Developer Ninja Theory has given you a chance to win their newest game, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice on PC. Entry is open worldwide. Competition ends Sunday, August 13th at 12:00 PM PT and twenty-five (25) winners will be contacted via email. Scroll down below to enter in the giveaway.
About this game:
From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, comes a warrior's brutal journey into myth and madness. Set in the Viking age, a broken Celtic warrior embarks on a haunting vision quest into Viking Hell to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua's mind. Read our official review of the game here.
Enter below and gain additional entries:
To win Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice on PS4, too, enter here.
Developer Ninja Theory has given you a chance to win their newest game, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice on PS4. Entry is open to the United States and Europe. Competition ends Sunday, August 13th at 12:00 PM PT and twenty-five (25) winners will be contacted via email. Scroll down below to enter in the giveaway.
About this game:
From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, comes a warrior's brutal journey into myth and madness. Set in the Viking age, a broken Celtic warrior embarks on a haunting vision quest into Viking Hell to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua's mind. Read our official review of the game here.
Enter below and gain additional entries:
To win Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice on PC, too, enter here.
This is an instant win and you will receive an email with the code within 24 hours.
Enter below:
Gigantic is a free-to-play strategic hero shooter developed by Motiga. Gorgeously rendered, light-hearted and charming, Gigantic is for all types of gamers, pitting teams of five heroes and their massive Guardians against each other in epic battles across a variety of maps. The game combines explosive combat with fast-paced teamwork, strategy and skill, as players must work together and fight relentlessly to defeat the opposing Guardian with spells, guns and swords.
For more information about Gigantic and to download the game for free, please visit the official website: www.GoGigantic.com.
In honor of Game Of Thrones Season 7 Episode 5, we're giving away a Jon Snow Funko Pop! One (1) winner will be chosen after the giveaway closes on Friday, August 18th at 12:00PM PT.
Open to US residents only, void where prohibited. If you do not win this time, you'll be automatically entered in the next giveaway.
One of Ubisoft's big reveals at E3 this summer was the pirate naval warfare game Skull & Bones. We played it at E3 and came away generally impressed. And on a recent trip to developer Ubisoft Singapore's studio we had the opportunity to speak with creative director Justin Farren, who worked on Gears of War and Madden before joining Ubisoft. He also produced Assassin's Creed Unity, Black Flag, and Syndicate in Singapore.
Our conversation covers a number of topics, including why Skull & Bones is a new IP instead of an Assassin's Creed game, the possibility of a Switch version, and how the game uses the power of the Xbox One X. Farren also told us there will be loot boxes, but the game will take steps to avoid a pay-to-win scenario. Additionally, we asked about the mysterious single-player mode, and Farren confirmed the game will offer ... something for fans in this department, though it's still unclear how this may work.
Our interview, condensed and edited for clarity, follows below. For lots more on Skull & Bones, be sure to check out all of our previous written and video content here.
Ubisoft paid for GameSpot's travel to and accomodation in Singapore.
GameSpot: After we finished playing that first match, we were a little in over our heads. What are you anticipating in terms of a learning curve?
Justin Farren: Well, our play test methodology is pretty comprehensive and what we try to do is make sure we understand where that level of autonomy comes. Does it come at five minutes, five hours, and to make sure that we engage players in a way that pulls them into PVP when they have the right skills and tools. What we see now is there is a certain type of fan that knows Black Flag, and it feels very familiar to them, so the mechanics come pretty quickly, and the depth of the customization, the different ship classes, the ship types emerges the longer you play.
What we anticipate is players, by the time they come into the disputed waters, which is what our PVP is, that they have an understanding of how to be, at least be autonomous, use their weapons, use their brace, and most importantly understand the wind. When you're using the wind, when you're using it well, it sometimes doesn't really jump out at you, but when you're against it, it's like, "Oh, crap. I'm in a bad position. How do I get out of it?" And then that will translate over time into being able to anticipate the wind. And one thing you see right now in the E3 build is it's a very simplified wind. We have a much, much more aggressive approach into how we're trying to bring the wind into becoming a fundamental pillar of our gameplay.
GameSpot: Are there gonna be even more extreme elements like typhoons or water spouts? Just like things that could completely destroy your ship?
"I want players to feel as if the ocean is a threat" -- Farren
Farren: Specific ingredients are gonna come, we're gonna share more about those, but the important thing to realize is that the ocean itself is something you're gonna have to master, and as a player, that means being able to overcome those things. You're only seeing right now one setting of our Beaufort, that's the wave and the wind reaction, so those things become more intense. We're able to throttle those and create different encounters for players. When I think about my vision for the ocean itself, I want players to feel as if the ocean is a threat.
So, when you watch movies, sailing movies or movies that are about the age of sailing or the golden age of piracy, they're not fighting always in those type of settings. That becomes the threat, that becomes the enemy, and being able to master the ocean is something that we want to present players with some scenarios. And of course they'll be able to fight in it, but mostly it's about that challenge of being able to survive the ocean itself.
GameSpot: I felt like at those moments when you can board the other ship, those are some of the most thrilling and intense moments. Did you consider or prototype having the boarding sequences happen from a first-person perspective?
Farren: The biggest thing to think about when you think about boarding is we're in multiplayer setting, so there's nine other ships that you have to account for, and we want boarding to be something that's very intense and visceral. If you think about other games where they have quick-time events, we didn't want that. We wanted it to be skill-based. We wanted it to be about positioning, creating weakness. It's still early to think about where we're gonna take it, but it has to work in a multiplayer setting.
You have only a couple minutes within that mode, average Black Flag is about a minute and 30 on boarding, so that type of boarding definitely doesn't work for our game, but over time we'll evolve exactly what we want all of our activities and engagements with the player, where he feels as if he's going directly head to head with the crew.
We want to make them feel real, believable, and be skill-based, and work within a multiplayer setting.
GameSpot: Right. I was just thinking of in a, potentially a one v. one situation where there won't be all those other things to consider.
Farren: Who knows. In multiplayer, we need to make sure that works in multiplayer where it's fair, resolves quickly, and gets the player back into the action.
GameSpot: Kind of going back to the beginning, when we saw Skull and Bones announced at E3, one of the first things, first connections people made was to World of Warships or another game similar like that. The interesting thing about that game is that it's free to play. Did you consider other business models for Skull & Bones?
GameSpot: Not since I joined. We have a commitment at the studio to really develop triple-A content and quality. If you look at Assassin's Creed as a franchise, I was producer on Unity, Black Flag, and Syndicate, and we had the highest-rated content on those games. So, our commitment is to deliver high-quality content for players, and we want to translate that and our expertise in creating naval gameplay into something that has high value.
We definitely have taken more of a service-based approach so that when you pay for this game, you have a commitment from us to develop content, new gameplay, modes, new content for the player to earn, and then of course, new regions to explore, and those things will unfold as the game launches and provide service over time. But it's not a, we don't want to create pay to win, we don't want to create something where players have to pay to compete. Our PVP is completely horizontal in a way that gives players a chance to develop their skills and compete against other players. So, yeah, those models, I mean, I play World of Tanks. I play Armored Warfare.
I play other free to play, and there is an appeal for me for that type of game, but I think the quality we can deliver, and we've delivered on Assassin's Creed and Ghost Recon Phantoms, that's what we want to deliver to fans so that they have that assurance that the game that they're making is not a shoddy product, that it's something that really has value that they can invest in for a long, long time.
GameSpot: I'm curious on your take on the balance between listening to what the community wants versus what you know is good game design.
Farren: So, data is interesting. If you think about the quantifiable data and the qualitative data, there's lots. Some of it is anecdotal. Some of it is my opinion. Some of it I can look on, people will say, "I want to be able to do all these other things," and "Why don't you do exactly what this other game is doing?" And I look and I say, "Well, I have the data from what you did in Black Flag. I know what you did, and I know what you liked and what you didn't because of how you rate it and score it, and I want to give you more of what you liked."
So, fans, especially The Keepers [a group of fans that Ubisoft met with to get feedback on Skull & Bones before it was announced], who are very, very invested in the game community, their input is hugely important. We don't dismiss it and like you saw in the video, it's very true. We take it to heart. But the ideas themselves, we all have great ideas. So, what we want to do is translate their feedback into something that's actionable and then iterate on it if it makes sense, and then present it back to the community internally and externally, and validate it, and be willing to throw away bad ideas. Be willing to throw away ideas that we think were great but just don't work. And that process is ongoing.
There are things in our game that we're working on now that are directly, that you'll see over time, that are a direct result of our first workshop with The Keepers and I hope that they take pride in that when they think back to what we did in our workshop here in Singapore and go, "Wow, that feature is because of something I said, something I wrote on a white board." And John and the broadcast room said that we engage the community. Every single day I'm on the forums, on YouTube, ... on Reddit, and I directly answer questions and messages, and it's a long time until we launch. We launch fall of 2018, but my commitment is that every week I'm gonna at least have five direct engagements until there's the need for more.
So, people should engage. People should be passionate about it, but they should also understand that we're carrying forward a vision that's a collective vision for millions of people and millions of fans, and we want to give them, collectively, the best pirating experience that focuses on piracy.
GameSpot: Skull and Bones has its roots in Assassin's Creed, but you decided not to make it an Assassin's Creed game, but its own game, its own brand new universe. I'm wondering if you could just talk a little bit more about why it had less of the Assassin's Creed DNA and more of its own.
Farren: Well, I think, I was closing producer on Black Flag, and when we were starting to close the project, the team who's working on the game now, or at the time, was really experimental and trying new things and one of the first things they did is take the naval toy of Black Flag and put two people in there. And it was magic. There was something really cool about being able to sail and see your friend next to you, oh, and then there's an enemy right over there. We said, "This could be something by itself."
"Assassin's Creed is a very specific fantasy about being an assassin, about being in a crowd, and that's not the game we wanted to make" -- Farren
So, that was really the catalyst for exploring that aspect of it. When it comes to the type of experience you have with Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed is a very specific fantasy about being an assassin, about being in a crowd, and that's not the game we wanted to make. We wanted to make something that really leveraged the power of those huge, massive ships. You'll notice that we have a lot of what we call "ship porn", where we really focused on the details and intricacies of the ship and we bring the ship to life and make it a character of its own, and that's something we wanted to do.
People loved the Jackdaw. We wanted people to have their own version of the Jackdaw and for people to really develop a relationship with that ship and invest in its customization and everything that comes with it.
GameSpot: Something else that we've been talking about this week, and some of the feedback that's been around the game since you announced, was around single player or narrative Some people are gonna gravitate toward more single player. So, is that something you're gonna be offering players?
Farren: Well, I mean, on a personal level, my favorite game of the last generation was Last of Us. I love story and narrative. As a gamer now, things that really resonate with me that we see the community responding to is the shared narrative, the narrative where people can broadcast or stream what they're doing and it's a unique experience to that player. So, we wanted to take that approach. Like, how do you create a systemic world where every single player's experience is different and also tie it to a world narrative where you meet historical pirates, historically inspired characters, and that you have a narrative where you develop a bond with your crew and interesting characters along the way, taking out kingpins, all those things are part of our narrative, but we didn't want it to be separate, that you just consumed and never looked back.
"We wanted to create a system that let us tell our narrative month after month, year after year, and then throw in the story elements to it" -- Farren
We wanted to create a system that let us tell our narrative month after month, year after year, and then throw in the story elements to it. So, if you're a PVP player, you should still feel like you beat the campaign. If you're a PVE player, or like me, I plan on sailing with my daughter a lot, I want us to be able to go through the story and become kingpins together, and be able to tell the same world narrative through the game ones that we build.
It's different. There's not a lot of games that do this, but we really think that this is where people really want to experience narrative on a personal level, where they can effectively change the world. People always say, "It's a living, breathing world." Well, we really take that to heart. We want to create a world that actually reacts to the things that you do in it.
GameSpot: So, just to clarify, it's not a completely separate mode, it's woven together-
Farren: Yeah. It's woven into it, so the story itself will be woven in to everything you do, from the time that you build your relationships with your crew until the time that you take down your first kingpin, building up your hideout, all of those things are woven into the modes that you play.
GameSpot: And if you don't want PVP, that would be something ...
Farren: I certainly hope that people will try to do our PVP, because we think it's pretty compelling and it's not a different, like Call of Duty when you play campaign and you go online, [and you get something very different]. I worked on Gears for a while and the players who play Gears multiplayer, they are different some times than the players who really invest in campaign. We want to bring those experiences closer together. For it to be a, you know, a one off campaign that's consumed, would be a shame.
GameSpot: Now, another big trend coming out this year and by the time you guys are out next year is the Xbox One X, and I saw some dev kits in here, so pretty sure you guys have it. So, just curious to know what your thoughts are on that console and the power of that relative to what else is out there.
Farren: Well, you know, I'm ... there's not too much I can say about any specific console, but I will say that we're targeting PC, Xbox One, Xbox X, PS4, PS4 Pro, and every bit of the technical team is focused on making sure that we maximize the strengths of the consoles that we're targeting. So, when you read about whether there's more memory, or rendering, those are the things we're leveraging.
We're also leveraging first-party integration on broadcasting streaming, so that we can bring that experience to lots of different content providers, content creators, too. So, the platforms themselves, our approach is fairly agnostic, and make sure if you own a particular platform that you feel like you're getting the best Skull & Bones experience possible.
GameSpot: Nintendo Switch is a big, popular platform these days. Did you consider bringing the game to that platform? Have you done any experiments?
Farren: Well, I mean, our world is pretty rich in terms of the world that we're bringing to life. We haven't really talked too much about the Switch, but if that becomes a reality, then we would maximize the strengths of the Switch.
GameSpot: Everyone's talking about loot boxes today. Are there gonna be loot boxes?
Farren: Loot boxes? You mean like in the general market?
GameSpot: Yeah, well, just thinking about how an Overwatch game has loot, is there gonna be a system like that?
Farren: So, our economy emulates the real economy of the Indian Ocean, so things that are important to the people who are shipping goods, the merchants, ... the empires, those things are important to you. There's nothing more pirate-y than the treasure chest.
GameSpot: Right. It fits very well.
Farren: So, what I don't want to players to feel it is, that it's some abstraction from the fantasy. It should feel like the things that you're hunting, using your spyglass to see the things that are on board, should directly relate to the things that you need. But you know, there's nothing more pirate-y than the treasure chest.
GameSpot: And you had talked before about how you didn't want Skull and Bones to feel like a pay to win experience.
Farren: Yeah, no.
GameSpot: But presumably there will be, as many triple-A games from Ubisoft and others, micro-transactions in the form of, if you wanted to buy things.
Farren: It's early for that. What we want to do is make sure if players want things, that we provide content for them if they want and that they don't feel like it's gated off because they didn't pay for it. So, we want to have live events, we want to have seasonal events, seasons where you're able to compete against other players to try to get to the top of the ladder and the top of the food chain. Those things will give you opportunity to get those customization elements, those cosmetics, vanity items that will allow you to personalize your experience.
So, if somebody sees your ship, they should know you're a badass, or that you're really invested in cosmetics. Or that you've got all the figureheads that represent you being in the right place at the right time to take down the right enemy. That's super important to me. I play racing games, and when I see someone's car that's tricked out, I'm like, "How'd he get that?"
That's what I want. I've spent hundreds of dollars on Overwatch, and I can't see it. I'm only doing it so that other people see what I spend or what I buy, and that's crazy, but it's, lots of people are like that, and I'm one of them."
Skull & Bones launches in Fall 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Intel's 7th-generation CPUs (Kaby Lake) released in January this year, about 17 months after the preceding generation (Skylake)--a usual transition in the CPU market. However, Intel is ready to reveal its 8th-generation on August 21. And while we don't know of the release window quite yet, this announcement comes much sooner than what we'd expect.
The Kaby Lake processor family was announced this time last year and released five months later. If this next generation (Coffee Lake) follows suit, we could have new Intel chips in early 2018. This also means that Kaby Lake would be supplanted just 12 months after its launch; Intel CPU generations typically run an 18-month cycle.
There's reason to believe that the recent competition from AMD's Ryzen CPU family--which began its roll out in March this year-- is impacting what we see from Intel. AMD has been able to offer comparable gaming performance, more CPU cores for better multitasking and productivity, and competitive pricing.
Intel is still in the process of rolling out its Core i9 series of high-end desktop (HEDT) CPUs, which are part of the company's 7th-generation chips. These HEDT processors typically come out roughly eight months after flagship chips launch, and are targeted towards the enthusiast PC crowd that does more than just gaming. AMD also just released its own line of HEDT processors, called Ryzen Threadripper, which is giving Intel a run for its money as well.
Coffee Lake isn't expected to be revolutionary from an architectural stand point, and it'll use the same 14nm manufacturing process that CPUs have used for a while now. However, the new flagship Core i5 and i7 processors are rumored to pack six cores this time around. We'll know more about Intel's plans come August 21 at 8am PDT.
Splatoon 2's next free DLC weapon is coming soon. The umbrella-shaped Splat Brella will be available in-game tonight beginning at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET.
What's notable about the Splat Brella is that it's an entirely new class of weapon. Players can use it to fire ink like a standard shooter, but its most distinctive feature is its defensive abilities. Holding the ZR button will open the umbrella and shield players from incoming fire. Hold the button long enough and you'll fire the shield, which will block attacks as it travels. You can see screenshots of the Splat Brella below.
The Splat Brella is complemented with the Sprinkler sub weapon. Its special is--fittingly--the Ink Storm, which creates a cloud that rains ink over the battlefield. Players can purchase the Splat Brella using their in-game currency from Ammo Knights.
Along with the new weapon, Splatoon 2 players also have a chance to pick up some summer attire for their Inkling. The game's official Japanese Twitter account announced that a line of summer-themed gear will be highlighted in SplatNet 2 from August 11-16. The "Summer Vacation Collection" doesn't appear to include new items, but it does feature some stylish beachwear, such as sunglasses, flip flops, and straw boaters, for players to add to their wardrobe.
Nintendo has been releasing a steady stream of new weapons for Splatoon 2 since the game's launch. Last week, the company added the Sploosh-O-Matic, a returning weapon from the first Splatoon. That coincided with the game's first proper Splatfest event, which saw Team Mayo narrowly defeat Team Ketchup in a battle of the condiments.
Pokemon Sun and Moon players have another chance to get their hands on some rare items. Nintendo is distributing another batch of free Mega Stones via Mystery Gift right now.
As before, this set is available to players around the globe through a universal code. The four Mega Stones Nintendo is giving away this time are for Gardevoir, Gallade, Lopunny, and the mythical Pokemon Diancie. However, none of the aforementioned Pokemon can be found in the wild in Sun and Moon, so players hoping to use the items in battle will need to transfer their corresponding Pokemon from a previous title or obtain them through trading.
To claim your Mega Stones, select the Mystery Gift option from the game's menu screen and choose to receive your gift "via code/password." Input the code "POYONG" when prompted and you'll be able to pick up the items from the deliveryman waiting inside any of the games' Pokemon Centers. Nintendo hasn't announced how long this distribution will run, so players should act fast and download the Mega Stones while they can.
The ending to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a little bit different in Japanese, if you look closely at one line. Spoilers for Breath of the Wild follow.
Clyde Mandelin of Legends of Localization points out a slight discrepancy in this line from the final battle: "He [Ganon] has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form."
The Japanese version, according to Mandelin's translation, would read, "This form was born from his obsessive refusal to give up on revival." Unlike the official English localization, which says that Ganon turned into his beast form because he gave up on being revived, this translation indicates that Ganon's strong determination to be reincarnated transformed him into his beast form.
It's a relatively small difference, but this affects the ending if you take it a bit further. The Japanese implies that Ganon will come back someday, while the English suggests finality. However, Mandelin notes that another possible interpretation is that defeating Ganon in his beast form would get rid of him forever, since the original text essentially says this is his final form.
Breath of the Wild recently received an update; a previous update added the option to use one language, such as English, for the text and another, like Japanese, for the voice acting.
Those on the hunt for a new game to play this weekend have a few options to choose from. In addition to For Honor's free trial, Saints Row IV is currently free to play on Steam. Developer ArenaNet is also giving players a chance to sample the newest expansion for Guild Wars 2 at no cost ahead of its release next month.
Beginning today, Steam users interested in trying Saints Row IV can give the game a go for free until 1 PM PT/4 PM ET on Sunday, August 13. If you're tempted to purchase it, you can also snag the game at a steep discount; Steam is currently offering sales on all editions of Saints Row IV. Users can pick up the standard title for $3.74 (75% off its normal price of $15), while the Game of the Century Edition, which includes all of its DLC, runs for $4 (normally $20). These offers expire at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET on August 14.
Saints Row IV
Meanwhile, Guild War 2's newest expansion, Path of Fire, is also free to preview this weekend. New and existing players can experience part of its opening story and "explore the Crystal Oasis map astride the raptor mount." Players who don't already have a Guild Wars 2 account can create a free one on ArenaNet's website and play the demo immediately. This free preview likewise ends on August 13; the full expansion is slated to launch on September 22 and introduces new zones, elite specializations, and other content to the MMO.
Lastly, PC, PS4, and Xbox One players have a chance to jump into Ubisoft's swordfighting game, For Honor, for free until August 13. Ubisoft is giving all players access to the entire game during its free trial, including its single-player campaign, five multiplayer modes, and entire roster of heroes. PS4 players need a PS Plus subscription to try the game, while Xbox One players need an Xbox Live Gold membership. Those who'd like to purchase it can also get a discount; all versions of the game are on sale for 50% off until August 14 on PC and August 20 on PS4/Xbox One. For Honor's Season 3, "Grudge & Glory," begins next week, on August 15.
If you're still looking for something new to try, a free demo for NBA Live 18 is also now available on PS4 and Xbox One. Players can face off in a standard game that pits the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rematch of the NBA Finals. The demo also gives fans a chance to check out The Rise, a sort of prologue for The One mode. Any progress made in the demo can be transferred to the full game, which releases on September 15. Anyone who pre-orders NBA Live 18 can save 33%, dropping its price from $60 to $40.
We're getting closer and closer to the launch of Destiny 2, which means it's time for a refresher on what exactly happened in the original. Destiny is known for having a somewhat confusing plot, so if you're a returning player, you might be fuzzy on the details--and if you're new, it might be really intimidating to jump into. Either way, don't worry; from vanilla Destiny through each expansion, we've covered everything you need to know about the story missions so far.
Here we've outlined the main beats of your Guardian's story, leaving out a lot of superfluous details and information from the Grimoire, so you can get the basics down before starting Destiny 2.
Long before the events of the game was the Golden Age, when mankind discovered the Traveler. The gigantic, spherical entity was terraforming planets throughout the solar system, though its true nature--sentient being, vessel, deity, or something else entirely--is unknown. Its discovery launched humanity into an era of prosperity, as it allowed them to colonize other planets. Top scientists founded the Ishtar Academy on Venus, and elsewhere people developed Exos, machines with human consciousness. The many technological advancements during this time included that of powerful AI called Warminds, one of which remained through Destiny's present day: Rasputin.
One day, a dangerous enemy of the Traveler known as the Darkness approached Earth, destroying nearly everything in its path and wreaking havoc upon what humanity had created. This is referred to throughout Destiny as the Collapse. The Traveler sacrificed itself to save humanity, using its Light to drive the Darkness away and create the personal AI called Ghosts that assist Guardians. After the Collapse, the Traveler remained hovering dormant over Earth, and the survivors built the Last City within its limited protection. This final populated city is where the Tower--home of the Guardians--is located.
Another threat faced the City: an alien race known to humans as the Fallen, who wanted the Traveler for their own.
Year One
Much of vanilla--also known as Year One--Destiny's story consists of setup for things to come.
At the beginning, you're a Guardian who has been dead for some time and is then revived by a Ghost. You wake in the Cosmodrome, an ancient spaceport in Old Russia, Earth. Like other Guardians, you can wield the power of the Traveler's Light. Your mission is to fight past the Fallen here and activate an old jump ship to escape to the Last City.
Once at the Tower, you learn about the Vanguard, who protect the City. It consists of Commander Zavala, Cayde-6, and Ikora Rey, who represent each of the three playable classes (Titan, Hunter, and Warlock, respectively). Your job as a Guardian is to help protect the Last City from any threats.
You return to Old Russia to recover a drive for your ship that will allow you to travel to other planets in the Solar System. While there, you encounter the Hive, an old species that worships the Darkness. You fight past the Fallen and the Hive and open an Array that gives you access to more technology and information. Through this you discover the Warmind Rasputin, thought to be long-dead.
The Stranger
You protect Rasputin from the Fallen and head to the Moon in search of the last Guardian that had gone there. In the process, you wake up the Hive (again). You meet an Exo known as the Stranger who tells you to meet her on Venus if you survive.
On Venus, you learn about a complex, highly intelligent machine race called the Vex. The Exo Stranger shows up after you push back the Vex in the Ishtar Academy (but her story is largely nonsensical, so don't worry about it too much). From here you travel to the Reef, a sovereign collection of space trash and asteroids, and meet the Awoken Queen of the Reef, Mara Sov. You learn that the Fallen that make their home in the Reef--the only Fallen in the game who aren't your enemies, since they serve the Queen--belong to a sect called House of Wolves.
Back on Venus, the Fallen House of Winter has enlisted the help of a Fallen Archon Priest they sprung from the Queen's Prison of Elders. In a Strike mission, you defeat him and protect the knowledge kept inside the Ishtar Academy.
Later, you go to Mars, home of the warmongering rhino-like race known as the Cabal. Your mission is to destroy the Heart of the Black Garden, an area on Mars built by the Vex. In doing so, you've taken another step to save the Traveler.
At the end of vanilla Destiny, The Stranger gifts you with her weapon, The Stranger's Rifle.
The Raid, Vault of Glass, involves an area where Vex have control over time and space. In the Vault of Glass, all timelines converge--there you find corpses of people who are long dead, but because reality is bent here, parts of them and their memories still exist. The Raid involves the battle and then defeat of Atheon, who is said to be the point where all of space-time converges.
Expansion 1: The Dark Below
After you've destroyed the Black Garden's heart, a former Guardian named Eris Morn arrives in the Tower.
Lurking below the surface of the Moon is Crota, Son of Oryx and Hive prince, who wields the power to destroy the Guardians' Light. (We'll come back to Oryx in a bit.) Eris Morn is the only survivor of a failed assault on Crota, so she asks you for help--his followers are working to bring about his return. You defeat his disciple Omnigul, a Hive Wizard, before destroying Crota's essence and stopping the attempted resurrection.
In the Crota's End Raid, you summon, fight, and defeat Crota himself.
Expansion 2: House of Wolves
Remember the Reef and its Queen? The Fallen House of Wolves had served Queen Mara Sov for some time, including when you first met her. But Skolas, a Fallen captain, is attempting to unite the fragmented Fallen sects under one House, and under his command, the House of Wolves betray Mara Sov. One Fallen, Variks of House Judgment, remains loyal to the Queen.
Your job is to hunt down Skolas and prevent the formation of a united Fallen front. You head to Venus, where he is studying Vex technology, to find him. You capture him alive and send him to the Prison of Elders, then later head there and defeat him again for some reason.
Expansion 3: The Taken King
The Taken King expansion is widely regarded as the high point of Destiny's storytelling. The writing feels more cohesive, it strikes the right tone, and the characters have more presence than in previous iterations.
Oryx is the founder and God-King of the Hive, having been reborn from a pact with the Darkness. He arrives in the Solar System looking to take revenge on the Guardians for the death of his son, Crota. He rolls into the rings of Saturn on his ship, the Dreadnaught, which comes equipped with weapons of mass destruction. Oryx's army consists of the Taken, other enemy races that he controls and distorts by sending them into and back out of another dimension. They resemble shadowy versions of existing enemies, but they move as if they're glitching in and out of reality.
The Reef attack Oryx's army on Saturn in a suicide mission designed to help you make it onto the Dreadnaught. In the process, the Queen and all her forces are wiped out by the ship's super weapon. The Cabal are already there when you arrive, also engaged in a battle, but they are in the process of retreating from the Taken. You then have to recover special tech from Cayde-6 in order to sneak onto the ship, where you disable its weapon and, after several more missions, take down Oryx.
But Oryx only retreats--you defeat him fully in the Raid, King's Fall.
Expansion 4: Rise of Iron
The Fallen House of Devils started looking in Old Russia for something they could use to improve themselves body and mind. There they found SIVA, an ancient nanotechnology with the ability to make them more powerful. Those who use it are called Splicers.
Lord Saladin of the nearly extinct Iron Lords--a group formed after the Collapse with the purpose of uniting humanity--calls on you to investigate and secure the Iron Temple, which is under attack by a rebuilt Sepiks Prime (an enemy you fought for the first time in a Year One Strike). There you learn of the Fallen Splicers and enter the vault where they are replicating SIVA in order to stop the spread.
In the Wrath of the Machine Raid, you defeat the Splicers and their leaders.
Destiny 2
That brings us to Destiny 2. The sequel begins two years after the events of the original; the Tower has been destroyed and The Last City is under attack by a Cabal faction called the Red Legion, led by Ghaul. Humanity has been pushed out of their last safe haven, and your job is to reclaim what you've lost.
Key characters from what we've seen so far include the Vanguard (Zavala, Cayde-6, and Ikora) and shipwright Amanda Holliday, who were little more than quest-givers and gear merchants in the first game. Check out the full Homecoming story mission to see how they've taken center stage.
Destiny 2 launches on PS4 and Xbox One on September 6, followed by a PC release on October 24.
Last week, Pokemon fans got their first look at a new Pokemon that will debut in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon: Dusk Form Lycanroc, a third version of the popular Rock-type wolf Pokemon. Today, we learned some more details about the new monster, including how players can acquire it.
As previously detailed, players won't be able to obtain Dusk Form Lycanroc through traditional means. Instead, all those who pick up an early copy of either Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon will receive its pre-evolved form, Rockruff, as a free gift. Previously, Rockruff would evolve into either its Midday or Midnight Form depending upon which game you were playing; this particular Pokemon, however, will evolve into its new Dusk Form, making it the only way to add one to your team at this time.
Like its other two variants, Dusk Form Lycanroc is a pure Rock-type. It can learn both Accelerock and Counter, two attacks that were associated with its Midday and Midnight Forms, respectively. Unlike the other two versions, its ability is Tough Claws, which increases the power of attacks that make direct contact with an opponent.
Sega's 2D Sonic revival, Sonic Mania, is a love letter to the hedgehog's glory days, featuring the same style of visuals and gameplay as his classic Genesis adventures. Ahead of its release, Sega has shared the game's opening movie, which is just as delightfully retro as the rest of its presentation.
Like the intro movie that greeted fans in Sonic CD, Sonic Mania's opening movie is an animated short in the same style as its release date trailer. While it doesn't quite match Sonic CD's iconic intro (though, to be fair, very few things can), it's a fun throwback all the same. You can watch the full opening movie at the top of this story.
Sonic Mania is scheduled to release for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next week, on August 15. PC players will have to wait a little longer until they can get their hands on the title, however; today, Sega announced that the PC version of Sonic Mania has been delayed to August 29. The reason for this is to ensure the game is "the best it can be." To make up for the sudden delay, Sega is offering the original Sonic the Hedgehog to all Steam users who either purchase the Collector's Edition (which is also appropriately retro) or pre-order the title by its original release date.
Sonic Mania is the first of two Sonic games slated to arrive this year. The other, Sonic Forces, is a new 3D adventure in the vein of Sonic Generations. That game features both classic and modern Sonic gameplay styles and gives fans the ability to create their own hedgehog.
The 2013 horror movie The Conjuring opened with the story of a doll named Annabelle, who'd terrorized three young women. Ed and Lorraine Warren, based on the real-life paranormal investigators, helped them seal away the doll's evil, then locked it in a cabinet in their home. Now we have not just an Annabelle spin-off film, but also Annabelle: Creation, a prequel to that spin-off. And according to GameSpot's Annabelle: Creation review, it's pretty good.
Between The Conjuring 1 and 2, the Annabelle films, and the upcoming The Nun and The Crooked Man, we've got a new connected film universe with director and producer James Wan pulling the strings. Annabelle: Creation is out today in theaters, and to fully enjoy it, it's important to know how they all fit together.
At the center are the Warrens, played by the excellent Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The characters work with the Catholic church to assist families whose homes have been invaded by demons. These invasions range from Poltergeist-like household phenomena--such as lights flicking on and off, or strange noises--to, in extreme cases, full-on demonic possession. That's what we saw in The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, as the Warrens helped families in the US and England, at great personal cost to their own health and sanity.
But while the Warrens star in the Conjuring movies, the Wan-iverse has expanded beyond Wilson and Farmiga's characters.
The story of Annabelle
The first spin-off, 2014's Annabelle, offered an origin story of sorts for the titular doll. Annabelle had previously appeared only in a few brief scenes in The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, mostly locked in a display case. The Annabelle spin-off showed that the doll became a conduit for evil forces after a satanic cultist died while holding it in her arms, her blood dripping into its creepy eye socket.
In the films' canon, Annabelle itself isn't really the possessed. The Warrens explain that it's simply a conduit for demons, who use it to manipulate and terrorize their victims.
Annabelle: Creation, which might be the only good prequel to a spin-off ever made, goes back even further in the doll's history and shows its true origin.
The Annabelle doll was created by a dollmaker named Mr. Mullin. In the movie's opening scene, he crafts the first Annabelle doll and numbers it 1 out of 100, which explains why the doll's been referred to as a rare collector's item in the films.
Shortly after he creates the Annabelle doll, Mullins' young daughter dies tragically. Without spoiling anything in the new Annabelle movie, let it suffice to say she doesn't stay gone for long. Annabelle: Creation's ending ties a nice little bow on, providing a clear connection between both Annabelle movies.
The Nun and The Crooked Man
The Conjuring 3 is in the works, although we know little about it at this point. Before we rejoin the Warrens for another ghost-hunt, we'll learn more about The Nun, who first appeared in The Conjuring 2 and has a neat cameo in Annabelle: Creation.
The Nun terrorized Vera Farmiga's character, Lorraine Warren, throughout The Conjuring 2. Lorraine seemed to be particularly affected by the habit-wearing demon, implying she might have some personal connection with it. To add fuel to that, the actress's sister, Taissa Farmiga, is starring in the spin-off. And in Annabelle: Creation, Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and Mr. Mullins see the Nun briefly appear in an old photo, though they don't seem to quite grasp what they're glimpsing.
So it seems The Nun may have concrete connections with other characters in the Wan-iverse. The spin-off is currently in post-production, James Wan recently told Entertainment Weekly, and The Nun's release date is currently set for 2018.
After that, it's on to The Crooked Man, another ghoul who first appeared in The Conjuring 2. The Crooked Man is based on a children's rhyme:
"There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile / He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile / He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse / And they all lived together in a little crooked house."
In The Conjuring 2, the Crooked Man leapt from a child's zoetrope to scare the crap out of an English family. He even impersonated a dog, implying that he can twist his weird body into various shapes.
The Crooked Man's release date isn't set yet, as the film is still in its early stages. But Wan told EW that he thinks the fourth Conjuring spin-off will be "somewhat of that dark fairytale, and more whimsical, subgenre."
"What we want to do, with The Conjuring universe, is we want each of our little offshoots to have a very different flavor...I love the idea that, within the Conjuring universe, each of our little movies all have their own flavor, so that way they don't feel like they're the same films," Wan said.
Having launched not just the Conjuring universe, but the Saw and Insidious franchises as well, Wan is officially a master of modern horror. Needless to say, fans are looking forward to whatever comes next in the Wan-iverse.
No Man's Sky might have been out for over a year, but developer Hello Games is still supporting it in a big way. A huge new update, dubbed Atlas Rises, is coming to PS4 and PC today, adding "joint exploration," a "graphical overhaul", and 30 hours of new story content.
Multiplayer was a much-requested feature after No Man's Sky launched in 2016, and finally you can play with other humans--sort of. You'll be able to see, communicate, and "explore the universe" with up to 16 other players, but they'll be represented simply by glowing orbs, and Hello Games admits that "interaction with others is currently very limited." It sounds like the developer is planning on taking this further, however, as it calls the move "an important first step into the world of synchronous co-op in No Man's Sky."
The company also says the 1.3 update introduces 30 hours of new story content. Included in this is a new quest system and a branching narrative, along with "double the lore and interactions of the existing game." New NPC guilds have also been introduced, while the economic, trading, and crafting systems have been expanded.
You can now edit the terrain of the world around you, meanwhile, using a new item called the Multi-Tool. This allows you to sculpt landscapes as you see fit, to help customize and enhance your base. In addition, the diversity and visual quality of planets have been improved, and ancient portals allow you to revisit previous worlds. Finally, space combat and low flight have received a bunch of small enhancements, and there are now more ships available to buy.
You can read all the details here, or check out the patch notes at the bottom of this article. Previous No Man's Sky updates have also been substantial, adding features like base-building and land vehicles.
Hello Games founder Sean Murray said earlier this week that it had been "an exciting, intense, and emotional year for us at Hello Games." He added: "We have been quiet, but we have been listening intently. We've spent that year working hard on free updates for this game our team cares about so much."
No Man's Sky Update 1.3 Patch Notes
Generation
Increased variety in weather, planet, and structure names
More base building parts have unique names
Prevented trees spawning on sheer cliffs
Improved object placement on slopes
Improved grass placement and density
Changed the default starting ship model
Regenerated galaxy to remove differences between survival, normal, and creative game modes
Improved building distribution
Increased distribution of heridium deposits
Improved generation of beaches along shorelines
Repositioned player bases to accommodate generation changes
Exploration
Improved balance of hazards between planets
Improved settings for hazard damage and strength
Reduce cave hazard recharge times
Added Shielding Shard to the starting player inventory
Limited the depth at which buildings can spawn underwater
Gameplay
More tech available in tech shops
Balanced tech shop standing requirements
Standing lights have a proper name when you interact with them
Increased robustness of systems for locating buildings
Increased number and types of objects which can be scanned
Increased information available about scanned foliage and creatures
Improved planet resource lists
Craftable products now sorted by most recent use
Improved differentiation of weapons
Fixed pinning product recipes and technology guides
Continued story unlocked through abandoned buildings
Added interactions and dialogue options for many structures and characters
Overhauled secondary character interactions
Joint exploration has been introduced allowing 16 players to see visual representations of each other in game. Joint exploration does not require PS Plus, and is not currently available on GOG Galaxy.
Trade and Farming
Alloys, farm products and new gas products now form separate branches of a larger craft tree
Added new valuable higher tier craft products
Added new harvester to harvest atmospheric gases
Added new trade specific products
Added new farmable Star Bramble plant
Added larger 4 plant hydroponic tray
Increased contrast between picked and unpicked resource plants to more easily tell them apart
Balanced priced of alloys, farm products and gases
Improved distributions of resources on planets
Improved scan ranges for resources on planets
Added scan markers on more smaller plutonium crystals to aid resource gathering
Freighters
Balanced freighter prices
Fixed collision on freighter bridge
Added freighter classes
Added ability to warp in your freighter
Fixed floating turrets on capital freighters
Space
Improved space heavy air
Added requirement to scan planets in order to reveal their names
Improved planet name display as you enter orbit
Fix for massive carve radius when mining asteroids
Galactic Map
Updated galactic map UI
Improved galactic map controls
Improved star names gathered in galaxy map flythrough
Improved distribution of different coloured stars
Added interstellar scan events
STARSHIPS
Added ability to summon your ship from the quick menu
Refined ship reticules
Added new holographic cockpit HUD elements: mini map, pulse drive warning and target ship
Added new ship technology
Balanced space combat
Balanced ship weapons and technology
Updated ship weapon projectile effects
Updated ship hit direction markers
Improved flare graphics on ships
Improved loot containers dropped by AI ships
Improved effects on damaged AI ships
Balanced crashed ships broken slots and repair costs
Added a more convenient swap inventory button for moving items between new/crashed ships and storage units
Updated design of Atlas pass icons
Added ability to look around the cockpit when landed
Allowed player to remain in ship cockpit after landing
Improved spawning and distribution of AI ships
Improved ship altimeter
Added in-ship communicator
Added button prompt for ship zoom
Fixed a bug where your ship could become invisible by visiting the galactic map
Improved Pirate systems including the ability to negotiate or call in support
Added low flight mode
Improved landing code
UI
Divided options menu into several pages
Revised Journey page
New Gek, Korvax, and Vy'keen medals
New medals for the merchant, mercenary and explorer guilds
Revised log page
Fixed animation on markers as they are removed
Improved binocular UI
Updated journey milestone icons
Overhauled discovery log
Added cardinal directions to compass
Added distance markers to compass
Fix for "redeem content" showing twice on Steam menu
New trade and product icons
Revised combat ship markers
Improved ship tracking arrows when flying away from targets
Overhauled conversation interface
Graphics
Improved HBAO filtering around edges
Improved TAA handling of grass blade edges
Introduced depth of field effect during interactions
Added LOD meshes and imposters to various props
Fixed texturing on the buildable door
Reduced HBAO shimmer
Reduced shadow acne
Fixed artifacts with imposter shadows
Improved double-sided normals for foliage
Improved terrain texturing and texture blending
Improved grass colour blending and integration with terrain
Improved grass and leaf materials
Improved colour palettes across several biomes
Improved planet night skies
Fixed z-fighting on small glowing plants
Various graphics optimisations and fixes
Visual improvements to Atlas stations
Replaced all terrain textures with higher detail and quality variants
Added new higher detail foliage variants to several biomes
Hello Games has released the latest major update for No Man's Sky, bringing a wealth of new features and improvements to the space exploration game. Coinciding with this is a sale on both the PS4 and PC versions.
On the PC side, Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store have dropped No Man's Sky from the usual $60/£40 price down to $24/£16, which matches the cheapest price it's ever been on Steam. Mind you, the GOG version doesn't get you a Steam copy, while the Humble Store does.
For those looking to play on PS4, the PlayStation Store also has the game on sale for $24/£10. If you'd prefer a physical copy, you can order one on Amazon in the US for $23 and in the UK for £14.75 as of this writing.
Whether you're picking up No Man's Sky for the first time or have owned it since release last August, you'll find a greatly expanded game as of today. The new 1.3 Atlas Rises update is out now for both PC and PS4 and revamps a number of areas while also introducing a new terraforming tool. Most significantly, it introduces synchronous multiplayer--something players expected would be in the game, only for it to be absent. Hello Games describes the current implementation as a "first step," warning that interactions with other players is "very limited" for now. That said, you can explore a planet with 16 players, who are currently represented as floating orbs.
Raid: World War II is an upcoming first-person shooter from a team of developers known for their work on Payday 2, and it sounds like players can expect some familiar gameplay mechanics in a WWII setting. The game now has a September release date on PC and will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October.
"The goal in Raid: World War II is simple--sabotage, assassinate and pulverize everything bearing a swastika--mess with Hitler and steal his treasures...With the Nazi regime as the ultimate evil, Raid brings together four unique characters with play styles that complement and enhance each other as they fight and steal across Europe," said Ilija Petrusic, game director at developer Lion Game Lion. You can check out the trailer below.
The four characters you play are customizable, and players can choose between four different classes: Recon, Assault, Insurgent, and Demolitions. Each class has its own skill tree and unique War Cry which buffs your whole party. Your team will fight their way through Nazi-occupied Europe by stealthily sabotaging, robbing, and assassinating mission targets.
The game also features customizable uniforms and weapons, real-world locations like Berlin, and a special Operations Mode that lets you play extended versions of missions with gameplay modifications and new storylines. You'll also earn Challenge Cards by successfully completing raids, which let you customize the rules of future raids (providing, for example, extra ammo but increasing the amount of damage enemies can do).
Raid: World War II will be released on PC on September 26. It then comes to PS4 and Xbox One on October 10 in North America and October 13 in Europe.
Super Mega Baseball 2 was supposed to come out this September for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, but developer Metalhead Software has now announced the game is delayed. Instead, it will come out in Spring 2018 when the baseball season starts again.
The studio says it has been working around the clock to complete the game, but at this point there are still features that aren't finished. "Where we're sitting now, to release it by September would mean having to a cut a lot of corners. And we do not want to give you a game that you won't be happy with," Metalhead said in an email letter to fans. The developer has released a new video of the game's lineup and roster management system "to make up for the bad news." You can watch it below.
Metalhead also said it could finish the game by the end of this year, but it has learned its lesson. "We released the original Super Mega Baseball in December so we know from experience that baseball in winter is a tough sell," it said.
This delay will result in a much better game, according to the studio. In that same email, it said it'll use this time to work on small features and extra pieces of content that had previously been cut (like defensive shifts and additional art components). It's also promising a beta, something missing from the original development schedule.
"We know that this is disappointing news for some, and we're sorry to have gotten your hopes up for September," it continued. "We are committed to making the best game we can with the resources available to us, and the end of the day we think you'll get a better game out of this."
Super Mega Baseball 2 is the follow up to 2014's Super Mega Baseball and will retain the game's arcade-style art, with upgraded and more realistic graphics, lighting conditions, and character animations. There are also new stadiums and substantial changes to gameplay, including more customization and an online multiplayer mode that supports co-op and versus play.
While Destiny will continue to operate even after the release of Destiny 2, it won't feature the same level of support as before. Much as Destiny saw its final Iron Banner event recently, it's now time for the last Trials of Osiris.
Crucible players can once again form groups of three and attempt to make it to the Lighthouse and nab some desirable gear. But rather than featuring just one map, you'll get to play across them all, as Bungie revealed in the tweet below.
Trials of Osiris runs from now until August 15 at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET / 10 AM BST. As with Iron Banner, level advantages are enabled, meaning you'll need to bring the best gear you have to the fight in order to have a real shot at succeeding.
This marks the last of Destiny's limited-time events, which have been winding down since Destiny 2's reveal earlier this year. Destiny will remain playable for the foreseeable future, but Bungie and Activision are undoubtedly counting on players making the transition to the new game, which launches on September 6 for PS4 and Xbox One. The PC version follows on October 24, but a beta will first take place in late August. That will feature some changes and improvements over the earlier console beta.
Xbox One's Gamerscore offers players a way to compare their Achievements with friends, but for those who only play a small number of titles, it doesn't necessarily reflect their level of skill or the amount of time they've devoted to a game. Because of this, Microsoft has teased that a significant change is on the way to better showcase a gamer's accomplishments.
Speaking to Windows Central, Xbox corporate vice president Mike Ybarra revealed that Microsoft is working on "something that fundamentally changes" its approach to Achievements. "[W]e are working towards a bigger, more meaningful change about somebody's gaming accomplishments in history, as a gamer on Xbox," Ybarra said.
"[W]e can do a lot more to reflect and let people show their gaming history and their status," he explained. "Whether it's somebody who only plays multiplayer in Halo 5 at a professional level, maybe they only have 2,000 Gamerscore, you want to be able to celebrate that person. You want people to be in the know. This person doesn't play a lot of games, but they're world top ten at Halo 5.
"[W]e're going to go big in the area of letting people show off and represent their gaming history and the type of gamer that they are, far more than we do with Gamerscore," Ybarra said. As for what form this new system will take, Ybarra offered very few details. He did, however, assure that it wouldn't replace the current Gamerscore system but "complement" it.
Achievements aren't the only Xbox One feature getting an overhaul; a big update is in store for the console. Among other changes, it will ramp the system's Home screen to focus on "speed, customization, and expression." That update is scheduled to release later this year.
The next console in the Xbox family, Xbox One X, launches on November 7 for $500. Those who attend the Gamescom expo in Germany will have a chance to go hands-on with the system. Microsoft has also outlined a number of live streams and events it will be hosting prior to Gamescom, including an Age of Empires live stream that will offer "some exciting news that fans will not want to miss."
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