Microsoft recently released a significant Xbox One update, and already it's sharing details about more new features that are on the way soon.
A new Xbox Wire post details some of the features that will arrive for Xbox Insider members "in the coming weeks." This includes an expansion of the Arena feature to again allow players to create and participate in their own Killer Instinct tournaments, in addition to those for World of Tanks, Smite, and Halo Wars 2.
The aforementioned Xbox One update did away with the system's Snap mode, leaving an Achievement tracker as the lone form of multitasking offered by the system. Similar to that, Microsoft plans to add a party overlay feature, which pops up when someone in your party speaks so that you can easily see who is talking. You're free to customize the positioning and transparency of the pop-up, which you can get a glimpse of in the image above.
Other minor additions include an option to share Looking for Group posts to your activity feed or in a message, as well as a way to filter activity feed posts in the iOS/Android apps. Here are all of the "fan-requested" additions coming:
Share your Looking for Group post on the Activity Feed or through a message.
Unfollow a Club or Game Hub directly from your Activity Feed.
Your profile will display your Arena tournament history and upcoming tournaments.
For Beam and Twitch broadcasts, you will now have an option in the Guide for your Kinect to locate you automatically.
Captive Portal support for wireless internet is coming to Xbox One, which allows for Wi-Fi authentication through a browser. Great for colleges, hotels, or public Wi-Fi locations.
Filter posts on your Activity Feed on the Xbox app for iOS and Android.
On the Xbox app for Windows 10, we're adding the option to select the audio input and output sources for Party chat.
There's no date yet for when any of this will arrive to all Xbox One owners, but those in the Insiders program may begin to see some of this today, with more to be added in the next few weeks.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is about to launch its first episode, and now Telltale Games has released the full trailer for the game spinoff of the popular comics and films.
The Telltale Series will follow Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot on their adventures to save the galaxy. The trailer shows The Guardians battling Thanos, but it seems our heroes have much more to worry about. After discovering an artifact of unspeakable power, Telltale says they will have to battle a ruthless enemy, "the last of her kind," who will stop at nothing to get her hands on it.
Episode One: Tangled Up in Blue will hit virtual stores tomorrow, April 18, and will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for $5. The game will also be released on iOS and Android devices.
Telltale will release Episodes 2-5 in the next few months. The game is getting a physical release on May 2 (May 5 outside North America). This will be available for $30 and will include Episode One, giving you free access to the next four episodes as they launch.
The remastered version of strategy game Halo Wars, previously offered as a bonus for a premium version of its sequel, will soon be sold as its own, standalone game.
Microsoft has described Halo Wars: Definitive Edition as an "enhanced" version of the 2009 RTS with enhanced visuals and new Achievements. It also comes with all of the DLC that was available for the original version.
Xbox One and PC versions will be available, with the latter being sold through both the Windows Store and Steam. The Xbox Store and Windows Store versions feature Xbox Play Anywhere, providing buyers with access to the game on both platforms. If you're playing on Steam, the game will have Steam Achievement support, as well as access to the server browser also available in the Windows Store version.
A major free update arrives today on all platforms for Watch Dogs 2, delivering a new multiplayer mode and weapon, among other things.
Ubisoft describes the 1.13 patch as the game's biggest free update so far. Its most significant feature is Showdown, a new 2v2 PvP mode intended as an "endgame challenge" that you can play with a friend or other players found through matchmaking. Matches are set in 15 different locations and involve one of three different objective types that approximate Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and Domination-style modes in other games.
Drone, motocross, and ekart races all receive support for multiplayer in this update, and each will have its own respective leaderboard. Additionally, when exploring the world, you'll also begin to come across armored loot trucks. These can be hacked, activating an event where you have to survive waves of police in return for a big reward.
New clothing options have been added, as has a new weapon, the paintball gun. This stuns enemies or, in the case of multiplayer, obscures the enemy's screen by covering it in paint.
The 1.13 update makes some bug fixes and improvements, such as adjusting the effectiveness of explosives when playing online. There are also PC-specific fixes; you can see all of this in the patch notes below.
New Online Mode: Showd0wn – This is a new type of online gameplay for 2v2 PvP matches that can be played with a friend, or through random matchmaking. Showd0wn will feature three types of objectives [Steal the HDD, Doom-load (KotH style), and Erase/Protect the Servers] across 15 distinct locations. This is a great endgame challenge to play with friends, provided you're not a script kiddie and know how to use all of the tools in your arsenal.
Online Races – Drone, motocross, and eKart races are getting multiplayer functionality! They will also have their own leaderboards, so you can use them to compete for season rewards.
Loot Truck Event – These armored trucks will randomly appear in the world, offering you a chance to hack them and then defend against the flood of police that will be responding. These will not be easy to rob, but the cash and followers payout is fat.
Paintball gun – This bad boy will be available in the 3D printer and can stun enemies with a barrage of paintballs. Fun fact: in PvP gameplay your opponent's screen will be colored in paintball splashes when you attack them.
New Clothes – 13 new clothing items are available in the various stores, as if you didn't look fly enough already.
Improvements
Explosive damage – We've improved the effectiveness of explosives for online play. With this update, damage to the opponent is determined by their proximity to the explosion. Standing on top of the IED will end in immediate and embarrassing death, but you'll suffer less damage if you're further out when the blast goes off. Check yourselves before you wreck yourselves.
Leaderboards – Multiple minor improvements to the leaderboard system
Bug Fixes
"Bio Hacking" blocker – Fixed an issue that was preventing some players from completing this mission.
Duplicate operations – Fixed a bug that was sometimes causing duplicate operation entries in the DedSec App.
Key Data – We've updated some Key Data units with proper definitions and descriptions on the map.
Lots of other minor bug fixes and improvements we don't want to bore you with.
PC Specific – Title Update 1.013.177.1
Fixed an issue when the game couldn't be started in Steam after the download with "Launch the game as soon as it's ready" option turned on.
Fixed an issue when the San Francisco Fog was displaying incorrectly during rain.
Fixed an issue when the game launched on laptops with integrated GPU, instead of dedicated.
Lots of fixes to various minor issues with flickering, reflections, missing textures, windowed modes behavior, UI, text, online game modes, other stuff, yada yada.
Today, Blizzard adds Genji to its deep roster of characters in Heroes of the Storm. With Tracer, Lucio, and Zarya already included, Genji is the fourth Overwatch character to cross over to the Nexus. In addition to the member of the Shimada clan, a reimagined version of his home turf Hanamura comes to the lineup of battlegrounds. Both are playable in beta and will be fully incorporated in the Heroes of the Storm 2.0 update.
Genji performs X-Strike, his unique heroic ability.
Genji is classified as an Assassin hero that's highly mobile. He can deal large amounts of damage, but can't take too much himself. Since Heroes doesn't feature the verticality of Overwatch, Genji's wall-scaling ability is retooled as Cyber Agility, a passive trait that allows him to leap over walls. All of his powers from Overwatch are also carrying over with the addition of a unique Heroic Ability. The following is his move list:
Shuriken (Basic): Throws three shuriken in a spread pattern to deal damage. Three charges of this move can be stored, and its cooldown restores all three charges.
Deflect (Basic): For 1.25 seconds, Genji blocks damage and automatically fires back Kunai, dealing damage to the closest enemy.
Swift Strike (Basic): A forward dash that deals damage to enemies in the area of effect. The cooldown and mana cost of this ability is automatically replenished if an enemy hero dies within two seconds of being hit by this attack.
Dragonblade (Heroic): For eight seconds, Genji unleashes his sword, just like his Ultimate in Overwatch. In conjunction with Swift Strike, he can lunge forward to deal damage in a large arc. Swift Strike's replenish condition still applies.
X-Strike (Heroic): Unique to Heroes of the Storm, Genji slashes his target twice to deal damage. After 1.25 seconds, an area of effect deals additional damage.
With regards to bringing Overwatch characters to Heroes of the Storm, game director Alan Dabiri said, "I think you'll see a balance. Our goal is not to make a strict one-for-one translation, it's to bring the theme of that character over into our game, but then do a cool new take and make it unique to Heroes."
Hanamura is the first Overwatch map to cross over to Heroes of the Storm. It's a two-lane battleground featuring payloads that deal damage to the opposing team's core. Payloads are more powerful when forts and keeps are destroyed. Hanamura also has what's called a Mega Enforcer boss that deal damage to the Core once it's taken down.
As to why Blizzard chose Hanamura, production director Kaeo Milker said, "The number one thing was the aesthetics. It was so different from everything else that we had done in Heroes." Milker also stated that incorporating payloads to the adaptation allowed for a more open map design and an experience different from other battlegrounds.
Heroes of the Storm's adaptation of Overwatch's Hanamura map.
Blizzard has been beta testing a bevy of overhauls to Heroes of the Storm since late March. This includes a faster progression system, a slew of new cosmetic rewards, and the new hero Cassia. The new content is wrapped into the Heroes of the Storm 2.0 update which is set for a full launch on April 25.
Last year, DC changed their comic continuity with Rebirth. The one-shot issue brought the characters back to their core, while alluding that something or someone more powerful was behind the alteration to the universe: Doctor Manhattan from the critically acclaimed book Watchmen.
Now, DC is giving readers some answers to the questions that have been plaguing their minds since last May. The Batman/Flash crossover story The Button kicks off in Batman #21.
Batman and The Flash team up to learn more about the mysterious button--once owned by The Comedian--which is embedded in the walls of the Batcave. However, Reverse Flash is also a part of this mystery, as seen in the preview above.
DC has been tight-lipped about the four-part crossover, which will take place in Batman #21-22 and Flash #21-22. The publisher released a solicitation for the story but nothing else: "What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it's not who anyone suspects. It's a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!"
Writer Tom King will continue his run on Batman with artist Jason Fabok and colorist Brad Anderson for the upcoming story. Batman #21 will go on sale on Wednesday, April 19 available at comic shops and digitally.
Nier: Automata has new DLC on the way, and it's got a selling point you don't see often: It allows you to beat up the CEOs of the companies responsible for the game.
The DLC--which carries the totally easy-to-remember name 3C3C1D119440927--has three new coliseums to compete in. As featured in the video above, one of these has you trying to convince a secretary to let you in to see someone, and it even forces you to agree that you're okay with the fourth wall being broken. Once you do, you'll fight against Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda. Later on, developer Platinum Games' president and CEO, Kenichi Sato, also joins the fight.
You can check out a second, less CEO-centric gameplay video from the DLC below.
Alongside these encounters, 3C3C1D119440927 features new sub-quests that unlock various bonuses. These include new outfits for 2B, 9S, and A2 that you can see in the gallery below; they're based on ones from the Japan-only game Nier: Replicant.
Here's everything you earn for completing the quests:
Costumes from the previous Japanese release, Nier: Replicant, for androids 2B, 9S, and A2
Records that add special music tracks to the players' jukebox
New equipment and cosmetic accessories such as hairspray that allows you to change the color of 2B and A2's hair
Masks with unique "on equip" effects
Special bullets that change the appearance of enemy bullets
A price and exact release date for 3C3C1D119440927 wasn't shared, with Square Enix simply saying it will arrive "soon" for both the PS4 and PC versions.
The PS3 and Vita charts were their usual selves, dictated in large part by what was on sale. Likely in anticipation of Andromeda's release, the Mass Effect Trilogy reached the No. 1 spot on PS3, while the God of War Collection topped the Vita chart.
Like Titanfall 2 and Mass Effect: Andromeda before it, EA's Star Wars: Battlefront 2 may not have a DLC Season Pass. Creative director Bernd Diemer told Mashable outright, "We don't have a season pass," before going on to tease that EA is working on "something different" in this area instead.
"I cannot talk about the specifics of this, but we have something different in mind that will allow you to play longer, be [more] invested in the game without having a fragmented community," he said.
The fragmentation that Diemer is talking about relates to 2015's Battlefront and the DLC that was released through its own Season Pass. If you don't own the game's extra content, it means you aren't able to play with the game's full community of players, which in turn can make it more challenging to find a match.
It sounds like Battlefront 2 is taking steps to avoid a similar situation. He told Mashable that it's "dangerous" for the health of a game's playerbase when maps and modes are only available to those who pay money for them. In this situation, "The community is falling apart because there are simply not many people playing the different modes."
He added: "So we definitely want to avoid that. We don't want to segment our community."
"We decided on that, and it's one of those difficult decisions because it has so many implications all around," Diemer explained. "When we looked at the way Battlefront had evolved over its lifetime, with the DLC and everything, we decided, 'You know what? For this type of game, season passes are not the best thing. We need to [take it apart] and come up with something better."
For its part, EA said in a statement to Mashable that it is aware of the feedback from Battlefront as it relates to "live service plans," and it will announce plans for Battlefront 2 in due time.
"While we're not ready to confirm any live service plans just yet, what we can say is this we heard the feedback from our Battlefront community loud and clear," the statement said. "We know they want more depth, more progression, and more content. So we're focused on delivering that in every dimension of Star Wars Battlefront 2. We'll have more to share about our plans soon."
The latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise was expected to open to big numbers--and it delivered. The eighth movie in the series brought in $532.5 million at the worldwide box office this weekend, passing Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($529 million) to set an all-time opening-weekend high. Entertainment Weekly supplied the numbers and has a breakdown of this weekend's results.
Globally, The Fate of the Furious is pacing ahead of the last movie, Furious 7, but the same can't be said for its performance in the US. Furious 7 made $147 million in the US for its opening weekend in 2015, which is far better than the $100.2 million that The Fate of the Furious made domestically this weekend.
Directed by Straight Outta Compton's F. Gary Gray, the movie stars Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Helen Mirren, and Kurt Russell.
Elsewhere at the box office, The Boss Baby brought in a further $15.5 million, helping it cross $100 million in the US alone. Disney's Beauty and the Beast continues to make money, bringing in $13.6 million, while Smurfs: The Lost Village ($6.5 milllion) and Going in Style ($6.3 million) round out the top five.
The full April 14-16 US box office estimates can be seen below, as compiled by EW.
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