanley Parable has since expanded it's influence to other games, with a narrator announcer pack also available to purchase for Valve's Dota 2.
The world of WildStar has changed. Carbine Studios on Tuesday re-launched the PC MMO as a free-to-play game and pushed out its biggest-ever update, which the studio is calling WildStar: Reloaded.
WildStar launched with a subscription model in June 2014. But, after seeing initial player figures and assessing where the game stood in the overall MMO market, Carbine decided just months after launch to transition to a free-to-play model, which was announced back in May. That transition has now taken place, representing a major milestone in the game's history, product director Mike Donatelli says.
Veteran WildStar players will receive bonuses for their loyalty, while anyone who wants to continue paying a subscription fee can do so to earn "Signature" status. Although there are no restrictions placed on free players (every zone, dungeon, raid, and battleground is accessible), there are some limitations to free accounts in terms of character slots and auction house functionality. For a full breakdown of the differences between free and paid WildStar accounts, check out this detailed free-to-play FAQ.
Don't take WildStar's business model transition as a sign that Carbine is backing away from the game, however, Donatelli tells GameSpot. He stressed that Carbine's commitment to WildStar and creating more compelling content for it to keep players engaged has never been stronger.
"Just because we're going free-to-play doesn't mean we're going to be stopping on developing the kinds of unique and compelling content that have made a good name for us out there in the community," he said.
On top of the business model switch, Carbine also today launched WildStar: Reloaded. This major update, described as the "most comprehensive" to date," adds a variety of new content and accessibility features (including refined starting zones and more) that should appeal to newcomers and veteran players alike.
To learn more about WildStar's free-to-play conversion and Reloaded update, we spoke with Donatelli. Among other things, he tells us that, while WildStar now has more microtransactions, these are aimed at convenience and have been designed to be fair; you can't buy power. In addition, everything in the game can be earned through gameplay, provided you play long enough. Below are some highlights from our interview with Donatelli, while we'll have more from our discussion later in the week.
What was the leading factor in going free to play? At what point did you decide on it?
That decision was made pretty soon, I would say within a few months after we launched, back in June [2014]. We looked at some of the numbers, how many people we were getting into the game, what people were doing once they got in, and then we kind of looked at the market, where it stood, and it became a pretty obvious decision for us. The main driver behind that decision was really, anyone who wanted to play WildStar we wanted to make sure that they were able to do that.
"If you look at the MMO market, there are just not many subscription games that are left" -- Donatelli
So basically, we got rid of all the barriers to entry. And we've also over the last year getting rid of a lot of the in-game barriers to our content, working on accessiblity, making sure that we have tons of content for all different kinds of players whether they be casual or the dungeon and raiding crowd. If you look at the cadence of releases that we had since January and February, everything that we've been doing has been to get as many playes into the game as possible and have as many players as possible enjoy that content. And I think we've done a pretty good job with that.
What do you think free-to-play allows you to do that you couldn't before? Basically, why is it in the best interest of the game to go free-to-play?
I think the number one answer to that question is if you look at the MMO market, there are just not many subscription games that are left; it's an extremely competitive market. And so I think for us, our goal was to get as many people into the game as possible, it was just obvious that that was the best decision to make based on where the market is today. The majority of AAA MMOs right now are free-to-play MMOs and I think that basically put us in the best position to be successful and to offer the best experience for our players.
What are did you hear from fans when you originally announced the change?
I think at the very begin there is always concern. They might wonder what form your free-to-play model is going to take. I think unlike many companies who have done this, what we decided right from the get go was we were going to be as transparent and upfront about our plans as early as possible. We announced free-to-play back in May before we decided to flip the switch. Everything since that time has been about communicating to our existing players and our new players what is WildStar as far as a free-to-play game. I think that our free-to-play systems are more than fair; I think what we have tried to do is almost every case as far as our design is to not always take away things; especially don't take away things from players who have already been playing. But if you decide to make purchases in WildStar, we're just adding on top of that experience instead of taking things away from people. [Beta testers] almost across the board are saying, at least from a free-to-play standpoint, it's a really fair and compelling system for WildStar.
With this change, presumably you're going to see a huge upswing in players and in turn, server strain. Are you boosting the number of servers, hiring more devs, etc?
We learned a lot from our launch; we've got a really great operations team. Craig Turner is our director of operations, who has been with WildStar from launch all the way through. So they've got great plans to make sure that the servers are ready for the influx of new players that are coming once we flip the switch on the 29th. As much as we can, we want this to be a smooth transition for all of our players; it's always a great time, an exciting time to be playing an MMO, when something like this happens. It's going to be potentially millions of new players that are going to come in. That's just great for everybody. Queue times will be lower, lots of people around to group with and take on world bosses. I think it's just a great time to be playing WildStar.
WildStar wasn't designed from the beginning as a free to play game. What sorts of challenges did you run into with this transition and how did you overcome them?
A lot of the changes we made are obviously tied to the in-game store. We had to focus more time and effort on making sure that there's lots of things in our store for players to buy. And I think, there's a lot of in-game systems where, those systems exist--we had a rez mechanic in the game--but you look at some of thoese individual systems and you figure out ways where you can transition those to make more sense in a free-to-play model. So much of the experience that you get in a free-to-play game is about buying things that make your game easier or more covenient. So anywhere where there's an opportunity to do that, we had to make some changes to the systems. I do think though that the biggest chunk of work that we did was actually just not specifically related to the free-to-play transition, but was just more related to making the game better for everybody.
"I think that our free-to-play systems are more than fair" -- Donatelli
We totally revamped the character creation experience; we changed the tutorial level to be faster; you actually have the option at the very beginning of the game to choose how you want to start the game. Totally revamped what we call our world story in the game so we added a new story instance at level 15 to get players into that story much earlier [used to be level 35]. We've made big changes to our dungeons to make them more accessible. Raids used to be 40-man, now they're 20-man. We have lots of casual content at end-game; we have a contract system which is basically just a bonus objective system that drives players to different pieces of content and they get rewarded for doing that. So it's kind of a long-winded way of saying although we did make a lot of changes to the game to make it better for a free-to-play business model, I think the best and the coolest changes are in making the game more accessible and better for all of our players.
What is the extent of the microtransactions? Are there any limitations for free players?
We'll have the usual things; convenience items, mounts, pets, costumes, lots of general customization options. We have things, as you're playing through the game there will be other convenience opportunities so you can purchase immediate rez if you happen to die in an encounter. Instant teleporation across the map; those are the kinds of things you will be able to purchase with our microtransaction currency. What we definitely didn't want to do is sell power; so you won't be buying weapons or armor or things that are more powerful--we just don't sell those kinds of things on our store. We still want players to basically assign value to the time they play in our game; we don't want people to buy power in our in-game store. Something to take note of is we also have what we call a 'sweat currency' in our game, which is called Omnibits. This is just a currency that drops as you're playing through the game. If you earn enough Omnibits, you can actually buy the same exact kinds of items that you can buy on the microtransaction store with real money--you can actually buy just by spending time in the game. That again is just another one of the ways that our free-to-play systems I think are fair and reward not just players who are paying but players who just want to spend time and are enjoying WildStar.
The Simpsons has recently started its 27th season, and now stands as both the longest-running sitcom and animated show in American TV history. However, in an interview this week, showrunner Al Jean has revealed that its days might be numbered.
Jean spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about the much-loved show, and discussed what he thought might happen after the current contracts that take the cast to a 28th season run out.
"It's quite possible that we don't have to go through the whole negotiation for [season] 30," he said. "I wouldn't be stunned if we stopped at 28, but my bet is on at least 30. But then you'd have to resign them again.
"If you made me pick one, I'd say the likeliest is ending after 30, but I've been wrong before. I thought five seasons was good when I got there."
Elsewhere in the interview, Jean talked about the rumours that Homer and Marge might be splitting up in this season. This caused an online backlash, just as the rumour that a major character was to be killed off in season 26 had.
"I was startled," he admits. "The only thing that compared to it was the year before. Both times, I'd offhandedly mentioned one plot of one show, with a major character dying, and then Homer and Marge separating. I never said 'divorce' because I'm that cautious. Both times it was worldwide headlines.
"We did a rebuttal on the splitting up, but of course I'm trying not to give away what happens, and walking that fine line. But rest assured, the show is in the hands of the people that have thus far avoided catastrophe."
The Pokemon Company is now selling new Pokemon merchandise in Japan, but it's probably not what you'd expect. Available as part of the company's new Hip Pop! Parade Collection are a variety of butt-focused Pokemon items, including plushies, coasters, magnets, keychains, bags, and more.
This is not a joke. Click through the images in the gallery below to see all of the rump-focused Pokemon items available to buy now. There's no word yet about if these will be sold in the US.
In other recent news about the Pokemon franchise, The Pokemon Company has teamed up with former Google developer Niantic Labs to create Pokemon Go. This mobile game, due out in 2016 for iOS and Android devices, challenges players to catch, train, and battle with Pokemon in the real world via location information in their mobile devices. Junichi Masuda, who the veteran Game Freak designer, is working on the game with The Pokemon Company and Niantic. You can read more about Pokemon Go here.
What do you make of these new unique Pokemon items? Let us know in the comments below.
One of our Needs For Speeds is missing! Or it has been. 2014 marked the first year since 2001 where EA decided against celebrating illegal street racing with its longstanding series.
Need For Speed has been, to some extent, a victim of its own success, lashed to an annual release schedule by its own popularity, too lucrative not to give to all the boy and girl racers every Christmas. And that's fine, when you're riding the momentum of a hot underground scene firing into mainstream consciousness, but downright tricky, a few years later, when your game needs to pause, reflect, and find itself.
That's more or less the process described by Marcus Nilsson, executive producer at Ghost Games, whose current objective is to restore credibility to the once-dominant franchise. And so, having delivered Rivals in time for the launch of PS4 and Xbox One (a solid but unspectacular release that underlined a need for a pause) Ghost Games has been given an extra year to retune the series, give it a new exhaust, and fit it with neon underlighting.
"There is a campy 'we're in a video game' feel that never goes away, but that also gives the story a heightened, soapy sense of fun."
It's in the name of credibility then, that the new game is called simply "Need For Speed," a steadfast and true statement of intent. It's also presumably in the name of credibility that this Need For Speed features new live action cut-scenes, as well as interludes featuring real actors set against the driving action, both of which I was initially very sceptical about. Years ago, such live action transitions meant you'd probably wasted fifty bucks on a terrible Mega-CD game. But after three or so hours with Need For Speed, and subjected to the flesh-and-blood people therein, I'm willing to admit my scepticism might be misplaced (although I'm still right about the Mega-CD).
The real-world dramatics present a story involving five people, who our unseen hero wins the affections of by driving very fast at night (the game is set entirely between the hours of dusk and dawn, a beeped-horn-salute to the series' night-racing heyday). These short scenes, triggered after certain events and when you arrive at certain locations, are all shot in first-person, with the cast choreographed to move around you, touching, flirting, keeping you centred. Because our hero is silent, these friends are also experts at reading body language and singlehandedly holding conversations. There's a campy "we're in a video game" feel that never goes away, but that also gives the story a heightened, soapy sense of fun.
Aside from cutscenes, these new friends also appear while you're driving the open roads of Ventura Bay. They ring you, a lot, popping up on your in-car HUD. Really these calls are prompts for new events, and a big reason the live-action cast doesn't fall flat is that the Pepsi commercial theatrics are tied right into gameplay, with each of the characters representing one of Need For Speed's five different play styles and associated event types.
Click on the thumbnails below for a closer look at Need For Speed's car model designs.
So Spike, the eager trust-fund kid who introduces you to the group, will call you with new "Speed" events, which are straightforward go-fast races and point-to-points. Other events are grouped into "Style", which is drifting, jumping, and general flashiness. Then there's "Build," which is customisation, "Crew," which puts an emphasis on team events using online play, and "Outlaw," which focuses on the police chases of many Need For Speeds gone by.
This five-sided approach is how order is imposed on the open-world of Need For Speed. Plot lines and event types pursued with each character eventually lead to the inclusion of what the game calls "Icons," which are big names in street racing whose careers and reputations fit with one of the headline ways to play (so Tokyo street-racer Morohoshi-san plays "Outlaw", while professional car-acrobat Ken Block plays "Style"). As design would have it, five is also the number of cars that can be kept in your garage at any given time. So, if you're organised, you could have a car tuned specifically for each style, and that's important because it brings us on to the central and important thing about Need For Speed, which is customisation.
Ghost Games has clearly spent time thinking hard about what to do with Need For Speed, about the big decisions that will shape its next game and hopefully define it as a classic, credible Need For Speed title. Customisation is key to this. Whatever path you follow in this open-world racer, the central route of progression involves winning events, unlocking parts, then slowly building your car into a monster both inside and out.
"The car customisation system is deep and complex, and also, perhaps more surprisingly, the emotional focus of the game."
The system is deep and complex, and also, perhaps more surprisingly, the emotional focus of the game. Craig Sullivan, creative director at Ghost Games, explains that the team wanted to get away from progression systems which unlock faster cars every couple of events and effectively force them onto the player. "We want the cars to be more like pets" he says, only half-joking. Customisation makes it possible to keep old favourites for the entire game, if you like, hollowing them out and filling them with chrome-plated nuclear fission devices (or at least, you know, nitros) to keep them competitive.
Sullivan is also a Criterion veteran, and on the key issue of handling, his new team had to decide whether to follow that studio's Burnout, Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted model of deliriously easy drifting--tapping the brake to slide sideways, forever--or the more reality-tuned driving lines and relative discipline of Rivals. Thanks to the customisation system, Ghost Games decided on both. The focus of performance tuning moves the handling from one to the other, either through a big, friendly master slider, or more detailed custom set-ups with specific settings for tyre inflation and wheel responsiveness. In my time with the game I never quite found the sweet-spot; I could make my car go fast and straight, but drifting events were still a frustration of too tight or too loose, and never quite just right.
The concept of deep customisation is very much the good news. The bad news is, during my limited time with the game, I didn't have enough opportunity for a firm feel on how substantial the customisation is. This is good in an obvious way, because it is at least substantial enough that three hours does not touch the sides (I spent half an hour in the pleasingly sophisticated car wrap editor, messing with cat decals and figuring out how the image layer system worked). And bad news because, at least in these early hours, the events themselves seemed a little unremarkable, and a little hard to tell apart. Customisation, and the emotional process of adopting five cars and making it your own has to be compelling enough to be the sustained draw of this game.
GameStop HR executive Lisa Keglovitz said hiring thousands of temporary employees ensures that its stores are "appropriately staffed to meet our customers' needs this holiday."
The company is actively recruiting for in-store sales associates, as well as consumer electronics technicians at its refurbishment operation center in Texas. In addition, GameStop is looking to fill a number of temporary positions at its distribution centers in Grapevine, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky.
Hiring will begin this week and continues through the end of October. You can visit GameStop's careers page for more details about job descriptions, qualifications, and the application process. The jobs will start October 18 and last through January 8.
Employees can expect part-time day, night, and weekend shifts for up to 10-25 hours per week. All seasonal hires also get the same 15 percent discount on select GameStop merchandise that regular employees are afforded.
Electronic Arts has released a new trailer for its upcoming Need for Speed reboot, this one focusing specifically on the racing game's extensive car customization options.
As you can see in the trailer, you have a ton of choices. You'll be able to add new sideskirts, spoilers, tires, and rims. "Almost every area of the car is available for you to craft," the video's narrator says, adding that this year's game offers the most authentic customization options in franchise history. You can also use the "wrap editor" to change the color of your car and add decals, while things like performance and handling can also be fine-tuned to your liking. Check out the video below to see the customization options in action.
Following its recent delay, Square Enix has confirmed IO Interactive's latest Hitman title will be released on March 11, and detailed what will be included in the digital launch package.
The March 11 release will feature the "initial launch content," which contains the Paris, Sapienza, and Marrakesh locations, together comprising six campaign missions. These will all be replayable through the user-created Contracts missions, which allow players to designate new targets for assassination.
"For Contracts mode, you've got a combined pool of around 800 targets to craft your devious Contracts from, which means we're expecting fantastic things," IO said.
Live content will also start being pushed out in March. This, according to the studio, includes "time-limited targets, weekly IO developed Contracts, and promoted content built by the very best of you out there."
After the initial launch, IO will release one new sandbox location per month in April, May, and June, each with their own missions, signature kills, and Contracts targets.
"Of course [each location will have] new disguises, weapons ,and ways of taking out your target. April takes you to Thailand, May will see you visiting the United States of America, and June sends you across the globe to Japan."
IO Interactive has also confirmed the digital release of Hitman will cost $59.99 (or the regional equivalent" and will give purchasers access to "everything."
"All the content we're planning on releasing, access to all live events and a secured spot in the Hitman Beta, which will be available on PlayStation 4 and PC only, [will be available for] no additional costs at any time.
A second version of the game, called the Intro Pack, will also be available and, for $34.99 (or the regional equivalent) will give purchasers all the content released in March, including the Live Events and Contracts. It will not, however, include anything beyond this, but an option to pupgrade will be available for $29.99 (or the regional equavalent.)
"These few extra months will mean we can add more to the launch content of the game, more than we had originally planned, and then follow with a tighter frequency of updates, which ultimately will create a better game for everyone. And in the end, that's what we're all looking for," it said in a a statement.
The game's $1.75 million stretch goal--Love & Hate--has now been unlocked. This is a new game system themed around "dynamic relationships." It includes the ability to form friendships and rivalries, but also lets your in-game characters fall in love.
Combined with extra funds from PayPal, the crowdfunding campaign for Original Sin II has exceeded $1.85 million, which means another stretch goal--Shapeshifting Mask--has been reached. This mask allows players to take on different roles on the fly; one example provided was morphing from a human to a lizard.
There is now just one final stretch goal to reach. Should funding hit $2 million, Larian will add a new "Game Master" mode that the studio says "goes far beyond anything else we've tried in a Divinity game." GM Mode, as it's called, lets players create their own dungeons and change their attributes on the fly as other players move from them. You can add new enemies and manipulate the environment to make a dungeon run even more challenging for other players. Or you can use your powers for good.
"Or give them an in-depth, personalized gaming experience...If you're one of these 'reasonable' people," Larian said.
In addition, Larian has announced a special 24-hour "Twitchathon" broadcast to close out the final day of crowdfunding. The broadcast will feature special guests and developer commentary, and you can watch the entire event right here on Twitch.
Finally, Larian has announced a partnership with The Witcher developer CD Projekt's GOG.com digital distribution hub for a "community brainstorming session." As part of this, GOG is pledging $10,000 to the Original Sin II Kickstarter campaign and will help community members develop a character that Larian will later implement in the full game. You can submit your idea here
Original Sin 2 has far surpassed its Kickstarter goal of raising $500,000. As with Original Sin, Larian is using this funding not to build the game, but to expand it beyond what its budget would otherwise permit. Things turned out well with the previous game, which GameSpot named its PC Game of the Year for 2014.
The game is currently slated for release in December 2016. Among the improvements it'll offer are four-player co-op support, a new crafting system, skill crafting, and competitive questing.
Marvel's superhero blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron comes to Blu-ray in a few weeks, and to tie in with the release the studio have released a new blooper reel. Check it out below:
This follows a similar reel that was released to coincide with the UK edition, which came out earlier in September. The Blu-ray hits US shelves on October 2.
Together with Antman, Age of Ultron completed Phase Two of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. While it hasn't quite earned as much as 2012's The Avengers, it still made more than $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office and stands as the sixth most successful film of all time.
The next two Avengers movies--Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2--don't arrive until 2018 and 2019 respectively. While little is known about the story for these films, they are expected to revolve around the evil cosmic warlord Thanos and the Infinity Stones. A deleted scene from Age of Ultron was released earlier this week, in which the Stones are explained in more detail.
In the meantime, the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be Captain America: Civil War, which comes to cinemas on May 6, 2016.
The full lineup of deals, divided by platform, is available below. All deals are good through October 5.
Click through the links below to start your download from the Xbox Marketplace. Are you picking anything up this week? Let us know in the comments below.
Xbox One:
Titles marked with an asterisk are on sale only for Xbox Live Gold members
And by neat, we mean inside a replica of the Fat Man mini-nuke. The faux nuke makes a little bomb sound effect and comes with a space for you to store Fallout 4, once it's released.
The Fallout Anthology goes on sale in North America on September 29, priced at $50 on the Bethesda store. It is expected to be available in Australia on October 1, and in Europe on October 2.
The Fallout 4 release date, meanwhile, has been set for November 10 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Bethesda previously announced it will offer a $30 Fallout 4 Season Pass that comes with all of the Fallout 4 DLC it will ever do.
"Since we're still hard at work on the game, we don't know what the actual DLC will be yet, but it will start coming early next year," it said. "Based on what we did for Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim, we know that it will be worth at least $40, and if we do more, you'll get it all with the Season Pass."
The bundle will launch in October for $400. Unlike the Rise of the Tomb Raider system, this one does not appear to be exclusive to any retailers. It does not come with a Kinect camera.
Microsoft will reveal three more systems this week. If Monday and Tuesday's schedules are anything to go by, you can expect these bundles to be announced at 6 AM PDT / 9 AM EDT / 2 PM UK every day through Friday.
Don't hold your breath for a Burnout HD collection for Xbox One/PlayStation 4, as developer Criterion Games is instead spending its time on "newer, even better things."
Asked by a fan on Twitter if such a game was in development, Criterion replied, "Hah! You're not the first with that one. Nice idea but it's still not true. We've moved on to newer, even better things!" The idea would be to presumably bundle previous-generation Burnout titles in one package, not unlike Halo: The Master Chief Collection or Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, but it doesn't sound like it will happen.
As for what Criterion's "even better" project might be, it's possible this is the epic-looking extreme sports game featuring helicopters, ATVs, planes, jet skis, and wingsuits announced at E3 2014. However, this game was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3 and we still don't know much about it.
"That is now going to be a league," he says after airing footage from a fighting game tournament. "That was the nerd equivalent of 'band on the field.'" Co-host Kristine Leahy interjects to say, "[Competitive gaming] is a huge deal. It's bigger than the Super Bowl in some countries."
Cowherd then goes on to make jokes about competitive gaming champions and how they live at home with their parents, eat Hot Pockets, and enjoy Star Wars.
"Now he's going upstairs to his room, a room where a girl has never entered," Cowherd says in a mock play-by-play. "He sits down--look at that Star Wars collection!--and goes to town on the Hot Pocket; there is your esports champion"
It's 13 years since the iconic '90s sci-fi show The X-Files ended, but now FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are set to resume their investigations into the strange and the unknown. The new six-part season will be broadcast in January 2016, and ahead of that a new trailer has been released. Check it out below:
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be reprising their roles, and as seen in this trailer, are joined once more by Mitch Pileggi, playing former supervisor Walter Skinner, and William B. Davis as the enigmatic villain Smoking Man.
In an interview for Entertainment Weekly earlier this year, Duchovny spoke about receiving the script for the new season for the first time. "I started crying reading the first page," he said. "It was just so strange to see the names on the page. It had nothing to do with the script itself. It was just like, I'd been talking about this for a long time.'
"I would be open to doing another cycle," he added. "I don't know that I could do a 20-episode version of this show at this point in my life, and I don't know that Gillian could. But I think everybody is open ended on what happens after this."
The X-Files ran for nine years, and clocked up 202 episodes between 1993 and 2002. By the time the final episode aired, it had become the longest-running consecutive sci-fi series ever on US broadcast TV. There were also two spinoff movies: 1998's The X-Files: Fight the Future, and The X-Files: I Want to Believe in 2008.
The first episode of the new season will premiere on January 24, 2016.
The world of SOMA, a first-person sci-fi horror title developed by Frictional Games, the team behind Penumbra and Amnesia, is set to expand through a live-action prequel series.
The first of the five-episode web series is available now, with the remaining chapters being released up until October 5. It shows the world before players arrive on Pathos-2 and discover that things have gone awry.
Although the first episode doesn't contain any major spoilers, it is advised that you play the game first and then watch the series.
SOMA was released on September 22, following nearly five years in development, takes place in an abandoned science facility. Unlike its contemporaries, it shuns jump scares for atmospheric tension.
In GameSpot's SOMA review the title was awarded a 9/10: "[A few] missteps of tedium shine a light on just how incredibly assured SOMA is elsewhere," said our reviewer.
"I came in expecting something similar to Amnesia, just in a terrifying new location, but what I found is an intelligent game that forced me to think and contemplate ideas as only the best sci-fi is capable of doing.
"It may not stir the hordes of wailing YouTubers looking for the next best haunted house, but SOMA succeeds at crafting something much more meaningful in a genre that's deserving of more than just simple jump scares."
Sony has confirmed the new system software update for the PlayStation 4 will be available on September 30.
Firmware 3.00, previously revealed to be codenamed Kenshin, will introduce "entirely new features" and user-interface enhancements. According to Sony, this update is designed to create "new ways to connect with friends and players around the world, expanding the social capabilities of the system even further."
Among the new features are the ability to share videos directly to Twitter, tweaks to the interface for streaming on YouTube, and an increase in online storage capacity from 1 GB to 10 GB for PS Plus Members.
The full list of new feature can be found below.
Sharing video clips to Twitter: Now it's easy to share video clips to Twitter directly from your PS4. You'll see a new icon on the Upload Video Clip menu, nestled between Facebook and YouTube. Maximum video length is 10 seconds, though you'll have the ability to trim longer clips. Don't forget — you can double tap the Share button to start recording a video, and press it again to stop.
PlayStation Plus: We've made a dedicated section for PlayStation Plus, which you can access by clicking the big Plus icon on the top right corner of your PS4 home screen. Once there you can easily manage your membership, see the monthly free games to download, deals for PS Plus members, and all of the games you've redeemed through PS Plus on PS4.
YouTube live: You'll see a new icon for YouTube on the Broadcast Gameplay Screen, accessible after hitting the Share button. Now you can live stream directly from your PS4 to YouTube. Livestreams will be viewable across YouTube.
Improvements to Messages and Favorite Groups: We've improved Messages by making it easier to access groups of people you chat and play games with frequently. Once you're added to or create a group, you'll see the online status for friends, what games they are playing, and the option to message or chat in party all in one spot. When you add or create a new favorite group, they'll appear in your Friends app under Favorite Groups for quick access. For example, you can see we have favorite groups for Call of Duty, Rocket League, and Destiny.
Communities: PS4 users will have the ability to create communities based around shared interests, like games, genres, and more. Communities include a message board with general discussion, screenshots shared by players, and the ability to join parties/games.
Stickers: From the PS4 system's Messages app, you'll see a new option for Stickers. The 3.00 update will contain stickers themed around Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Knack, LittleBigPlanet 3, Resogun, and more. Instead of typing out a message, just send a sticker — like Drake looking at a watch, asking you to wait a minute."
Social game company Zynga has lost one of its most veteran and influential designers. Mark Skaggs, who created the FarmVille franchise and had been with Zynga since its start-up days, has left the San Francisco-based studio. Most recently, he served as Zynga's SVP of Games, where he oversaw all of the company's titles, including the recently released strategy game Empires & Allies.
"We are appreciative and thankful for the player-focused passion and creativity Mark has infused in Zynga teams and projects over the years," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said in a statement provided to GamesIndustry International.
Skaggs' departure comes as part of a wider management shakeup that saw Zynga hire former Hasbro human resources executive Laura Revenko as its new "chief people officer." Further details about Skaggs' exit from Zynga are not available, but it sounds like the veteran designer isn't quitting games altogether.
Activision today launched the next Tony Hawk skateboarding game, Pro Skater 5, and now we've learned that the title's day-one patch is larger than the game's baseline install size. That's according to GameCabin, which says the game itself is 4.6 GB, with the patch weighing in at 7.7 GB.
Our review for Pro Skater 5 is coming later, but for now, you can check out GameSpot's retrospective on the franchise in the video above, featuring insight directly from Tony Hawk himself. You can also check out our E3 impressions for more on what to expect.
Xbox Japan's marketing manager, Masashi Inoue, has said he believes sales of the Xbox One in Japan will receive a boost when Platinum Games' Scalebound is released.
Speaking to DualShockers at Xbox One Fanfest in Tokyo, Masashi was asked whether he believes the Microsoft exclusive action game from the studio behind Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising will drive hardware sales.
"To be honest... Oh yes. Oh yes," he replied. "I think not only it's an exclusive for Xbox, but Platinum Games is well known, and has big fans in Japan and also overseas.
"So, having seen those great demos, I firmly believe that it's going to deliver a lot of excitement to our customers, and we're looking forward to the release."
"The one thing that I will say is that up until this point in my career, and up until this point in Platinum Games' history, we've never made a game like Scalebound," he added.
"What I'm trying to do with Scalebound is create a very different kind of game than what I've created up until this point. We're trying to create new gameplay, and that is a challenge for me personally."
A new developer diary has provided a behind-the-scenes look at how Avalanche Software is developing its open-world action game Just Cause 3.
The video features Make Knowland, senior character artist, who explains thew iterative process of building a character, starting with digital sculpting and going all the way up to texturing.
Jesse Bonelli, junior environment artist, shows how the pieces of the world are created to be modular, allowing the developers to use it as building blocks for new areas. There's also a look at how terrain, explosion effects, and more are all built.
Publisher Square Enix has confirmed the Just Cause 3 release date as December 1 across PC and console.
Although Square Enix is yet to confirm the contents, the listing suggests it will feature three DLC packs (presumably themed around air, land, and sea), along with "exclusive" Flame Wingsuit and Parachute Skins. The three expansions will add new missions, weapons, gadgets, vehicles, and enemies.
Release dates for the Just Cause 3's Air, Land, and Sea expansions were not announced.
Nausea caused by the use of VR headsets should be attributed to bad software design, according to Valve writer and designer Chet Faliszek.
Speaking at EGX, as reported by GamesIndustry, Faliszek said the idea that VR makes people sick is "bullshit," adding that hardware had matured to the point where it is no longer the cause of the issue.
"We have people come in who don't want to do demos. In a party of ten people there will be someone who says 'I'm gonna be sick, I can't do this.' That expectation is based on either what they've seen before or what they've heard," he said.
"As consumers and people in the community, hold developers to it. They shouldn't be making you sick. It's no longer the hardware's fault any more. It's the developers making choices that are making you sick. Tell them that you don't want that."
In his statements, Faliszek highlighted traditional movement inputs such as keyboards and thumbsticks as "the easiest way to get somebody sick."
Vive uses a system called "Lighthouse," which tracks users within a designated space and allows them to more naturally interact with the virtual world. This, Faliszek says, makes the VR experience "exponentially better."
"When you reach in and can interact with the world your brain's buying into the system grows that much stronger," he explained.
Sega's teaser trailer for its upcoming action game Yakuza 6 has emerged online via YouTube user Nammo P. The video was first shown at the Sega booth during Tokyo Game Show, which ran from September 19-20. The trailer features renown Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano, who is confirmed to be in the game.
Kitano's involvement is appropriate, given his experience in directing several Yakuza films in the 90s. He is also well known for his work hosting the comedy game show Takeshi's Castle.
The appearance of a new Yakuza was teased earlier this month, when the website for the series--known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan--pointed to an announcement of sorts on September 15.
Project Spark, Microsoft's Xbox One and PC game that lets you create your own games, is dumping its free-to-play model in favor of going completely free. As a result, future Conker content has been canceled.
Microsoft made the announcement this afternoon, revealing that the transition will happen when the game's next update hits on October 5. Every piece of content in the game will be available to all users, including 200 new props (such as a swamp environment and dragon) that are on the way. The update also doubles the terrain and prop limits, which Microsoft says will allow for worlds twice as large as what's currently possible.
Due to this shift, Microsoft will no longer be focused on releasing DLC. (Instead, it'll put the onus on players to create content; the company says there are 200,000 active players sharing 300-400 levels per day). Specifically, that means Conker's Big Reunion content--some of which has already been released--has been canceled.
If you bought the Project Spark retail disc and activated it after July 28, 2015, or have unused tokens in your account, you'll be able to receive Microsoft Store credit equal to how much you spent. If you qualify, you can expect to get the credit 30-60 days after October 5.
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