DC Entertainment's newest film, Wonder Woman, is about to hit theaters, and some of its characters may not be too familiar to the average moviegoer.
One of the villains in the film, Doctor Poison--played by Elena Anaya--isn't a household name, but the character's history with Diana Prince goes all the way back to the Golden Age of comics: the 1940s.
Doctor Poison first appeared in Sensation Comics #2 back in 1942 and was created by William Moulton Marston, who also created Wonder Woman. Poison used her outfit to disguise her gender. Her real name was Princess Maru, and she was a spy, a chief of the Nazi Poison Division, and Chemical Research Chief of the Japanese Army.
Originally, the character's goal was to contaminate the US Army's water supply with a drug that messes with the brain center. Her plan was foiled by Wonder Woman, and the character disappeared from comics until the late '90s.
In the late '90s/early '00s, Doctor Poison returned; however, it turned out that this was the granddaughter of the original villain. Readers learned that the original Poison had accidentally killed herself with her "Reverso" formula, which reverses growth patterns.
The new Doctor Poison follows in her grandmother's footsteps, creating and testing poisons on innocent victims, many of which are tied to Wonder Woman. While Poison has no superhuman abilities, she is an expert in poisons, toxins, and plagues.
At one point, Poison joined the Secret Society of Super Villains and was tasked with grabbing soil samples--which came from places where a genocide had occurred--from around the world with other scientists. They uses the samples to create the Wonder Woman villain Genocide.
Most recently, Doctor Poison and her group "Poison" are taking on Wonder Woman in the "Truth" storyline. This time, the villain comes off more as an assassin than anything else. It's not a huge departure from the original character, though--it's more of an update.
She's a rarely used character in Wonder Woman's rogues gallery, but considering Poison's ties to the history of Wonder Woman and war, it makes her a perfect addition to the upcoming movie. You can see Doctor Poison for yourself in Wonder Woman, which comes to theaters on Friday, June 2.
You can check GameSpot's review of the film which Edmond Tran said, "the film's focus on exploring who she is as a person, as well as what she can do as a superhuman gives the character, and overall film, a gratifying roundedness that makes you eager for more."
Following some confusion over whether Prey offered any kind of enhancements when played on a PlayStation 4 Pro, a new update for the game has arrived that adds just that.
Update 1.04's main addition is PS4 Pro support. This increases the quality of shadows and textures, adds screen-space reflection, and uses level-of-detail less, among other things. In other words, Prey should now look better when played on a PS4 Pro than on a standard PS4. It doesn't sound as if playing on a Pro will have any impact on loading times, framerate, or other areas of the game.
Even if you don't have a PS4 Pro, you still stand to benefit from this patch. Various bugs and progression issues have been resolved, and input drift should now be less of an issue. The timing on certain, unspecified cutscenes has also been "adjusted," although no further specifics were shared on that front.
You can see everything that's changed in the full patch notes below. This update is now available on PS4, but there's not yet any word on a PC or Xbox One release. For more on the game, check out our Prey review.
Prey PS4 Update 1.04 Patch Notes
PS4 Pro Support added for:
Enable Screen-Space Reflections
Higher quality shadows
Improved texture appearance
More texture memory (stable streaming)
Anisotropy 16x (from 4x)
Improved visual fidelity
Less LOD usage
Dynamic lights show up further
Particles are allowed to draw more pixels per effect
Particle refraction enabled
Additional fixes for PS4 input drift
Glooing Cook between objectives no longer breaks mission
'Nightmare is Hunting You' no longer plays after completing 'Copy Protection' without Typhon Neuromods installed
Disgruntled Employee mission now properly completes if player finds Grant Lockwood prior to getting mission.
Sarah Elazar will now give the code for Cargo Bay B if player has hostility from Phantoms
Aaron Ingram will no longer flee and cower when released in Psychotronics
Player can no longer lock themselves in the security pharmaceuticals office in Trauma
Superfruit no longer appears shrunken and flat when fully grown.
Adjusted timing on several cutscenes.
Blank objective markers no longer persist above reticle
Using key actions while controller prompts are shown will no longer cause a freeze.
Tracking bracelets are now sent to Recycler with "Transfer all Junk"
Bohemia Interactive today announced a release date for its next game, Argo. The free-to-play tactical shooter will be available on PC on June 22.
Argo has a lot in common with Bohemia's Arma games. It's a tactical, realistic military shooter and is even set on a re-imagining of the island that appeared in the first Arma game. In fact, Argo began as a standalone "total conversion" of Arma 3, although it has since been built upon and developed into a full game.
Click on the thumbnails below to see the full-size images.
Bohemia released new videos showing off its multiplayer modes, which you can see here. In addition to five-on-five competitive multiplayer, Argo features a cooperative mode called Combat Patrol, in which 10 players can team up to complete objectives and fight against AI-controlled enemies. The game also includes a simpler version of the Arma 3 scenario editor, which allows for customization of Combat Patrol objectives.
Since its beginning as a total conversion of Arma 3, Argo has changed significantly, according to Bohemia. "Some of the most notable changes have been the reduction of in-game UI elements, the introduction of an unlock system and leaderboards, various changes to the terrain, a redesign of the Link game mode, the addition of the Combat Patrol cooperative mode, and various other tweaks to help emphasize the importance of teamplay and communication," a statement reads.
Even though it's a free-to-play game, Argo won't feature any microtransactions. Instead, Bohemia will raise money with the optional Argo Supporter's Pack, which includes 14 animations for the end-of-match MVP screen, 22 cosmetic items, the ability to use vehicles in the scenario editor, and access to premium Argo Support servers.
Bohemia is also releasing a bit of extra content for Arma 3 alongside the release of Argo. Arma 3 is receiving a version of Argo's island map and Combat Patrol mode.
Argo will be available through Steam; if you want to check out the early version, you can still download the Project Argo Open Prototype over at Bohemia's website.
A new map is available today in Overwatch for some players. After teasing it on Monday, Blizzard today released the map Horizon Lunar Console on the game's public test realm for PC.
An Assault map set in a scientific moonbase, Horizon Lunary Colony has some incredible views of Earth. You can see an overview video for the map above; that's Winston doing the narration. For an even closer look, check out the images in the gallery below.
Blizzard has also released an official description for Horizon Lunar Colony, which explains the origins of the space base and touches a little on what went wrong there.
"Horizon Lunar Colony is an Assault map set in a scientific base on the moon. Built as a first step towards humanity's renewed exploration of space, the colony's goal was to examine the effects of prolonged extraterrestrial habitation--on human and ape alike," reads a line from the map's description. "The scientists' research proved incredibly promising...until, suddenly, all contact and communications with the base were lost."
The video directly above features director Jeff Kaplan talking about the map. He notes that there are "some really fun elements" on this map, such as the high-ground options for both sides around the first capture point.
Kaplan also discusses Blizzard's approach to low gravity, given this map is set on the moon. There's a certain section of the map that offers this, but not the whole map, as it felt like a gimmick that broke the game. For those who want to try that out anyway, Blizzard will be adding an Arcade option for a limited time that enables low gravity on all maps. Custom Games will also offer a low-gravity setting.
We've teamed up with Razer to give away the new Razer Blade 14-Inch Gaming Laptop. It has a 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core processor with an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 graphics card and 256GB SSD. This giveaway is open to US residents only and one winner will be chosen on June 7th, 2017.
Developed by Grumpyface (the studio behind many of Cartoon Network's recent mobile titles), Save the Light is the direct sequel to 2015's mobile adventure, Attack the Light. In that game, Steven and the Crystal Gems were tasked with saving the world from an ancient Gem weapon called the Prism. This time, however, the heroes must protect the Prism from a mysterious new warrior. To do that, they'll need to travel across multiple levels and use their unique abilities to solve puzzles and battle foes.
In addition to Steven and the Crystal Gems, Save the Light stars other major characters from the TV series like Connie and Steven's father, Greg. Each character has their own distinct skills and abilities; Amethyst, for instance, uses her whip to attack multiple foes at once, while Greg fills the role of a bard and plays songs on his guitar to grant buffs to his teammates. The game features seven party members, with at least one additional unannounced character releasing as DLC following the game's launch.
Players will spend much of the adventure battling foes using the game's modified active-time battle system. Enemies move around the battlefield in between turns, but the action pauses while you're selecting your attacks. As in Paper Mario, you can increase the amount of damage each character inflicts (or reduce the power of foes' attacks) by pressing the attack button again at the right time.
Players can also strengthen the relationship between each of their party members, adding another wrinkle of strategy to the battle system. When one character comes to another's aid during a skirmish, their bond increases. By improving your characters' relationships, you can unlock new skills like special team attacks and even fuse certain characters together for the duration of a battle. Grumpyface hasn't confirmed which characters are capable of fusing, though it did give us a glimpse at Steven and Connie's combined form, Stevonnie, who you can see in the gallery below. Characters who can't fuse can still unleash team attacks together.
Fans of the series will be happy to learn that Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar worked closely with Grumpyface on Save the Light. In addition to looking over crucial scenes, Sugar had a hand in writing the game's dialogue and story. According to Grumpyface, the main quest is estimated to take 10-12 hours to complete.
Steven Universe: Save the Light is releasing as a digital-only title. Cartoon Network hasn't announced a concrete release date for the game, but it has said it will reveal more information, including unveiling new, never-before-seen Steven Universe characters, "soon." Until then, you can watch 20 minutes of gameplay footage at the top of this story, showcasing the title's battle system and some light exploration and puzzle solving.
Remember Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, the multiplayer monster-hunting game in the works at Crytek? The company announced today that it's now called Hunt: Showdown, and a new development team is working on it.
In a press release today, Crytek announced the changes and said that an official gameplay reveal is coming at E3. From its statement, it appears that Hunt has been rebooted: "Based on the previously announced title Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age, Crytek's Hunt: Showdown has taken the original concept in a different direction under a new development team," the developer said. You can see Hunt: Showdown's first teaser below.
First-person mech shooter Archangel has a two-week exclusivity window on PlayStation VR, developer Skydance Interactive announced today. It'll launch in July on PSVR, and two weeks later on other VR platforms.
In Archangel, players pilot six-story-tall mechs to battle against a private corporation that's taken over a dystopian America. The mech has access to a variety of weapons, but you can also use its arms to punch enemies.
It's a single-player shooter that the developer claims will have an "engaging storytelling and dynamic characters." You are accompanied by an army of AI-controlled allies who will help protect and fight with you.
"Utilize all this firepower and support to battle your way through progressively difficult waves of enemies across many different environments, and earn XP to level up your mech along the way," president of Skydance Peter Akemann said in a PlayStation Blog post. "Play the lead role in the next chapter of the great story of the resistance, with storylines both epic and personal woven throughout."
The developer hasn't given an exact release date yet, but it'll be released on PSVR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift.
Sony has revealed the lineup of free games that PlayStation Plus members will be able to pick up during June. As usual, a total of six games are on offer, but thanks to Cross-Buy support, PS4 owners will receive a total of four.
Ubisoft has debuted a new logo that will replace the iconic blue swirl you've been seeing in front of Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy, and Far Cry games for the last few years.
It's not a drastic redesign and, for the most part, the swirl stays intact. The major difference between the old logo and the new one is that it no longer has the blue color scheme, and instead uses thick black or white lines to form the swirl.
"Today, we create worlds--worlds that live as video games, comics, movies, TV shows, books, and amusement park rides," Ubisoft said in a statement. "Our new logo is minimalist, modern, and monochromatic. It's a window into our worlds, giving a preview of what's to come by highlighting the artistry that goes into creating them.
"The swirl and the letter O are both deliberately created to be reminiscent of hand-drawn shapes and represent our human qualities of enthusiasm, curiosity, and the grain de folie that Ubisoft is known for."
It continued: "With this new look, we proudly embrace our role as a creator of worlds and invite you, the players, to continue playing, engaging, and growing with us. As we move towards our most exciting time of the year (E3!), you will see this new emblem take on the colors and textures of our worlds, and we can't wait to hear what you all think."
Ubisoft has announced its E3 2017 press conference will be held on June 12 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST. The event will be held at the Orpheum Theatre and, as with most press E3 conferences, will be available to watch online via streams.
Successful indie game Kerbal Space Program is indie no longer. Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar and 2K Games, has announced that it has acquired Kerbal Space Program.
Take-Two shared news of the game acquisition in a press release today. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick subsequently stated that the IP and developer Squad itself were included as part of the deal during a Q&A with investment firm Cowen and Company attended by GameSpot this morning. However, Take-Two has since clarified with us that it only purchased the game, not the developer--although Squad will continue to work on the game.
"It's just another example of our desire to build up our collection of owned intellectual property," Zelnick explained. "This is an opportunity to buy a title that's already successful--it's sold in roughly 2 million units, still in market, still selling on Steam. There'll be more additional content packs coming. And we think it's a great addition to the stable of intellectual property, and it fits within our independent games initiative, which is an area we don't talk about much, but it's an area of increasing focus."
Separate from Zelnick's comments, Take-Two senior VP Michael Worosz noted something similar: "We view Kerbal Space Program as a new, long-term franchise that adds a well-respected and beloved IP to Take-Two's portfolio as we continue to explore opportunities across the independent development landscape."
Kerbal Space Program, a game in which you (attempt to) design functioning spaceships, originally debuted in Early Access back in March 2013. It then officially launched on the platform in April 2015. Since then, it's been ported to both PS4 and Xbox One. It's also proven to have a use in education and is available at a discounted rate to schools.
In a post on its website, Squad stated that "this big news doesn't change much for the KSP community." It also said it will still offer free DLC to those who purchased the game by April 2013 and that work continues on updated PS4 and Xbox One versions. Those will be available for free to anyone who's already bought the game on either platform.
Kerbal Space Program is the Mexico City-based Squad's only game. It's a small studio which was in the headlines recently when several of its former developers were hired by Valve. Squad, however, insisted that the game's core team remained with the studio and that this would have no impact on development.
A new expansion pack, Making History, is due out for the game later this year. It adds the ability to create missions that other players can then take part it in, as well as a set of missions based on real-world historical space endeavors "complete with a unique Kerbal Space Program twist."
This story has been updated with further clarification from Take-Two.
The character roster for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has reportedly been leaked by way of a post on NeoGAF. According to forum user Ryce, who has a solid track record of leaking Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite details, the list will include a mixture of series mainstays and newcomers from both companies.
As noted by Ryce, the leaked list of Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite characters is currently missing a character from the Capcom side. The other characters are as follows:
Capcom
Arthur
Chris
Chun-Li
Dante
Firebrand
Jedah
Monster Hunter
Morrigan
Nemesis
Ryu
Spencer
Strider Hiryu
X
Marvel
Ant-Man
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Doctor Strange
Gamora
Hawkeye
Hulk
Iron Man
Nova
Rocket/Groot (It's unclear if it's Rocket Raccoon with Groot assisting or a redesigned character actually called Rocket/Groot)
Spider-Man
Thanos
Thor
Ultron
Fans have noted the lack of X-Men characters; speculation suggests this is part of Marvel and Disney's ongoing efforts to shift the focus away from these characters, as the movie rights are currently with Fox. This means that many popular characters from the series, such as Wolverine, Magneto, and Sentinel, aren't included.
The characters named above certainly seem like they're picked to leverage the popularity of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. GameSpot has contacted Capcom for a statement on the leak.
Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming expansion Stormblood looks to build upon its predecessor Heavensward by introducing a wealth of new content while also implementing changes to better streamline its mechanics as a whole.
Stormblood's major additions include new dungeons, new raids (with one taking place in Final Fantasy Tactics' Ivalice), swimming and diving, new zones, and two new jobs: Red Mage and Samurai. But the expansion is also changing the game's established mechanics in more drastic ways. For example, you no longer have to level up other jobs in order to gain the skills and abilities essential to play your character's primary job. You're now able to simply pick and choose from a list of abilities that you would've otherwise needed to grind other jobs for. And with the addition of the Job guage, which helps you keep track of important resources and visualize important factors, there seem to be plenty of fine-tuned adjustments coming in Stormblood that improve the overall quality of life in Final Fantasy XIV.
We recently got the opportunity to discuss Stormblood with Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida, discussing the expansion's new jobs, its various mechanical changes, and what players can expect.
GameSpot: As the second expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, how do you see Stormblood when positioned next to Heavensward? Is it meant to be a continuation? The other side of the same coin? A completely new flavor?
Naoki Yoshida: With the storyline of Final Fantasy XIV, it's very much like an overseas TV drama series. Stormblood could be seen as the third season of the Final Fantasy XIV saga. It's a brand-new adventure that the warriors of light will be experiencing. And we've created the story so that even if you haven't played through all of Heavensward, you should still be able to enjoy the content offered in Stormblood.
Not only that, but it has been about four years since the launch of A Realm Reborn, and as time has progressed, some elements from that initial release have become overly complex. With Stormblood, we wanted to simplify those elements for players jumping in now. But at the same time, we also made sure these adjustments accommodated veteran players who have been with us throughout these years. As a result, there were many changes and revisions made to the usability, the in-play experience, player experience, that have been implemented with Stormblood.
Why do you think accessibility is so important to the MMORPG genre as a whole?
An MMORPG is a game where you spend a long time playing, so accessibility is incredibly important. But as creators watching over a community of players, when you look at one single player playing versus the big picture of a MMORPG of this scope, it's actually very rare for a person to continue playing for five or six years. From a developer's perspective, we would love to have as many people continue to play the game a long time, but we do start to see the average gameplay time; the data is there. We also need to make sure we're bringing in new players in order for our community to keep growing, so we can continue expanding.
For people who are not familiar with the franchise, now that Final Fantasy XV has been released, they may get the impression that our game is older. They might think, "Why should I play a game that's not the brand new Final Fantasy?" That's not the case. We are an MMORPG and we are continuing to grow. I think it's very important to be able to deliver that message to people who don't know us very much and to appeal to them as much as possible.
At what moment did you identify that it was necessary to simplify the gameplay?
It would be around right the time we released patch 3.2. or sometime around then was when we had an increase in the amount of new players joining Final Fantasy XIV. A lot of the feedback that we had observed was that some elements was second nature to our veteran players, but that wasn't necessarily the case for our new players. At the same time, we were also starting to see a greater disparity between our core players versus our more casual players. We were starting to see different issues arising around that time; so we started to consider that we would need some changes by the time we launch Build 4.0.
What are the two new jobs all about?
The Red Mage is categorized as a caster--like a black mage or a summoner. But in the Final Fantasy franchise, the red mage has always been depicted as a hybrid job that can inflict both magic and melee damage. For Final Fantasy XIV, we made sure to take advantage of both of the Red Mage's distinct characteristics.
The Red Mage is also unique in how it casts spells, being able to perform a chain spell where it casts one spell and instantly follows it up with another. You can then shorten the time it takes to cast a certain spell by utilizing that chain spell and raising your DPS (damage per second). The more you strategize and pay attention to how you execute these different actions, the more effective the damage of your attacks become.
As for the samurai, it is focused on melee DPS, so it's not meant to be tricky. The class brandishes a katana, which allows it to perform different sword skills, actions, and special moves by accumulating its various actions. It's a very concentrated.
The samurai also has the most versatile combo rotations, allowing it to select different attack routes based on the moves it uses. These attacks charge the Sen gauge, which is a special meter you fuel by executing combo rotations associated with special symbols: Setsu (snow), Getsu (moon), and Ka (flower). Once these symbols are earned, you can perform powerful finishing blow move.
What combat changes are planned for all the classes and how have they been affected by the changes in Stormblood exactly?
From a general perspective, there are some jobs that don't change in terms of the rotation of the different actions you had at level 60. But with the implementation of the new job gauge and job-specific UI, there have been major changes to each individual job. For example, the warrior and its various stance changes is definitely one of the more noticeable changes. But on the flip side, some of the jobs that we feel are already at a state of being complete may not have gone through too much change.
We did try to make it so that people who are proficient at managing job actions can utilize them better. But at the same time, we made adjustments for inexperienced players, so they can still produce a certain level of DPS through their jobs. Our goal was to try to bridge the gap and lessen the disparity between hardcore and casual players.
No matter what job you try out, you'll get a different gameplay experience from Build 3.0 or Heavensward. In terms of actions, if you are the type of player who is really good at managing your MP, and you're a healer, you might not need to slot in an MP regeneration action. Instead, you might opt for something that could better support your other party members. As a result, the updates to classes in Stormblood allow you a higher degree of freedom to decide how you want to execute your character's actions during a given sequence.
How big is the geography of Stormblood compared to Heavensward?
The overall geography is comparable to Heavensward, so it's about the same in terms of scale. However, in the new areas that do open up, you still have to unlock the ability to fly, which means you'll be traveling on land for a while until you unlock a zone's wind currents. As a result, you might think the maps feel large because you've grown accustomed to traveling all over the place on a flying mount for the past two years.
Of course, as you progress through Stormblood, you'll unlock flight capabilities, but we encourage players to explore every nook and cranny of a zone by walking, by ground mount, and then eventually by flying mount as well.
What can you say about the amount of quest content in Stormblood compared to Heavensward?
We tried to pare down or lesson the number of subquests to put more emphasis on the main scenario quest. That said, the overall volume of quest content shouldn't be too different. But if we start to include the different job and class quests into the discussion, then there is much more content in Stormblood than Heavensward.
What exactly can we expect from the Return to Ivalice content?
First and foremost, because this is an alliance raid, you'll be going in with 24 players to experience the storyline and the different battles. But in the content, the realm of Ivalice--which you may be familiar with through Final Fantasy: Tactics and Final Fantasy 12--appears in Final Fantasy XIV as more of a redesign or a reinterpretation than a remade conversion.
In terms of who is working on the scenario, though, Yasumi Matsuno--the creator of Ivalice--is involved in the creation of this content, so there could potentially be a facet of Ivalice that may not have been depicted elsewhere. However, since this is content that we will continuously update for a long period of time, we'll be sure to share more details once it's ready.
We also have prolific character designer and director Keita Amemiya joining us in the graphics department mainly as a boss character designer. Due to his extensive work across both film and games, he has a fresh perspective that the main Final Fantasy XIV team may not have. We are hoping that some of the boss battles are going to be very refreshing because of his different take on design.
If you could describe each Final Fantasy XIV expansion in one word, what words would you use?
That's a difficult question. Of course, with a Realm Reborn, you can condense it down to "reborn." It would definitely be "expand" for Heavensward. As for Stormblood, I believe "evolution" is the most fitting.
The Pokemon Company has announced another iOS and Android app called Pokeland, in which players use toy versions of their favourite monsters to duke it out across multiple islands, much like Pokemon Rumble.
According to a description on the game's Japanese website, Pokeland is a game where players "collect Pokemon by exploring various islands [along with] toy Pokemon." The FAQ also states that Pokeland will not be playable offline, and that gear can be used to strengthen Pokemon.
Pokeland will also connect to Nintendo's own account, which means you can use your Mii characters in-game. Although it's yet to be confirmed, it may be that My Nintendo rewards are also offered through the game.
An alpha test of Pokeland is current taking place in Japan on Android devices. It is not currently available for testing on iOS. The Alpha test features six islands and 52 different stages, according to the official website. Additionally there will be 134 Pokemon appearing, and players will be able to fight up to floor 15 of the Champion Tower.
Those that play the alpha test won't be able to transfer their progress across to the final game as all data will be wiped before the official game is released.
Another Pokemon mobile game, Magikarp Jump, was recent released for iOS and Android devices. Before that was Pokemon Go, which became a worldwide phenomenon and remains one of the highest-grossing apps. A new update for Pokemon Go added 80 new Pokemon and new gameplay features.
Bandai Namco's Tekken 7 will be available on June 2, bringing The King of Iron Fist Tournament to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the first time. The latest entry in the long-running fighting game series has been available in arcades since 2016, but has received a number of updates for its console release.
Among these are new customisation options, stages, and characters. Arguably the most exciting new character is Street Fighter's Akuma, who has been introduced as a critical part of the game's story, seemingly arriving to end the feud between the various members of the Mishima family. Of course, Tekken 7 also retains the tried-and-true three-dimensional fighting game system, albeit with some tweaks and new mechanical additions.
But is Tekken 7 worth your time? We've collected some reviews to answer just that question. Take a look below to see what critics think of the game and for a wider view check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
"However, thanks in part to Tekken 7's penchant for quirky distractions, there's more to do in the game than simply training to be the best. The story mode is the most obvious stop, and it contains both a grand tale surrounding the series' embattled Mishima family as well as a few dozen quick looks at the game's secondary characters. All told, these will keep you entertained for a handful of hours with unexpected bouts of comedy and melodrama. Aside from the lifeless narrator, Tekken 7's stories are a very welcome addition to the console version of a game that's primarily bred for player-vs-player competition." -- Peter Brown [Full review in progress]
IGN -- Review In Progress
"This is a nostalgia motherlode, and viewing some of this material quickly pulled me back in time to memories of years spent with Tekken, whether hours of matches of Tekken 3 with friends in high school, countless quarters sank into Tekken Tag Tournament machines, or getting destroyed repeatedly by the Bay Area Tekken scene when other Street Fighter players and I tried to transition into Tekken 6." -- Darry Huskey [Full review in progress]
Game Informer -- 8/10
"Tekken 7 does a good job of bringing the franchise up to standard on the current round of consoles. Though it falters in its story mode and getting new players in on the satisfying thrill of dodging your opponent's attack and hitting them with a round-ending combo, it offers enough incentive for experienced players (or those willing to stick out the initial rough patch) to keep playing. The online works well enough that regular players should have enough of a reason to learn the deep combat system and get ready for the next battle." -- Suriel Vazquez [Full review]
Destructoid -- 8/10
"I was pleasantly surprised with Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, and will be keeping up with the meta and pro scene for the first time in years. While Harada and his crew could have easily given us a little more to do long term other than chase more treasure, it doesn't feel like grinding in the slightest given how fun it is to play." Chris Carter [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 4/5
"By getting excited about the core systems at the expense of everything new, I feel like I'm celebrating a game for barely evolving over the last 20 years, but Tekken has always been that good. I'd rather be playing it than writing about it. But despite this, there's something a bit sad about Tekken 7. By trying to compete with modern beat 'em ups, it's simultaneously more and less than it once was, and the failure of the new additions feels jarring when compared to modern fighters. This might be the last entry for Tekken that can still trade on a that joyful fighting system alone, but for now I'm happy to enjoy it for what it is: a powerful, gratifying, deeply cinematic fighting game." -- Matt Elliott [Full review]
Ahead of E3 next month, EA today posted a cryptic teaser image for what could be the next Need for Speed game.
If you turn the brightness down on the image below, you can see what appears to be the Seattle skyline, including the Space Needle. This is the same image that the official Need for Speed Twitter account posted.
EA officially confirmed the next Need for Speed game earlier this month. We don't know much about it, but developer Ghost Games has stressed that it won't require a constant internet connection like the 2015 reboot did. The game will have customisation options and police pursuits, and EA has said it will launch in 2017 for unspecified platforms.
Tekken is back, and if you've kept up with the series over the years, you will feel right at home in Tekken 7. While we haven't had the chance to test its performance online, and thus aren't ready to offer a comprehensive review covering everything the game has to offer, we can say that Tekken's latest outing is a great fighting game offline that falls in line with the series' favorable reputation. Familiar faces, combo strings, and storylines both serious and absurd work just as well today as they did in the past, adding up to an experience that feels quite different from the likes of Street Fighter V or Injustice 2.
A lot of this unique feel boils down to Tekken's button scheme, which assigns one button to each limb. It's an intuitive system that's easy to wrap your head around, but one look at a character's movelist is evidence of the depths that await intrepid competitors; most lists of attacks and combos are nearly 100 items long. New mechanics in Tekken 7 include Rage Arts, which allow you to issue a powerful attack when your health is running low, and Power Crush attacks, moves that complete their animation regardless of whether you're hit (by high and mid attacks specifically) before you strike your target.
While Rage Arts are simple enough to execute given their single-button input, Power Crush is a property assigned to otherwise traditional attacks and combos. You can identify which attacks fall into this category by scrolling through a character's move list until you see the relevant icon. It sounds simple enough, but given that most fighting games are good about separating distinct moves into categories for easy reference, the process is slightly more arduous than it ought to be.
It's also fair to say that Tekken 7 doesn't adequately explain the rules surrounding these new mechanics or when you should use them. Save for the briefest of tutorials in the story mode and a teaching tool in training mode that shows you how a combo should look in action, you are left to pick apart the game's rules and mechanics on your own. A fighting game like Skullgirls is the ideal model to follow, with extensive training modes and scenarios for each character. But even when compared to previous Tekken games, Tekken 7 falls short. There's unfortunately nothing like the Tekken Tag Tournament 2's Combot here to ease you into the game's eccentricities.
However, thanks in part to Tekken 7's penchant for quirky distractions, there's more to do in the game than simply training to be the best. The story mode is the most obvious stop, and it contains both a grand tale surrounding the series' embattled Mishima family as well as a few dozen quick looks at the game's secondary characters. All told, these will keep you entertained for a handful of hours with unexpected bouts of comedy and melodrama. Aside from the lifeless narrator, Tekken 7's stories are a very welcome addition to the console version of a game that's primarily bred for player-vs-player competition.
Barring a few too many instances of characters with uncannily clear and shiny complexions, Tekken 7 also looks great running in Unreal Engine, a shift that comes with the series debut on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. We've only had the chance to play the game on PlayStation 4 so far, and while it's not the best-looking fighting game we've seen, improved lighting and particle effects round out the improvements made to character models since Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag 2.
While we wait for more players to populate ranked and casual servers, we will continue to both practice our moves in combat and outfit characters with collectible gear--Tekken 7's other light-hearted pursuit. If you're playing this weekend, don't be surprised if you may spot a Marshall Law player donning a knight's helm, a massive pizza on his back, and a samurai sword to complement his shiny new leather jacket.
Check back shortly after launch for our full review of Tekken 7 across all platforms.
The Kingsman movie series is the latest to get the Funko treatment. The toy company announced today that toys based on characters from Kingsman: The Secret Service will be available in Funko Pop form, including Harry, Eggsy, Valentine, and Gazelle.
The figures will be available this summer. Pricing was not announced. You can see them all in the image gallery below. Click the thumbnails to bring up full-size images.
Funko Pop toys exist for basically every major media franchise under the sun. Some of the other recently announced ones include those for Destiny, Justice League, and Alien: Covenant.
The next Kingsman movie, The Golden Circle, comes out in September. It's directed by Matthew Vaughn, and stars Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, and Julianne Moore.
Big posters are par for the course at E3, and this year seems like it will be no different. The famous Figueroa Hotel in downtown Los Angeles will feature a massive, three-panel poster for Star Wars: Battlefront II, and after work began on it last week, it is now finished.
Actress Janina Gavankar, who plays Inferno Squad Commander Iden Versio in Battlefront II, posted the image below to her Twitter account this week. "Done!!!" she wrote. "Who's ready for E3?" She will attend EA's EA Play event at E3 to promote the upcoming sci-fi shooter.
Gavankar had roles on TV shows True Blood, Sleepy Hollow, The League.
Battlefront II launches in November for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. We're expecting to learn more about the shooter at E3 coming up soon next month.
Unlike the 2015 original, which shipped 14 million copies, the sequel will have a single-player campaign--John Boyega should be happy. The campaign is being made by Motive Studios, while DICE is again handling the multiplayer.
EA's EA Play event at E3 kicks off on June 10, so expect the news to start rolling in around then.
CharlieIntel reports that Amazon Japan posted a product page for the game, saying it would launch on June 20 for PlayStation 4, with a launch for Xbox One to come on July 20. A PC version also seems likely, though nothing at all is confirmed at this stage.
June 20 is the same date that GameFly posted.
As for the month-long difference in dates for PS4 and Xbox One, this could be the result of Activision's exclusivity deal with Sony. All Call of Duty DLC now launches first on PS4 before coming to other platforms later. New instalments in the mainline series, however, have been released simultaneously, so this would be a change of form of sorts.
Modern Warfare Remastered contains the entire campaign from the 2007 original, updated with new graphics, as well as a similarly updated multiplayer mode. Activision is also releasing DLC for Modern Warfare Remastered, with the Variety Map Pack arriving in March.
We will report back with more details on the possibility of Modern Warfare Remastered seeing a standalone release as they're announced.
It is the last day of the month, so now is your last chance to pick up some of May 2017's free Games With Gold titles before they return to their normal prices tomorrow.
Waypoint has posted a huge new feature on Halo. Titled "The Complete, Untold History Of Halo," it's a wonderful read that gives fans incredible insight into the creation of the now-huge series, told from the people who were there when it started and still shepherd the series today.
Those featured in the oral history report include Bungie founder Alex Seropian, FPS control designer (among other things) Jaime Griesemer, composer Marty O'Donnell, writer Joe Staten, Halo prototype designer Marcus Lehto, and a number of other senior developers.
There are loads of fascinating takeaways, and you should read the full story to get all the details. Among them is the notion that Microsoft apparently "hated" the name Halo.
"They said that it doesn't mean anything, and to people it does mean something to, it's not on-brand, because what we're selling is the super soldier, not this weird space junk," Griesemer said. "In every foreign language it sounds stupid, it's feminine--they had so many reasons why the name should be changed. They went for months and months, and they came back with a bunch of names. It was another border dispute."
That's how the Combat Evolved subtitle came to be.
"At some point they said, 'Okay, we're going to do a subtitle.' And this was before subtitles were the thing every game had," Griesemer said. "We thought that was dumb, but whatever, we could ignore it. Eventually they came back with Combat Evolved, and we thought that was the stupidest thing ever. It doesn't mean anything, it's not really informational, and it's not even good grammar."
We also learn in the feature that Bungie almost removed multiplayer from the first Halo, which seems almost unthinkable now.
"Multiplayer was also kind of bad until very shortly before the game shipped," Griesemer said. "You would just shoot at a guy forever, and they wouldn't die."
Former Bungie designer Paul Bertone added, "Multiplayer is actually something that was on the chopping block until very close to the end of the project, which would've been an obvious tragedy."
Max Hoberman added that Bungie originally wanted Halo's multiplayer to be more "arena-based," but they ran out of time and the more head-to-head multiplayer was added. "It was never really by design, the way it worked. It was just a scramble to get something done," he said.
Another incredible takeaway from the report is the situation surrounding Halo 2 and how Microsoft put Bungie in something of a tricky spot. Here's what former Xbox boss Ed Fries had to say on the subject:
"I remember I was in a meeting about Halo 2, and the reality was that we needed to move it back a year to deliver the game that we wanted. (Former chief Xbox officer) Robbie Bach turned it into a vote," Fries said. "The choices were to force Bungie to ship Halo 2 a year before it's ready, or give them the extra year to get it done right.
"All the senior people who worked for Robbie voted to force the team to ship it," he added. "I walked out of the meeting, saying: 'I'm going to quit right now if that's what we're going to do.' So they went back on it and gave Bungie extra time, but I still quit six months later. That vote had showed the attitude of what was going on there."
Go to Waypoint to read the full story. It is really good.
Nvidia has announced a partnership with Psyonix to give away the hit soccer-with-cars game Rocket League. Everyone who buys a GeForce GTX 1060 or 1050-based card, or a desktop PC or notebook, will get a free copy of Rocket League for a limited time.
This promotion is being held to celebrate the Rocket League World Championship competitive gaming event, which runs June 2-4 in Los Angeles.
You can head to this promotion page to learn more about the Rocket League giveaway.
Rocket League sells for $20 on PC and consoles, though it has been discounted on a number of occasions.
In other Rocket League news, Psyonix is now advertising the game on TV with silly, over-the-top 30-second commercials. The first two are embedded in this story.
"Why would we want to take this huge community that we've already built, that's still growing, and say, 'What you're playing now is going to be irrelevant in 12 months, but we want you to stop what you're doing, giving us money all over again, and move over to this other game,'" Psyonix's Jeremy Dunham explained. "That's not the right way to do things. I think that era of games has passed."
For more on Rocket League, check out all of GameSpot's previous coverage here.
A Back to the Future superfan who owns a DeLorean took it for a drive recently on a California highway, hitting 88 mph but failing to travel through time and only getting a speeding ticket.
KTLA 5 (via Uproxx) brings us the wonderful story of Santa Clarita man Spencer White, who was on the 14 Freeway recently and was zipping along at 85 mph. His mother was in the car with him and gave him some motherly advice: "My mom, she's looking at me and she just says, 'Take it up to 88, let's do it," White said.
White did just that, apparently, and had the DeLorean at 88 mph for "about two seconds" before he spotted a police officer behind him. He got pulled over, and the officer asked if he knew how fast he was going. He said 88 mph, and they both enjoyed a laugh, apparently.
White said he thought at first he would be let off with just a fine, but the officer ended up giving him a ticket for about $400. The officer also let White take a picture of the radar gun that showed 88 mph, apparently. White doesn't sound too upset, however, as he says getting a ticket for driving 88 mph in a DeLorean is the "dream ticket" for people who own the famous car.
As for why White did not travel through time, he says he didn't have his Flux Capacitor installed, and he was out of Plutonium.
Wonder Woman succeeds in achieving a number of things that DC's recent films have not: Crafting a character that is easy to care about, telling an origin story that establishes believable and relatable motivations, and putting that character through situations that make us genuinely sympathise with her, in addition to being completely in awe of her at her most powerful.
This is because Wonder Woman is a film that takes its time with its story. The first third is spent with the titular character as she grows up on the island of Themyscira, amongst a civilization of Amazons. As a child, she's forbidden from taking part in the combative traditions of the warrior tribe, though her unbridled enthusiasm eventually leads her down that path regardless, and she grows into a skilled fighter as an adult. British spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) eventually crashes near the island and informs the Amazons of a raging conflict, World War I, and Diana's (Gal Gadot) unsuppressed, idealistic drive to save innocents and put an end to the whole concept of war, results in the two of them leaving together.
This time on Themyscira is well spent. The mythological origins of the Amazons and the events that lead to her departure from the island are explained succinctly, and precedence is instead given to the personal interactions between Diana and the important people in her life. Director Patty Jenkins isn't afraid to slow down and let us see Diana gradually come into her own, discover new things, and use her knowledge to reinforce her own determination and personal values, however naive they may seem.
Diana's naivety, born from her sheltered upbringing, is regularly played for laughs during interactions with Chris Pine's character, and especially later on when the events of the film move to Europe. Gags about sex and seeing a penis for the first time start the trend on a borderline cringe-worthy note, but the awkwardness of Pine's charmingly goofy character, and the unperturbed confidence of Gadot, quickly make these scenes more charming. These recurring moments also gradually pave the way for the film, and Diana, to escalate the scale of her curiosity, allowing her to interject and protest about what she sees as black and white injustices, as opposed to what the world sees as societal norms. Antiquated gender roles, racial discrimination, and the morality of modern military warfare are just some of the touchstones. And although they may portray obvious sentiments to most, the way Jenkins allows the audience to accompany Diana through these revelations makes her story of a superhuman coming of age something relatable on a very human level. You see what kind of values fuel her motivations, and in turn, you become intrigued by how these values are tested, and how they affect her eventual transformation.
But as much as Wonder Woman enjoys spending time watching Diana evolve as a person and exhibit believable emotional vulnerabilities, it also revels in the pure joy of watching Diana unrelentingly destroy dozens of bad dudes. The film's numerous action sequences are sharp and punchy, and of a satisfying length, often leaving you wanting more. Slow motion tracking shots are used to great effect here, allowing you to really appreciate the acrobatic fighting style of Diana and the Amazons. The camera doesn't shy away from close-up impacts, which feel hefty and powerful, and earn the wincing of on-screen characters. Horseback combat and archery add to these memorable moments, as do World War I militaria like bolt-action rifles, machine guns, and tanks.
But like the scenes themselves, these flashy combat tools appear sparingly, used as exclamations, and never outstay their welcome. The same can be said of the appearance of Diana's weapons and powers. We get glimpses of her abilities in the first act--heightened agility, healing, and strength--but it's not until Diana gets to the real world where we see her become truly threatening. Each discrete encounter is fast-moving but aggressive, making Diana's power moments both uniquely impactful on screen, as well as helping to exemplify her efficient skill in melee combat. Because these fights are not belaboured, moments where Gadot deftly tangles a group of soldiers in the gleaming Lasso of Truth, or pummels someone through a brick wall with her shield using incredible force, become striking payoffs that leave you in awe, trembling with excitement long after.
The only exception here is the final climactic encounter, where the film loosens its restraints to allow for some Zack Snyder-style superhuman bombast. Other minor irks involve a romantic subplot, which felt like it needed a little more time to feel plausible, and the fact that despite Wonder Woman being a film where people of a variety of colors speak a variety of foreign languages (with English subtitles), all characters of German descent simply speak English. The ridiculousness of this decision is heightened when Pine's character goes undercover as a German officer and gets by security just fine with German-accented English.
Ultimately, Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins have together shaped the story of a hero who is at the same time relatable and formidable. Diana's journey of self-discovery is one that is plausible, and the film's focus on exploring who she is as a person, as well as what she can do as a superhuman gives the character, and overall film, a gratifying roundedness that makes you eager for more.
The Good
The Bad
Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is both relatable and awe-inspiring
One of the most notable elements of 1.04 is PS4 Pro support, which introduces things like higher quality shadows, improved texture appearance, and dynamic lights that show up further in the distance, among other things. A full breakdown of the PS4 Pro items can be found below.
Prey 1.04 PS4 Pro Features:
Enable Screen-Space Reflections
Higher quality shadows
Improved texture appearance
More texture memory (stable streaming)
Anisotropy 16x (from 4x)
Improved visual fidelity
Less LOD usage
Dynamic lights show up further
Particles are allowed to draw more pixels per effect
The new Prey PS4 update also introduces "additional fixes" for input lag, which players have commented on since launch.
The 1.04 patch also fixes problem scenarios, including one where players could lock themselves into the security pharmaceuticals office, while the timing for "several" cutscenes has been adjusted. You can see the rest of the patch notes for 1.04 below.
"It opens with a poignant, thought-provoking premise, but fails to follow through until the end, when it claims a revelation it doesn't quite earn," reviewer Tamoor Hussain said. "Its gameplay falters out of the gate, eventually maturing into something worthwhile, if a bit familiar. As an homage to System Shock it's competent and at times even enjoyable. However, Prey fails to distinguish itself, and next to immersive sim contemporaries such as Dishonored, it feels stagnant."
For more on Prey, and developer Arkane Austin, check out GameSpot's new video feature embedded above.
Prey 1.04 Patch Notes
Glooing Cook between objectives no longer breaks mission
"Nightmare is Hunting You" no longer plays after completing "Copy Protection" without Typhon Neuromods installed
Disgruntled Employee mission now properly completes if player finds Grant Lockwood prior to getting mission
Sarah Elazar will now give the code for Cargo Bay B if player has hostility from Phantoms
Aaron Ingram will no longer flee and cower when released in Psychotronics
Player can no longer lock themselves in the security pharmaceuticals office in Trauma
Superfruit no longer appears shrunken and flat when fully grown
Adjusted timing on several cutscenes
Blank objective markers no longer persist above reticle
Using key actions while controller prompts are shown will no longer cause a freeze
Tracking bracelets are now sent to Recycler with "Transfer all Junk"
Developer Supergiant Games has been working on Pyre, its follow-up to the action-RPG Transistor, for a while, and finally we know when it'll be released. The developer has announced that Pyre is launching on July 25.
It's coming for PS4 and PC, and pre-orders are open now. If you pre-order the game, you'll get a 10% discount, Supergiant announced on its website. Pyre will normally cost $20.
Pyre is a party-based RPG, and its gameplay centers around a competition called the Rites. You face off in three-on-three battles in an attempt to extinguish the other team's signal flame. You progress through the game whether you win or lose, and, according to Supergiant, "the interactive narrative is expressed through a story that should feel personal to you."
Supergiant said that the game is significantly different and larger than either of its previous games, although it retains a similar style. On its website, it stated, "We can now safely say that it's the biggest game we've ever created, offering substantially more ways to play and more characters to meet than either Bastion or Transistor before it."
The much-anticipated Wonder Woman movie opens this Friday, and ahead of the premiere, reviews for the Gal Gadot-starring film have arrived.
You can see a roundup of excerpts from reviews below, while you can visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic to see a wider view of the movie's critical reception.
Film:Wonder Woman
Release Date: June 2
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, David Thewlis, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen
Directed By: Patty Jenkins
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 141 minutes
GameSpot
"Ultimately, Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins have together shaped the story of a hero who is at the same time relatable and formidable. Diana's journey of self-discovery is one that is plausible, and the film's focus on exploring who she is as a person, as well as what she can do as a superhuman gives the character, and overall film, a gratifying roundedness that makes you eager for more." -- Edmond Tran [Full review]
The Guardian
"It's plagued by the same problems that dragged down previous visits to the DC movie world: over-earnestness, bludgeoning special effects, and a messy, often wildly implausible plot. What promised to be a glass-ceiling-smashing blockbuster actually looks more like a future camp classic." -- Steve Rose [Full review]
Empire
"After a few false starts, the DC Extended Universe has its first truly terrific entry under its belt. About damn time." -- Chris Hewitt [Full review]
IGN
Wonder Woman is leaps and bounds above the other three entries in the DCEU. With a dramatic setting, a few entertaining action scenes, and a strong supporting cast all working together to tell an inspirational Hero's Journey, it more than offsets some occasionally uneven acting on Gadot's part and some shaky technical aspects. The messy third act fight, however, is something that has plagued other superhero movies and is something even Wonder Woman cannot overcome. Overall, Wonder Woman is a win because it successfully tells the story of a woman taking on a war-torn world with the power of love. What's more heroic than that?" -- Joshua Yehl [Full review]
Vox
"The absolutely gorgeous and joyful Wonder Woman--easily the best Warner Bros. superhero film since Nolan put his flair on the cape and cowl--is a major relief. Director Patty Jenkins's fight scenes are masterpieces of motion. Gal Gadot is majestic. Chris Pine is impossibly charming. And Jenkins has created a film that rightfully does justice to its legendary title character." -- Alex Abad-Santos [Full review]
Entertainment Weekly
"The wait is over, folks. The DC movie you've been waiting for has finally arrived." -- Chris Nashawaty [Full review]
Variety
"Like far too many films before it, Wonder Woman offers yet another origin story, but at least it's one we haven't already seen several times onscreen. And perhaps more importantly, it's almost entirely free of the distracting cameos and seeding of future films' plotlines that so often keep modern comic-book films from functioning as satisfying standalone stories." -- Andrew Barker [Full review]
Twitch has played Pokemon and Dark Souls, and it's installed Arch Linux on a computer--but one man has taken Twitch crowdsourcing to a new level by opening $50,000 of his own money up to Twitch viewers to invest in the stock market.
You read that right: a software developer named Mike has crowdsourced playing the stock market. The stream is set up with rounds of voting, during which viewers can vote on buy or sell commands. At the end of the round, the votes are counted by an algorithm and trades are placed.
According to Mike, he had come across this idea bouncing around in internet communities and decided to act upon it, and it turned out to be relatively straightforward. "I just read peoples buy/sell commands from the chat window, do a simple counting of each vote, take the top vote and place that trade," he told Polygon. "That part of the system was actually easy to build--the tough part was building the UI and getting the system to a stable point where it was ready [for] long term usage."
He uses a trading app called Robinhood to execute the trades; the app tracks his account balance and all of the stocks he currently owns. If the account falls below $25,000, it won't be able to trade anymore due to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regulations.
Stock Stream, as it's called, is almost entirely automated. It begins when markets open at 9:30 AM ET, and ends when they close at 4 PM ET. Surprisingly, Mike hasn't lost much money yet from the Twitch audience, and in fact he believes that his account should last a few months.
Looking for a new Xbox One? Newegg's eBay store is currently offering a solid deal on the console that you might want to consider if you're in the market for a console and want it now.
According to Newegg, it has already sold more than 4,000 of the systems, which is 82 percent of the total stock. This is to say, if you're interested, you may not want to wait. Another thing to be aware of is that the console does not ship outside of the United States.
This offer comes just weeks before Microsoft is expected to divulge more details at E3 on Project Scorpio, the next Xbox console coming this year. A price point for the system has not been announced, but we know it will be more expensive than the Xbox One S.
Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest on Project Scorpio.
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