The next big content update for Titanfall 2, Monarch Reign, has arrived on all platforms. Alongside it, we've gotten a new trailer providing a better look at its main addition, the Monarch Titan.
What primarily distinguishes Monarch from other Titans is the ability to select from various upgrades over the course of its life. It looks as if there are three different tiers of Core upgrades, and we also get a better look at the new execution we got a glimpse of last week. Called Energy Thief, this allows the Pilot to steal an enemy Titan's battery and bring it back to his or her own as it's being executed.
Another big free component of this update is the map Relic, which returns from the original Titanfall. Crashsite receives some fixes and has new zipline and wallrunning spots added, while there's also a new Pilot execution, Now You See Me (seen in last week's trailer).
On the paid side, players can pick up new Prime Titan designs for Ronin and Tone, and there will also be new nose art, callsigns, and camos for purchase.
As part of today's update, Titan Brawl is now the feature mode for a limited time, and all modes are paying out double XP. Developer Respawn has said that it's also at work on a "major" balance update, though it hasn't shared any specifics on what to expect from that.
New details on Koei Tecmo's upcoming hack-and-slash Fire Emblem spinoff, Fire Emblem Warriors, have emerged in the latest issue of Famitsu (via Gematsu).
Alongside classic Fire Emblem heroes, Fire Emblem Warriors stars several all-new protagonists. So far, four original characters have been confirmed: the twins Shion and Lian, as well as two characters named Darios and Yuana. Chrom and Marth have also been confirmed, though other character classes like Archers and Mages will be playable as well.
Despite featuring heroes from throughout Fire Emblem's history, Fire Emblem Warriors won't include every one of the series' protagonists; rather, the game's cast is drawn primarily from the first Fire Emblem (which was remade for Nintendo DS as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon), as well as the recent 3DS installments Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates. According to Famitsu, the reason the developers opted against including every protagonist is because every character in the game would be wielding a sword. Despite this narrower focus, Fire Emblem Warriors still features more playable characters than the first installment of any other Warriors collaboration.
Like a traditional Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem Warriors employs the series' weapon triangle. Different classes also retain their unique characteristics; Cavaliers, for instance, battle on horseback and have high mobility, while Archers are effective against Pegasus Knights. Support conversations have been confirmed as well, though characters will not be able to fall in love and get married as they could in the series' more recent titles.
Fire Emblem Warriors is in development for both Switch and 3DS. The game is scheduled to release this fall, though according to Famitsu, development is roughly 70% complete. Nintendo has also announced a new Fire Emblem title for Switch, which is due to launch sometime in 2018.
By Anonymous on May 30, 2017 11:11 pm Sonic Mania arrives this August! Join Sonic, Tails, & Knuckles in a new 2D Adventure as they explore brand new levels, re-live completely updated classics, and battle fearsome new bosses.
The new protagonist is named Ba Yek, according to the t-shirt pictured below. The photo was first published by the Le Verità dell'Animus Facebook fan page and then shared on Reddit.
Image credit: Le Verità dell'Animus on Facebook
Alongside the name, we also get our best-yet look at the character, who was partially obscured in the leaked screenshot. We mostly see his back, but Ba Yek can be seen holding both a shield and a bow.
Ubisoft's Ashraf Ismail, who was a director on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, appeared to remark on the leak today, writing on Twitter, "Nice t-shirt." Ismail lists himself as game director on an "unannounced project," which could be in reference to the new Assassin's Creed. The members of its development team have not yet been announced.
Futurlab, the developer of Velocity 2X, announced today that it's working on a new game for the PlayStation VR.
Titled Tiny Trax, it's described by the studio as a "slot-car racing game." Players take control of small toy cars and race them around Wipeout-like tracks that have twists and loops. In the game's announcement trailer, Futurlab showed off a few of the tracks that will be featured. You can check out the video below.
From this early glimpse of the game, the environments look pretty beautiful--I'm a big fan of the cartoony, vivid colors and the background details.
Tiny Trax supports PS VR, and players will look at the tracks from a top-down perspective. There will be 12 tracks "constructed around you in 'slap-me-in-the-face this is great' VR," according to Futurlab's PlayStation Blog post. "Tiny Trax brings the action to you with tiny cars skidding past your nose, jumping overhead and drifting around your feet."
Tiny Trax also has online multiplayer for up to four people, or you can race against three other AI-controlled vehicles. It'll have six cars to choose from.
Futurlab hasn't announced a release date yet, and it's unclear if Tiny Trax will be playable without PS VR.
A new trailer for Agents of Mayhem, the open-world action game from Saints Row developer Volition, has been released. This video focuses on one of the vehicles that players will be able to take for a spin around Seoul, and no doubt crash into things with.
The cars that the Agents of Mayhem speed around in are created by Quartermile, who is an "automotive genius." His vehicles are all "combat ready" and equipped with "an AI for Agents to chat with as they drive." It comes as no surprise, then, that the trailer leans heavily into the Knight Rider aesthetic, using the theme tune and talking AI voice liberally. See it in action in the video above.
The last Agents of Mayhem trailer showed off three of the game's characters: Hollywood, Fortune, and Hardtack. Hollywood is a full-of-himself, former reality TV and adult film star. Fortune is a pistol-wielding fighter with an attitude, and Hardtack is a big bulky bruiser. Check them all out here.
The next global event in Pokemon Sun and Moon kicks off today and revolves around fishing.
This particular Global Mission tasks players with fishing 500,000 Pokemon or items from bubbling fishing spots around the Alola region. Players will have until June 12 to reach the goal. The award for successfully completing the mission this time is 2,000 Festival Coins, though even if players fail to meet the deadline, everyone who participates will receive at least 200 Festival Coins. Players who have synced their games to the Pokemon Global Link website will earn double the amount of Festival Coins.
Since Sun and Moon's release last November, there have been seven Global Missions. The first two events, which tasked players with catching 100 million Pokemon and finding 1 million monsters using the games' Island Scan feature, both ended in failure, but subsequent events have had much more success; the goal of the most recent Global Mission was to harvest 3 million Poke Beans, a total that players exceeded by more than 70 million. The Festival Coins you earn for participating in Global Missions increase the rank of your Festival Plaza and can be used to purchase special items from the Plaza's facilities.
Despite launching six months ago, Nintendo continues to announce new Pokemon and events for Sun and Moon. Last month, the company unveiled a new Mythical Pokemon called Marshadow, though it hasn't said when or how players will be able to acquire the monster. In the meantime, GameStop is offering a special Lycanroc until June 5. Players can also snag four free Mega Stones for Pidgeot, Heracross, Steelix, and Houndoom through Sun and Moon's Mystery Gift feature.
Square Enix has unveiled a new, retro-inspired RPG from I Am Setsuna developer Tokyo RPG Factory.
Titled Lost Sphear, the game bears many similarities to the studio's previous effort. Like I Am Setsuna, it is heavily influenced by classical 16-bit RPGs like Chrono Trigger, featuring an isometric viewpoint, a "revamped" active-time battle system, as well as a melancholy story. This time, rather than saving the world from the grips of an everlasting winter, players will guide a young boy named Kanata as he sets out to prevent the world from disappearing.
Lost Sphear is releasing digitally for PS4, Switch, and PC. Square Enix hasn't announced a release date for the title, but the publisher says it will arrive in "early 2018." Square Enix is also offering a limited quantity of physical copies for the PS4 and Switch versions through its online store. The physical copy retails for $50 and includes two additional music tracks.
I Am Setsuna is available for PS4, Switch, and PC. We awarded the game 7/10 in our review, calling it "an unapologetic homage to beloved Japanese RPGs that plays well but takes few risks."
The Advance Wars series has been dormant for nearly a decade, with no sign of a revival happening anytime soon. Some developers who previously worked on the games were recently asked about the franchise, and while their answers may have been somewhat encouraging, it doesn't sound as if a new game announcement is imminent.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami, who was a producer on past Advance Wars titles, said, "Personally, I'd love to do Advance Wars, but since it's harder to create relationships between its characters compared to Fire Emblem, I don't have a clear idea of what kind of setting it could have."
Fire Emblem is another series handled by Advance Wars developer Intelligent Systems. Whereas Fire Emblem's characters are the units you use in battle, Advance Wars' characters only served as leaders for the respective armies; on-field units are all generic.
Masahiro Higuchi, who worked on the original Advance Wars, told Eurogamer, "The Advance Wars series is one that I personally have a lot of interest in. I hear some of the staff here saying that they want to make one too, so if we have a chance it's something I'd like to do!"
The most recent game in the Wars series was 2008's Days of Ruin for DS. The franchise dates back to the NES, although it gained prominence with the 2001 GBA game Advance Wars, which was the first to be released outside of Japan.
Intelligent Systems is at work on at least one new Fire Emblem game, which is coming to Switch, and Nintendo has not signaled any intention to revive Advance Wars. Luckily, Starbound developer Chucklefish has a new game on the way called Wargroove that strongly resembles the series. Among other platforms, it's headed to Switch later this year.
The record-breaking launch of the Switch reportedly led Nintendo to increase production of the console back in March. A new report suggests this may be happening once again.
According to the Financial Times, sources close to Nintendo have said a production increase has been ordered to help meet demand going into the holiday season. Nintendo itself has yet to confirm such a move, but it will reportedly produce 18 million units for the year that runs through March 31, 2018. That's a substantial increase over the 10 million that Nintendo has officially said to expect.
Analysts told the FT that Nintendo may be speaking in an "intentionally conservative" way, with Morgan Stanley's Hirotoshi Murakami suggesting the year's final tally could be 20 million units. However, Nintendo does face production hurdles; while it may not run on cutting-edge hardware, there are supply constraints on components like its LCD screen.
The report also casually notes that Super Mario Odyssey is expected to launch in November. Officially, it's only been announced for release before the end of the year; it's not expected to launch until the fourth quarter, so a November release sounds plausible.
The HTC Vive is arguably the best VR headset, but it may also be the most uncomfortable. And unlike the Oculus Rift, the Vive doesn't come with integrated headphones. HTC is attempting to solve both the ergonomic and audio issues with its Deluxe Audio Strap. We're going to unbox it and give you our impressions of the $99.99 add-on.
The Deluxe Audio Strap sits atop a plastic stand within the box.
The box comes with some user guide documentation and an optional velcro strap that allows you to tie the cable down to the back of the headset.
This is the back of the strap. Like the PSVR headset, it has a dial that allows you to tighten the head-mounted display (HMD).
The inside of the strap showcases the foam padding. You can also see the integrated headphones on the sides.
The shell of the strap is comprised mostly of plastic.
The strap comes with an audio jack that plugs into the HMD's auxiliary port.
The ear cups feature an open-ear design, so there isn't a lot of noise cancellation. They also feature a leather-like material that makes them pretty soft and comfortable against the ears. Overall, the audio isn't very bass heavy and features fairly neutral levels. They likely won't impress audiophiles, but they are super convenient and are a very welcome addition.
You can also detach the ear cups if you prefer to use your own headphones.
Here is a close-up of one of the buckles, which connects to the HMD.
Like the Oculus Rift, you can swivel the position of the ear cups.
You can also raise and lower the ear cups.
The HTC Vive logo is etched onto the back of the dial.
In contrast, this is the old strap.
The old stock strap is on the left, and the Deluxe Audio Strap is on the right.
To attach the Deluxe Audio Strap, you need to remove the stock strap and then press in on the sides of the buckles to connect it in place.
This is what it looks like once the buckles are locked into place.
The Deluxe Audio Strap also has a clip, which allows you to tuck your Vive's cables.
Here's what the clip looks like from the inside.
Here's what the Vive looks like with the new Deluxe Audio Strap attached.
From this angle, you can see how the audio jack plugs into the included auxiliary port.
You can use the included velcro strap to tie the cable down to the back of the headset.
This is what the new strap looks like from the back when you wear it. Turning the dial clockwise tightens the headset.
Overall, the Deluxe Audio Strap is much more comfortable than the stock version. While it's still pretty front-heavy and relatively heavy overall at one pound, 11 ounces, the weight distribution feels a bit more balanced from the front to the back. While we still think PSVR is the most comfortable VR headset, the Deluxe Audio Strap significantly improves ergonomics and puts it on par with the Oculus Rift. In short, the Deluxe Audio Strap makes it hard to go back to the default strap.
PlayStation 4's latest system update is available to download now, but don't expect it to do too much. According to Push Square, Firmware Update 4.70 improves the quality of the system performance, and it reportedly introduces new icons for many of Sony's own apps such as the PlayStation Store.
The patch weighs in at around 340 MB, and it's mandatory to install--just turn your PS4 on and the update should begin downloading automatically.
The Boost Mode feature aims to improve the quality and performance of games that have not been patched to support PS4 Pro. "This can provide a noticeable frame rate boost to some games with variable frame rates, and can provide frame rate stability for games that are programmed to run at 30 Hz or 60 Hz," Sony explained at the time.
Injustice 2 has maintained its position atop the UK physical sales chart for the week ending May 27, as Nintendo Switch's new fighting game Ultra Street Fighter II debuts at No.10.
Other than Ultra Street Fighter II, the week's only new releases were Rime, which finished at No.27, and Switch's Disgaea 5: Complete at No.36.
Injustice 2's success follows a positive critical reception; our critic, Peter Brown, called it "a fighting game that can be enjoyed by new players and pros alike." Read more in our full Injustice 2 review or check out these 9 Easter eggs and references you might've missed.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of sales monitor Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
On June 1 Wonder Woman finally comes to the big screen. To celebrate the movie's release we've teamed up with Warner Bros. Pictures to offer you the chance to win tickets to the special screening. It will be taking place in London's glitzy Leicester Square on May 31.
Wonder Woman is directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and Robin Wright. It promises to be an action-packed epic featuring the world's greatest amazonian warrior. Check out the movie synopsis and trailer below.
"Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny."
Wonder Woman will be in cinemas on Thursday, June 1.
To be in with a chance to win just answer the simple question below. Please use the form to enter the competition, as answers written in the comments section are invalid.
This competition is open to UK residents only. The prize is two tickets to attend the special screening in London on Wednesday May 31, 2017. Entrants must be free to attend from 6 PM on the day and travel and accommodation is not included. Full terms and conditions can be read below. Competition will close on May 30 at 6 PM BST
Terms & Conditions
Competition will close on May 30 at 6 PM BST
Open to UK residents only
Prize for 1 (one) winner will be 2 (two) tickets to attend the special screening of Wonder Woman taking place in London on Wednesday May 31, 2017. Exact location to be confirmed by Warner Bros. UK nearer the time of the event Entrants must be free to attend from 6pm on the day of the event
Travel and accommodation is not included
Events may occur that make the awarding of the Prize impractical or inappropriate due to unforeseen circumstances or reasons beyond the control of the Promoter or Warner Bros. In this situation, the Warner Bros. may vary or amend the Prize to provide a reasonable alternative as a result of which the Promoter or parties connected to the Promoter shall not be held liable
If the winner fails to respond within 24 hours of notification, they will be deemed void and an alternative winner will be contacted
No cash or credit alternative is available and the Prize is not transferable. Eligibility for the Prize may be subject to signing Warner Bros. Prize Acceptance Form (available on request)
The Competition Winner and guests will not be admitted to the special screening without a ticket or after the screening begins
Competition Winner's guest may not be selected through any competition, promotion or event Warner Bros. reserves the right to refuse entry or eject the
Competition Winner and/or their guest can be removed from the special screening if either engages in unacceptable behaviour (as determined by Warner Bros. in its sole discretion)
The screening may be rescheduled and/or cancelled for unforeseen circumstances, or for reasons beyond the control of Warner Bros. without any liability to Warner Bros.
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Sonic Mania arrives this August! Join Sonic, Tails, & Knuckles in a new 2D Adventure as they explore brand new levels, re-live completely updated classics, and battle fearsome new bosses.
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