[UPDATE] The beta is now live across all three platforms. Download it now through the links here: Xbox One, PS4, PC.
The original story is below.
The day has arrived. Beginning today, October 8, DICE is letting everyone play its upcoming sci-fi shooter Star Wars Battlefront by way of an open beta across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Battlefront's beta includes a Survival Mission, as well as the 40-player Walker Assault and Drop Zone modes. In addition, beta players can check out the Battlefront companion experience through its website to earn items for the main game. For more on the beta, check out the video preview above.
Battlefront launches on November 17, about a month before Disney's Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens hits theaters in December. EA is also releasing tie-in DLC for Battlefront based on the movie.
Xbox One owners with an EA Access membership will get to play Battlefront first, as it will be available through the subscription program a full five days early.
While beta tests are often nothing more than a glorified demo or a network stress test, it appears Call of Duty: Black Ops III's was more meaningful for developer Treyarch. The studio today outlined a number of ways the game's multiplayer mode is changing as a result of beta feedback.
In a PlayStation Blog post, design director David Vonderhaar highlighted ten such adjustments that will be in place for the game's launch. While these aren't major alterations to its design, many of them sound like changes for the better.
Chief among them, the Black Hat hacking mechanic has been changed. It now takes longer to steal a scorestreak (particularly the higher-end ones), and the game will now do a better job of alerting players of when this is occurring. Hackers will also be called out on the map, making them easier targets.
A new limit has been put in place to reduce the amount of flinching that happens when aiming down the sights of a weapon and being shot at. Vonderhaar said the flinch effect was allowed to stack during the beta, and while flinching hasn't been removed entirely, it will now "be within tighter constraints to keep you closer to your aim."
The Rejack ability, allowing a certain character class to immediately revive, has also been adjusted. Anyone who kills someone using Rejack is now credited with a kill, and any scorestreak progress the Rejack user has made will be reset. In other words, Rejack won't allow players to achieve high-end scorestreaks even after they've died.
Other changes: more feedback to let you know you're hitting (and have killed) enemies; concussion grenades stun players for one less second; escorting the robot in Safeguard provides +25 score every three seconds; and the kill cam offers more information, such as the weapons and equipment your killer has equipped.
You can see the full list here, though it doesn't appear to be a comprehensive one. There's a reference to weapon balancing, but only two weapons (the M8A7 rifle and Razorback submachine gun) are specifically mentioned, and there's no indication of what was actually adjusted.
Black Ops III's beta was available back in August on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, though it was available first on PS4. The blog post notes that PS4 beta testers will soon receive a dynamic theme to thank them for their time. More details on this are coming next week.
The full version of Black Ops III is slated for released on November 6 for the aforementioned platforms, as well as Xbox 360 and PS3.
Battlefield Hardline joins the EA Access library of free games on October 14, Electronic Arts announced today. It was already confirmed that the cops-and-robbers shooter would arrive in October for the Xbox One subscription service, but until now, the specific release date was unknown.
As with all other EA Access free games, this is the full version of Hardline with no time limits or other caps.
The contents of this update are entirely community-made, as Valve said this year's Halloween event would be. That includes the excellent short film above, which sees UFOs begin to invade as the game's characters watch a 3D movie (save for the Pyro and the poor, one-eyed Demoman).
Four new maps have been added, one of which is a UFO-ified version of 2Fort. There are also new cosmetics, including a lightsaber-esque bat, that can be unlocked through new Invasion cases, though you'll need to purchase a special key in order to open a case.
Getting those cases also first requires you spend some money by purchasing the $2 Invasion Community Update Pass. This entitles you to an Invasion Community Update Coin, which tracks your stats during the event and allows you to earn Invasion case drops through the end of the year. All proceeds from purchases of the Update Pass go to the community members responsible for the update.
All of this now available in-game. The Update Pass will remain on sale for the duration of the event, set to run from now through November 5. You can check out some of the cosmetic items (and a chestburster-style emote) on TF2's website.
Marvel's Phase Three of superhero movies is yet to kick off, but the schedule is already changing. The studio has announced that this summer's Ant-Man is to get a sequel that will be released on July 6, 2018. Titled Ant-man and the Wasp, it will see Paul Rudd return as the miniature hero, teaming up with Evangeline Lilly's equally diminutive sidekick.
The film will now occupy the release slot originally taken by Black Panther, which has moved forward to February 16, 2018, with Captain Marvel shifting from November that year to March 2019.
There are rumours that Ben Affleck's first standalone Batman movie for DC might also see a November 2016 release, which could account for this latter move.
In addition to these date changes, Marvel has lined up three currently untitled films for 2020, to be released on May 1, July 10, and November 6.
The complete Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Three schedule now looks like this:
May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War
November 4, 2016: Doctor Strange
May 5, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
July 28, 2017: Spider-Man
November 3, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
February 16, 2018: Blank Panther
May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1
July 6, 2018: Ant-Man and the Wasp
March 8, 2019: Captain Marvel
May 3, 2019: Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2
July 12, 2019: Inhumans
May 1, 2020: Unknown Marvel Film
July 10, 2020: Unknown Marvel Film
November 6, 2020: Unknown Marvel Film
Ant-Man was released this summer to strong reviews, and although it hasn't grossed as much as likes of The Avengers or Iron Man movies, it has earned a very healthy $409 million at the global box office.
Microsoft has released the launch trailer for Halo: The Fall of Reach, the upcoming animated series, which is based on the 2001 Erik Nylund novel of the same name. The animated show is a three-act series set both before and after the Covenant attack, showing the origins of Master Chief and the Spartan program.
"It certainly has the power to be a system-seller this Christmas," Palmer told MCV. "It offers fantastic value as a gifting proposition, giving newcomers the chance to pick up a PlayStation 4 with three great games at a very competitive price. PlayStation's audience base has also changed significantly since the original Uncharted games were released, so there's a huge number of gamers looking to buy a PS4 who may never have played these games before."
By Naughty Dog's own estimations, around 80 percent of PS4 owners have never played an Uncharted game. Palmer said The Nathan Drake Collection not only appeals to these people, but also fans who already played the game but want to "play through the series again in all its remastered glory."
Sony has released PlayStation Network sales charts for September 2015, revealing that Destiny was the top-selling overall PlayStation 4 game, presumably buoyed by the appeal of the game's latest expansion, The Taken King. Destiny beat out new release Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (launched on September 1), while the other top-performing titles during the month were FIFA 16, NBA 2K16, and Madden NFL 16.
The first episode in Telltale's Tales from the Borderland series, called Zer0 Sum, is now available for free across consoles and mobile devices. It normally sells for $5, while the complete, five-episode series, costs $20. Tales from the Borderlands is based on Gearbox's hit shooter series Borderlands.
You can queue up your download through the links below.
Telltale also today confirmed that the final entry in the series, The Vault of the Traveler, will launch on October 20 across PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3. It will come to Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 21, while the mobile version will debut on October 22.
Watch the video above to see a sneak peek.
Zer0 Sum was released in November 2014 and GameSpot scored it 9/10. Reviewer Alexa Ray Corriea wrote in her review that it "sets a high entry bar into the series but one that's fun to surmount."
For more on the subsequent episodes, check out the reviews below.
Details are being kept under wraps for now, but 5th Cell CEO and creative director Jeremiah Slaczka said in a statement that the project will introduce "new gameplay innovations." This game is set in a "deep and engaging universe unlike any other," he teased.
"We look forward to bringing on investors who want to share in the future financial success of the title, while helping us to bring the game's unique universe to life," he explained.
The crowdfunding campaign for 5th Cell's new game--which wasn't even given a name--will go live on October 21.
Fig differs from platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo in that it offers both rewards-based backing as well as equity to accredited investors. More information about the accreditation process is available here. In addition, the platform only supports one game at a time.
The first game funded on Fig was Mobius Digital's Outer Wilds, which attracted more than $800,000 across accredited investment and rewards-based support.
The most recent Scribblenauts game was 2012's Scribblenauts Unlimited for Wii U. Overall, the franchise has sold over 13 million copies.
Most games are simple. You put a disc in a slot or download a file, and boom, you're off and playing. With peripheral-based games like Rock Band, setup can be a little complicated, especially when the developer is working to make nearly all existing content compatible with its latest title. That's why we've assembled this handy FAQ, which covers everything from instrument backwards compatibility to transferring previously purchased DLC to exporting on-disc tracks from previous games. Still have questions? Let us know in the comments, and we'll do our best get you the answers.
I played Rock Band on Xbox 360, but now I own a PS4. Can I still transfer all my old songs and use my old instruments? Nope. Same if you played on PS3 and now own an Xbox One. There is no cross-console family compatibility of any kind, so you either need to start your Rock Band collection from scratch or go pick up a new console. Assuming you've stayed within the same console family, however...
Can I play Rock Band 4 with my old instruments? Most likely, but not in all cases. Peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz has assembled an easy-to-read chart that outlines which guitars work and which guitars don't. This chart includes not only official Rock Band equipment but Guitar Hero and third party instruments as well.
A few models like Rock Band 3's Fender Mustang Pro Controller and the high-end ION Drum Rocker kit are still in testing. These instruments could become usable following future updates, but that's totally theoretical at this point. Other instruments--most notably Rock Band 3's keyboard peripheral--will simply not be supported.
Two things the chart doesn't cover: First, your wired PS2/PS3 instruments will most likely work, but there's a strong chance your wired Xbox 360 guitars won't. Second, Mad Catz' last-gen cymbal add-ons will cooperate with Rock Band 4's new drum set. Just plug them into the drum kit's control console and you're good to go.
Okay, cool, my old instruments made the cut. How do I set them up? If you're using a PS4, simply plug the USB dongle that came with your wireless PS3 equipment into your console, add your instruments as bluetooth devices the same way you would a Dualshock 4, and you should be up and running.
Xbox 360 wireless instruments, on the other hand, didn't come with a dongle, so you'll need to pick up an Xbox Legacy Controller Adapter to enable backwards compatibility. Basically this dongle allows your old devices to communicate with your new console. All boxed retail copies of Rock Band 4 for Xbox One come with this adapter (hence the heftier $80 price tag).
The Band-In-A-Box and guitar/game bundles do not come with an adapter because Rock Band 4's new gear does not require an adapter to communicate with your Xbox One. At the moment, you cannot buy a Legacy Adapter without also purchasing a copy of the game, but Harmonix has stated it will eventually sell standalone adapters for $25. You know, in case you prefer to download your games.
One important fact about the Legacy Adapter: it supports up to four instruments simultaneously. That means two guitars, a drum set, and a USB microphone can all connect to the same adapter.
I need new gear. What are my options? You can scour the internet for classic instruments, or you can pick up a Band-In-A-Box bundle, which, in addition to a copy of the game, includes a wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar, wireless drum set, and wired USB microphone. You can also buy one Strat controller and a copy of the game together in a single package.
While Rock Band 4's new gear looks and feels nearly identical to past gear, it is designed to function with the new game straight out of the box. No adapters, minimal hassle.
At the moment you cannot buy any standalone Rock Band 4 instruments, but Harmonix recently commented they plan to start selling individual instruments in early 2016. The only exception is Mad Catz' cymbal pack, which is currently still available as a standalone product.
I bought a ton of downloadable tracks for all the previous Rock Band games. How do I transfer those to Rock Band 4? If you stayed within the same console family and still the use same account you had when you bought all those songs, the store should simply recognize which entitlements you already own and allow you to re-download those songs for free.The bad news is, you have to download each song individually, as batch downloading is apparently not possible at this time. The good news is, each legacy track that's available in the store has been re-authored to accommodate new features unique to Rock Band 4 like Freestyle Solos.
Unfortunately, due to licensing restraints, some classic songs will not be available. We do not yet have a comprehensive list of DLC tracks that have been cut, but we do know more than 1,700 songs are set to arrive in the store over the next few weeks. Note that this process may take time, and while many tracks are already available, some are still working their way through the approval process, according to Harmonix.
If you're having trouble or need step-by-step instructions, check here for help.
A few more facts about DLC: All Rock Band Network songs are out since they were never officially licensed and Microsoft's XNA tools are no longer supported. If you don't plan on upgrading to Rock Band 4, you can still purchase already-released songs for 360 and PS3. However, all upcoming DLC will only be available for Rock Band 4. For reference, songs generally cost $1.99.
Harmonix has stated they're working on a way to allow players to export Rock Band 3's on-disc songs, but no official solution has been announced.
I have a big stack of old Rock Band games. How do I export the on-disc tracks so I can play them in Rock Band 4? If you have not yet exported the on-disc music from Rock Band 2, LEGO Rock Band, or Green Day: Rock Band, you're probably out of luck. You can still pay a small fee to export tracks from Rock Band 1, while Rock Band Blitz still allows you to do it for free, but the export keys for the other three have all expired. Yes, licensing agreements are a real bummer.
Harmonix has indicated certain tracks from these discs may become available as individual downloads in the store, but there's no telling whether or not that will actually happen. Harmonix has also stated they're working on a way to allow players to export Rock Band 3's on-disc songs, but no official solution has been announced yet.
Fortunately, you should be able to download any on-disc content you previously exported once the Rock Band store has fully updated. Same goes for any disc-based Track Packs you still have. The one big exception to all this is The Beatles: Rock Band, which is not available now and, most likely, will not become available at any future date.
If you have any other questions, please post them in the comments. In the meantime, don't forget to calibrate!
Bethesda has revealed the minimum and recommended PC hardware requirements needed to run its upcoming open-world role-playing title, Fallout 4. Additionally it has also said you'll require between 28 and 35 GB of storage space on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to install the game on consoles. The exact size depends on the territory and languages supported.
Minimum
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent
NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent
Furthermore, Bethesda has said Fallout 4 will unlock digitally at 12:01 AM in local time in all territories. In North America, the unlock time will be 12:01 am EST. In Asia it will be available at 12 AM on Tuesday, November 11, while Japanese players will be able to being their adventure from 12 AM on Thursday, December 17.
Bethesda has also announced the Pip-Boy Edition of the game will also include a Perk Poster, which you can take a look at below.
Bethesda previously announced it will offer a $30 Fallout 4 Season Pass that comes with "all of the Fallout 4 DLC we ever do." Although the studio doesn't yet know what form this content may take, it has said it won't be available until 2016.
Following its announcement of a 4D Mass Effect theme park attraction, Electronic Arts has now revealed that it's creating a "new digital experience" based on Plants vs. Zombies for the Carowinds theme park in North Carolina. Slated to open in spring 2016, this "intra-active 3D game experience" is called Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena. It represents a world's first, EA said in a statement.
The attraction is based on the Garden Warfare shooter franchise. But what does intra-active even mean?
EA explains: "The attraction allows players to interact with the opposing team's screen. Guests will step inside the state-of-the-art Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena complex decked with 3D technology, massive screens, surround sound, and motion-based seats, to enjoy outrageous and imaginative encounters with their competition. Teams will compete in the Plants vs. Zombies universe during an almost five-minute backyard battle, where they'll shoot screens with blasters and track their scores as they go."
For a closer look at the new 3Z Arena, click through the work-in-progress images in the gallery above. You can also see a bullet point breakdown of the attraction below.
3Z Arenaincludes:
68 motion-based seats equipped with hand-held laser devices
Nearly 3,600 square-foot arena
Two 14'6" x 26' screens with independent 5.1 surround sound
The attraction will run approximately ten times per hour to accommodate between 600-700 people
Players will be able to purchase photos in the Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena retail store
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: 3Z Arena will be located inside the Action Theater, in the County Fair section of the park
The new Steve Jobs biopic has had a long journey to the screen, with multiple stars, directors, and producers attached to it over the last few years. A new report suggests that Jobs' widow was a big reason that the film took so long to be made.
In a lengthy article on the making of the film, The Hollywood Reporter has quoted an anonymous "key player" in the production. He told the paper: "Since the very beginning, Laurene Jobs has been trying to kill this movie ... Laurene Jobs called Leo DiCaprio and said: 'Don't do it.' Laurene Jobs called Christian Bale and said: 'Don't [do it].'"
These quotes were backed up by a source at Sony, who at one time was going to produce the film before it passed to Universal. "She reached out. She had a strong desire not to have the movie made," the source said. "But we said: 'We're going to move forward.' My understanding is, she did call one or two of the actors."
Steve Jobs, which stars Michael Fassbender as the tech pioneer, has been the centre of controversy for several weeks. Last month, Tim Cook, the current Apple CEO, described the film as "opportunistic." More recently, Jony Ive, Apple's chief design officer, spoke about the effect that Danny Boyle's film had on people close to the real life Jobs.
"There are sons and daughters and widows and very close friends that are completely bemused and completely upset," he commented at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, as reported by The Verge. "We're remembering and celebrating Steve Jobs' life and at the same time there is this perfectly timed movie and I don't recognize this person."
Boyle himself weighed in on the subject during a Q&A following a screening of the film in New York. "This guy is one of the most important figures in our lives and many, many more people's lives to come," he said, via Forbes. "We have got to examine these people, either in a big political way or in a personal way, which this one tries to do. Government and lawmakers are fearful of them and you can sense that. These corporations are so powerful and extraordinary in the way that they influence our lives."
Steve Jobs opens this weekend, and also stars Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels.
During Microsoft's Windows 10 event on Tuesday, the company announced a new experimental HoloLens game called Project X-Ray. Now, you can see that game in action. This new HoloLens demo goes further than what we've seen before in that it introduces "holograms you can hold." Watch as the demonstrator wields a holographic weapon to blast oncoming alien enemies--all while inside a living room setup.
In this demo, robots spring forth from the walls. By way of their spacial awareness, they can use their knowledge of where walls and couches are to plan specialized attacks against you. Your living room might not look like the one shown here, but that doesn't matter, as the software can adapt to your setup.
"Holograms behave just like real objects," a Microsoft developer said. "They can interact with the environment and each other."
HoloLens, which promises "mixed reality" instead of virtual reality alone, was announced earlier this year. As this video demonstrates, it clearly has some gaming potential, but right now, Project X-Ray, as well as the special demos for Halo and Minecraft shown previously, are considered experiments only. However, the device is slated to get a lot more real very soon.
Destiny is struggling right now for some, as numerous players are reporting they have been booted from the game and can't log back in. Players may be happy to learn that Bungie is on the case, assuring fans on Twitter that its operations team is "currently investigating," though no fix has been identified yet.
"Please stand by," Bungie said in a tweet sent at 9:23 AM EDT.
The issues appear to be related to the BANJO error code, which pops up when players experience trouble connecting to or maintaining a connection to Destiny's servers.
We'll update this post as more details become available.
In other recent Destiny news, Bungie has announced that the sci-fi shooter is adding microtransactions on October 13 in the form of in-game currency called "Silver." Initially, the Eververse Trading Company storefront, as Bungie is calling it, will be stocked with 18 in-game emotes to buy, though pricing has not been announced.
Bungie stresses that these "won't impact the action game in any way."
One analyst believes microtransactions in Destiny will be big business, capable of generating as much as "hundreds of millions" per year. Whether or not Bungie expands Destiny microtransactions beyond emotes remains to be seen.
We're not sure if you're aware of this, but some kind of space monster is really angry at Destiny's Guardians for killing his son Oryx (not to be confused with Ground/Rock-type Pokemon Onyx).
Apparently this Taken King (he sometimes refers to himself as the Tekken King even though he mains an unbelievably cheap Eddie Gordo) has appeared on Earth and is being a right pain in the butt. In addition to corrupting organisms and turning them into mindless alien zombies, he's stepping on daffodils and taking all the Pumpkin Spice Latte syrup from Starbucks**. He is the absolute worst.
Lucky for us, The Backstreet Boys are here to save us--with music! Disguising themselves as a Guardian group called Husky Raids, they appear in locations around the galaxy, rebelliously singing and dancing to counteract that grumpy old alien monarch. See them in action below, it's impressive stuff.
If you haven't already seen it, your day will be made 100% better by watching this other video of the Husky Raid group defying the alien overlords by breaking into some impromptu Gwen Stefani.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a master class in level design. Though individual missions inevitably funneled players from one point to the next, the areas between those points provided numerous possible paths, each of which presented unique strategic options. You could sneak through the shadows in search of hidden air ducts, drop through skylights and scatter any enemies on the ground below, hack open doors that would have otherwise blocked the shortest route, or even punch through walls to create entirely new paths.
Direct sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided seems to not only share this approach, but also expands and enriches it by equipping players with an even deeper assortment of tactical tools. At least, that's what I gleaned from the two missions I played during a recent visit to Eidos Montreal. While I also used this opportunity to speak with the core creative team about the series' cyberpunk trappings, as well as discuss Human Revolution's unfortunate boss battles, the real focus of my afternoon in Montreal was gameplay.
Like with its predecessor, Mankind Divided's core gameplay is multifaceted and open-ended. It presents you with a problem, provides you with tools, and says, "Figure it out," allowing for experimentation and, potentially, some gratifying eureka moments. In this case, I needed to infiltrate a heavily guarded theater in order to confront a mafia kingpin. My tools? A curated loadout of weapons and augments. Typically you acquire these upgrades in a gradual, calculated manner, but because this mission was pulled from the middle of the game, I was simply presented with three different pre-created loadouts, each of which was designed with a different play style in mind: combat, stealth, or a balance of the two.
I opted for a combat playthrough first, assuming it would offer the most straightforward experience. After all, it was totally possible to play Human Revolution as a straight-up first-person shooter, so why not jump in and blow some stuff up? But even Mankind Divided's baseline shooter gameplay demands strategy. Despite his mostly metal exterior, Jensen's health depletes rapidly compared to other shooters, while enemies can generally withstand a fair amount of damage. Ammo also proved to be relatively scarce, and although I never ran out, I was forced to loot every enemy I killed in order to continue shooting back.
While this may sound like criticism, such restraints forced me to be creative and think strategically. Cover, for example, proved invaluable. Thankfully, the slightly revamped cover system was robust and intuitive, outside of a few fixable UI quirks. Once you snap to a piece of cover, the camera pulls back into a third-person view, where the game displays a few potential paths for Jensen to travel. You can maneuver a sort of hologram version of Jensen around until you've decided where to send him. After that, simply tap a button and Jensen nimbly maneuvers to this new position, making cover more about finding and levering a tactical advantage than fumbling with the controls.
The other way to stay alive in a firefight is to employ Jensen's combat augments. In my case, these included the crowd-controlling Typhoon mini-grenades, the wall-hacking Smart Vision, and a new augment called the Titan Shield, which negates all damage for a brief period of time (and also materializes with a particularly slick animation). When I finally gave Jensen's augments a shot, I noticed a crucial update that will undoubtedly impact your Deus Ex experience regardless of which playstyle you prefer.
Whereas Human Revolution used discrete, non-replenishing "batteries" to fuel Jensen's special augmented abilities, Mankind Divided opts for a far more flexible energy bar. Now when you use an ability, it may gradually drain the meter while that ability is active or take off a certain chunk upfront but recharge up to a certain point afterwards. Each augment seems to utilize energy in a different way, and perhaps most forgiving of all, your meter will never remain completely empty. Every time you bottom out, the energy bar will gradually regenerate up to a certain point--basically enough for one good takedown. Energy for augments is still somewhat scarce, but if nothing else, I'm grateful to see a more sophisticated system in place.
Where Human Revolution used discrete, non-replenishing "batteries" to fuel Jensen's special augmented abilities, Mankind Divided opts for a far more flexible energy bar.
Of course, there is one final tool that might keep you alive in a firefight: guns. Mankind Divided's stock weapons are standard fare--a combat rifle with low damage but a high rate of fire, a shotgun with low accuracy but serious stopping power, and so on--but they can now be augmented just like Jensen. For example, double-tapping the reload button quickly cycles through available ammo types. So if you encounter a particularly troublesome turret, you can equip those EMP rounds you've been saving and fry its insides that much faster. You can also add custom attachments such as scopes and silencers even in the heat of battle simply by glancing down at your gun, which momentarily pauses the action without actually taking you to a menu.
And while I wasn't fully able to explore this facet of the game, I did collect various inscrutable "parts" such as hydraulic micropumps and gyroscopic regulators while exploring the theater level. This--coupled with the "Combine" option in the familiar block-based inventory menu--leads me to believe we'll be able to craft custom weapons and equipment at some point.
Mankind Divided actually shined even brighter when I avoided conflict altogether.
My combat playthroughs led to a number of dynamic, memorable moments--most notably dropping from the upper level of the theater and pulverising a gun-toting goon with a ground pound--but Mankind Divided actually shined even brighter when I avoided conflict altogether. I spent one playthrough simply exploring, and quickly discovered an unguarded path to the back of the theater's exterior. There I found a wall I could punch through (yes, you still have to find specific weak walls), which led to an elevator shaft that dropped me almost directly in front of the end of the mission. One of the developers mentioned there's a way onto the theater's roof as well, but I never managed to find it even after several hours of play time.
My stealth playthrough delivered some excellent moments as well. Highlights include: sniping a guard with my tranquilizer rifle while hidden in a vent, then sniping the next three guards who came to check on their buddy; avoiding detection by remotely hacking a patrolling robot; and piling passed-out bad guys on a basement stairwell because yes, other guards will be alerted if you just leave limp bodies lying around. These mechanics haven't changed as much as those related to combat, but the theater's level design allowed for the same non-lethal fun that made stealth such a thrill in the previous game.
The fact that I was able to so fully explore Mankind Divided's stealth, combat, hacking, and exploration pillars within a single, self-contained area speaks volumes of the complexity and elegance of its design. Much of the game remains under wraps--including social gameplay, open world segments, side quests, and deeper story details--but so far, at least the diverse mechanics and dense environments of Deus Ex continue to live on.
The Ghostbusters remake is now in post-production, in advance of its release next summer. There has been lots of publicity about the original stars who have filmed cameos for the film--Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd are among the former cast members due to make appearances. One name notable by its absence, however, was Rick Moranis, who played the hapless Louis Tully in the 1984 classic.
Now Moranis has spoken about his decision not to return for the all-new Ghostbusters. Moranis, who largely left the film industry in the late 1990s to focus upon family life, told The Hollywood Reporter: "I wish them well. I hope it's terrific. But it just makes no sense to me. Why would I do just one day of shooting on something I did 30 years ago?"
With the exception of occasional voice work, Moranis quit acting in 1997 to raise his children after the death of his wife Ann. "I took a break, which turned into a longer break," he explained. "But I'm interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest, I'll probably do it. [But Ghostbusters] didn't appeal to me."
The new film will feature an all-female Ghostbusting team, played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. It is directed by Bridesmaids' Paul Feig and will be released on July 16, 2016.
Now that the Star Wars Battlefront beta is rolling out on PC, someone has mined its files to discover new information about the sci-fi shooter relating to its roster of playable Hero and Villain characters and more.
Reddit user TheeUberMedic "did some digging" into the game's program files and discovered a file called "characters.cb." There, references to Han Solo, Princess Leia, and the Emperor were found. These are in addition to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett, each of which was already announced.
For its part, EA has said Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett are "just some" of the Heroes and Villains that will be included in the game. Given how iconic Han Solo, Princess Leia, and the Emperor are in the Star Wars universe, that they would be included in Battlefront would come as little surprise.
Heroes and Villains are special Battlefront characters that players unlock through a powerup found on the map. They have super-abilities that make them formidable foes on the battlefield. Check out GameSpot's video preview below to learn more.
TheUberMedic also says he found another file that references something called "Hero Battle," which sounds like a gameplay mode involving the game's Hero characters. He also claims to have discovered a directory of weapons and vehicles, which he will publish later.
Battlefront launches on November 17, about a month before Disney's Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens hits theaters in December. EA is also releasing tie-in DLC for Battlefront based on the movie.
CD Projekt Red has officially revealed Patch 1.10 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and they weren't kidding when they said it would be "massive." The update represents the largest collection of fixes, improvements, and enhancements introduced to The Witcher 3 to date. There are 600 PC/console changes in all, which are spread across quests, stability, inventory management, and additional fan-requested romance options.
The 1.10 changelog [PDF] does not even represent all of the changes coming to the game, community manager Marcin Momot said in a post on the game's forums. As for when the update will arrive, he said it is "right around the corner" and should land "in a matter of days." It's possible this update will come on or before October 13, which is the day The Witcher 3 adds its first paid expansion, Hearts of Stone.
With Halo 5: Guardians having gone gold, Microsoft's marketing efforts for the blockbuster shooter are shifting into high gear--literally. Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced that two cars in next weekend's Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR event in Kansas City will be decked out with Master Chief and Spartan Locke paint jobs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the Chief car, while Jamie McMurray rides with Locke.
The Hollywood Casino 400 race takes place on Sunday, October 18. The battle between Chief and Locke is at the heart of Halo 5's galaxy-changing story.
"We have many NASCAR fans at the studio--myself included--and we're excited to see both cars compete at Kansas Speedway," 343 boss Kiki Wolfkill said in a statement.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has not shared images of the paint schemes for both cars. However, Earnhardt Jr. said in a statement that the cars will "highlight aspects of the game." McMurray added: "I'll be running, and representing, the Spartan Locke paint scheme on our car at the Kansas Speedway and look forward to bringing the excitement of the game to the race track." Check out the teaser video above for more.
The Halo NASCAR paint schemes will be revealed this week through a Twitter scavenger hunt. Starting today, October 8, drivers Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) and McMurray (@jamiemcmurray) will tweet clues to the first piece of the puzzle. Ten people who engage with the campaign will win an Xbox One and autographed copy of Halo 5, while two grand prize winners will be flown to the racetrack to watch in person and meet Earnhardt Jr. and McMurray. More details about the promotion are available on Xbox Wire.
Halo 5 recently achieved "gold" status, meaning development on the base game is finished, though 343 continues to work on post-release content, including December's Forge mode and lots of free DLC maps.
Even though the Wonder Woman film isn't due until 2017, there is still much speculation about what the movie might involve, given the fascinating history of the character. We know that she will appear in 2016's superhero showdown Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now new details have emerged about the standalone film.
Den of Geek have reported that the DC movie will in fact take place in three distinct time periods. Their source has revealed it will begin in Themyscira, the fictional island that is the home of Wonder Woman and her fellows Amazons.
The second period is the First World War, more specifically 1916. The third part of the film will take place in the present day, which will presumably link it to the story being told in Dawn of Justice.
Production is due to begin on Wonder Woman next month. It is directed by Patty Jenkins, and stars Gal Gadot as the legendary superheroine. Speaking to Interview magazine earlier this year, Gadot explained what drew her to the role.
"I feel like I've been given a huge opportunity to inspire people, not only women," she said, via The Wrap. "And not because of me but because of who Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. There's a lot of responsibility. But I have the best team and the best people to work with. It's going to be an amazing ride."
The BBC has announced it will provide live coverage of the League of Legends World Championship quarter finals, starting from October 15.
Coverage of the event, which is being held in Wembley Arena in London, is being delivered as part of a partnership between BBC Three and BBC Sport, who will be utilising the broadcasting network's events coverage platforms. This has previously been used for coverage of Glastonbury and live sporting events, and includes "live video, pre-recorded video, text, audio, and social commentary."
"We jumped at the chance to collaborate with BBC Sport and bring this massive UK event to a wider audience," said Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three. "BBC Three will always experiment with new ways to deliver content that young people want, in ways they want. I think this is an exciting way to cover something millions of young Brits love, in a BBC Three way."
League of Legends commentator Leigh 'Deman' Smith added: "I'm delighted to be part of the BBC's coverage at Wembley Arena. Worlds has been amazing so far and it's great to see the BBC getting involved and raising awareness of esports in the UK."
Coverage of esports events such as the League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike finals has started to pervade mainstream media. Thus far, American media networks have been more active in the move towards competitive gaming coverage.
Something strange appears to be going on with digital preorder copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops III for Xbox One. The digital version of this year's shooter has been removed from the Xbox Store and Amazon, a move that Microsoft says is temporary and one that Activision claims it had no hand in doing.
Representatives for Microsoft and Activision acknowledged the game's removal, but did not offer a specific reason for why it happened. For its part, Microsoft says in a statement to Polygon (via ICXM.net) that the game was removed "temporarily," while the company is "actively engaged with Activision to return it as soon as possible." No timetable for its return has been announced.
Pressed for additional details, a Microsoft representative said, "We do not comment on the specific terms of our arrangements with any of our publishing partners." Digital copies of Black Ops III already preordered from the Xbox Store will still work at launch in November.
A representative for Activision, meanwhile, stressed that "Activision did not remove the digital version of Call of Duty: Black Ops III from the Xbox Games Store." Amazon has not commented on the matter.
Digital copies of Black Ops III remain available for preorder through the PlayStation Store, Amazon, and PC marketplaces. We'll have more on this story as it becomes available.
Sony has published a trailer for Goosebumps: The Game, an adventure developed by WayForward, the studio behind DuckTales: Remastered and Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Although the game is a tie-in for Goosebumps the movie, game director Tom Hulett has said he wanted it to be authentic to R.L. Stine's source material.
"I'm not satisfied if the game is merely Goosebumps-flavored, or brand-adjacent. I couldn't sleep if the game felt like anything less than an authentic Goosebumps product with all the hallmarks that entails," he said.
"I hadn't really been into Goosebumps growing up, they were just a year or two after my time, but I didn't want to just research the series off wikis and Netflix. I went straight to the source, diving into a pile of books and reading like my life depended on it."
Hulett explains the creative process behind Goosebumps: The Game in a lengthy blog post on the PlayStation Blog. In terms of gameplay, it is a first-person point-and-click adventure game that draws inspiration from Shadowgate
Goosebumps: The Game will be released on October 13. The Goosebumps movie, meanwhile, releases on October 16 and stars Jack Black as series author R.L. Stine. The film's plot revolves around a young boy teaming up with Stine's niece after his imaginary demons are set free on the town of Greendale, Maryland.
Doubts have been cast over the future of Battlecry, the team-focused multiplayer shooter first revealed at E3 2014, after its publisher Bethesda admitted it had "concerns" regarding the quality of the project.
Due to the game's conspicuous absence at recent industry events, questions began to circulate regarding the status of the project. In response, Bethesda revealed that the project is undergoing evaluation.
In a statement issued to Progress Bar, the publisher said: "We have concerns about the Battlecry game and whether it is meeting the objectives we have for it. We are evaluating what improvements the game needs to meet our quality standards. The studio remains busy during this process on multiple projects."
It is unusual for a games publisher to publicly discuss reservations it has for a game that it is tasked with promoting.
With Battlecry undergoing evaluation, one possibility could be that Bethesda will want the project to be built under a new direction. At this stage it is also not unforeseeable that the project could be cancelled entirely. Any decision the publisher makes could have some impact on Battlecry Studios, the Texas-based studio tasked with building the game.
When first revealed in May 2014, Battlecry was pitched as a free-to-play team deathmatch game with no guns. As subsequent coverage showed, the game does feature projectile-based weaponry such as crossbows, but much of the focus has been on melee combat.
"Our goal at PlayStation has always been to provide the best gameplay experiences at the best value," Sony has said. "We feel this new compelling price will open the doors to even more gamers that have yet to purchase a system."
The price cut will be reflected in upcoming bundles, including the Black Ops 3 1 TB, Star Wars Battlefront, and NHL 16 packages. A full list of bundles, along with their new North American and Canadian prices, can be found below.
The PS4 launched in November 2013 for $400, and has remained at this price until now. By comparison, the Xbox One debuted at $500 (with a Kinect camera), but later dropped to $400 and then again to $350 where it stands today for the base model without the Kinect.
Willian Pugh, the one of the designers and writers of The Stanley Parable, has founded a new studio called Crows Crows Crows, which plans to announce its first game soon.
"I'd like to announce a new place that makes stuff, sometimes polished, but around the edges rough, we're going to be announcing our first game soon, so god have a bit of patience you big baboon," Pugh said.
"Our studio's got Jack who made Castles in the Sky, Dominik Johann who's better at art than I, Sean O'Dowd with Andrew Roper too. Don't forget ME!! WILLIAM PUGH!!!! (Also Andreas Jorgensen and GRANT KIRKHOPE!!!)."
On Twitter, Pugh said the studio's "debut game is quite imminent."
Davey Warden, the other mind behind The Stanley Parable, recently announced and released his next game, titles The Beginner's Guide. The first-person narrative game was described as having "no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand."
In GameSpot's review for The Beginner's Guide Edmond Tran called the experience of playing it "an absorbing journey into the thoughts and processes involved during the creation of a video game."
He continued: "It succeeds in helping you understand and sympathize with game developers as artists and people. It equips you with important tools to perceive and think about both video games and other mediums in intelligent ways. It's a game that lives up to its namesake--it's the beginner's guide to the meaning of video games."
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has announced the results of a vote to strike, with 96.52% of members voting in favour of the Interactive Media Agreement Strike Authorization Referendum. This grants the National Board the authority to declare a strike if necessary.
The referendum took place as a result of continuing negotiations with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Activision, Disney, and Warner Bros concerning the treatment of performers working in video games. The SAFG-AFTRA's Interactive Committee met with publishers in February this year to renegotiate a new agreement.
Earlier last month, the SAG-AFTRA explained that the template for the original agreement, negotiated and signed in the mid-1990s, was still in place today "despite radical changes in what we are required to do on set and in the recording studio" and warned that it could go on strike. The organisation is looking to make a number of changes to the agreement; among them including a better bonus payment plan.
"You might call them residuals, secondary payments, royalties, pay bumps or whatever suits your fancy," the union explained. "It is simply the idea that, if a video game is wildly successful, actors should share in its financial success. There is ample precedent for residual income for actors, yet they've historically been extremely difficult to achieve in this contract. The formula we propose is as follows:
We're asking for a reasonable performance bonus for every 2 million copies, or downloads sold, or 2 million unique subscribers to online-only games, with a cap at 8 million units/ subscribers. That shakes out, potentially, to FOUR bonus payments for the most successful games: 2 million, 4 million, 6 million and 8 million copies."
In addition, the union is proposing that the new agreement tackles concern for "Vocal Stress." That is, a proposal for a two hour limit on "vocally stressful" recording sessions. The group also wants to see stunt coordinators be required on set to assist performance capture actors. What's more, the proposal calls for greater overall transparency in the auditioning process. The union points out that, oftentimes, the actual name of a project is kept secret, and this is not an ideal situation for actors.
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