Disney has expanded the power of its Movies Anywhere digital locker service with the addition of several major Hollywood studios in an attempt to make their mark on the streaming world. Previously, the service allowed those who purchased Disney--or Marvel or Lucasfilm--movies on Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, or Vudu to house them all in a single app.
Now, with the overhauled Movies Anywhere service, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Entertainment are also joining the party. Any movie from those studios that you bought from a supported digital outlet can now be transferred to Movies Anywhere. Instead of shifting back and forth between apps for Amazon Video, Vudu, iTunes, and Google Play, the purchased films can all now be accessed in a single place.
That means, if you purchased Spider-Man: Homecoming on iTunes, you'd be able to watch it through the Movies Anywhere app on your Android device. It's a nice touch for an app and service that is being offered free of charge on supported devices and web browsers.
However, you might be wondering how Movies Anywhere will profit if its giving away its app for free. The answer comes in the form of monetizing your data--a process that becomes more normalized every day.
Movies Anywhere collects just about any data on you that it can while you use the service, from your viewing habits and activity information to the information you publicly post within the service. Per the Movies Anywhere privacy policy, information can also be collected from any social media accounts you log into, "including your email address, telephone number, birthdate, user ID or username, and password associated with that service."
Additionally, the privacy policy outlines exactly who it can share the information with, which is many entities--participating studios, digital retailers, affiliates, service providers, business partners, and those that administer contests on the service just to name a few. "We may share information collected from or about you with carefully selected companies, including advertisers, content licensors, distributors, and other companies that are not affiliated with us," the policy reads.
Once shared, "the information received by such business partners and other third parties becomes subject to their respective privacy practices and policies." What that means is depending on the privacy policies of whoever bought your information, it could theoretically be shared once again to someone else. The policy also notes that Movies Anywhere can use your information to "detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may in our sole discretion violate our policies or be illegal."
Should you choose to give Movies Anywhere a try, it's available on Amazon Fire devices, Apple TV, iOS devices, Android TV, Android devices, Roku devices, and web browsers.
One day ahead of Friday the 13th's physical release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, developer IllFonic is rolling out a new update for the survival horror game. Today's patch adds some new content in the form of an additional map, counselor, and Jason, along with the usual assortment of bug fixes and gameplay adjustments.
Both the new map and Jason are taken from the film series' fourth installment, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. The map is based on the Jarvis House and its surrounding premises; Jason 4, meanwhile, comes outfitted with a pig splitter as his weapon and can run. The update also adds Mitch Floyd as a new playable counselor. You'll need to be at least level 24 to unlock Mitch, while Jason 4 unlocks at level 44.
In addition to the new characters and map, IllFonic has made some notable adjustments to the gameplay. Among other tweaks, the developer has added rain as a weather effect, which players will be able to encounter in any of the game's maps. The Thick Skinned perk has been adjusted to reduce all forms of damages, and counselors can now push each other to prevent players from purposely blocking your way.
We've posted a selection of the patch notes, taken from the Friday the 13th forums, below. Friday the 13th is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A physical release is arriving for the two consoles tomorrow, October 13.
Friday the 13th: The Game October 12 Update Patch Notes
Rain
The Rain feature is now available and players may have a chance to encounter this new weather in any of the current playable maps.
Note; we had originally discussed toggle on/off feature for private matches however that will be in the next patch due to time constraints.
Counselors pushing
Counselors are now able to "push" other counselors
"In order to prevent players from griefing via 'bodyblocking,' we have introduced a new feature that allows Counselors to push each other. The player being pushed will slowly walk away in the direction opposite of the player pushing. This feature does not affect Jason."
Changes
Thick Skinned perk changes
Thick Skinned now reduces ALL damage
"Originally, Thick Skinned was intended to reduce damage specifically from Jason's attacks. However, there was a bug that was causing Thick Skinned to apply twice which in turn also caused the perk to incorrectly reduce all incoming damage. This issue was fixed in the last patch. After considering our internal testing and community feedback, we agreed that the previous iteration of Thick Skinned worked better for game balance when the inflated damage reduction values were no longer present."
The tooltip for Thick Skinned has been changed from "Take less damage from all incoming attacks." to "Take less damage."
[Known Issue] Perks that had their values adjusted will have no in-game effect until re-equipped
Stun Duration adjusted
Jason's Stun Duration timer has been adjusted
"Jason's Stun Duration has been adjusted across all counselors and items to better balance the changes made by the previous bug fix."
Grease Monkey perk re-balanced
Reduced the effectiveness of the Grease Monkey perk
"Grease Monkey was individually causing too large of an impact. We have adjusted Grease Monkey to be more consistent with other perks."
[Known Issue] Perks that had their values adjusted will have no in-game effect until re-equipped
Trap Damage adjusted
All counselors now take the same amount of damage from traps
"Traps have been adjusted to inflict the same amount of damage across all counselors. Players that activate a trap will now always be wounded unless equipped with an adequate trap damage reduction perk."
Bug Fixes
Perks
Fixed a bug that allowed players to keep perks with old balance values
Fixed a bug where the Medic perk to show incorrect amount of charges on the Medical Spray item
Fixed a bug that was causing the Grinder perk to unintentionally grant Jason additional XP
Counselors
Fixed a bug that was causing weapon durability values to calculate incorrectly
Fixed an issue where counselors could interact with nearby objects during 'breaking free' animations
Fixed a bug that caused Pamela Voorhees' Sweater to sometimes not properly appear as equipped
Fixed an issue that caused players to sometimes become stuck if they used the Emote Wheel while in hiding
Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause counselors to disappear from customization menus
Jason
Fixed a bug that was causing Jason 9 to have a higher base HP than intended. His HP should now properly reflect his tooltip
Fixed a bug in Private Matches where choosing a player to be Jason in the pre-game menu was not working properly
Fixed a bug that would sometimes crash the client if Jason grabs a Counselor that is sitting in a boat
Fixed a bug causing Firecrackers to stun Jason through certain walls
Tommy Jarvis
Fixed a bug that caused the Tommy Jarvis arrival cutscene to sometimes not be displayed
Fixed a bug that was causing a second Tommy Jarvis model to appear
Fixed a bug that allowed Tommy Jarvis to be killed during his intro cinematic
Fixed a bug that could sometimes cause Tommy Jarvis to spawn for a disconnected player
Spectators
The "Police Arrival Timer" and "Match End Timer" are now properly in sync while in Spectator Mode
Fixed an issue where after re-joining a session, the spectator will crash after spectating Jason's death
Maps
General
Tidied up various counselor survival exploit locations on all maps
Packanack
The Phone Box on the cabin can now be repaired regardless of the angle it is approached from
Fixed an issue that allowed players to drive out of bounds
Packanack Small
Fixed an issue that prevented players from interacting with the Poker in one of the cabins
The Power Box outside of the barn is no longer being blocked by a tree
The stacks of hay bales by the Archery Range are now properly blocked off
Fixed an issue that caused players to be unable to pick up the Shotgun near the Archery Range
Vehicles
Fixed a bug that was allowing players to cancel the animation while leaving a car
User Interface
Jason is able to properly access the scoreboard again
Spectators are able to properly access the scoreboard again
Updated the font for the match intro movies
Matchmaking
Reduced the timer to start the match (only when the lobby is full)
Mr. Robot returned to television this week, bringing audiences back into the anxiety-ridden reality of hacker extraordinaire Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek). After the series suffered a Season 2 slump--buckling a bit under the weight of the increasingly layered, nuanced world Sam Esmail created--it's hard not to wonder if the show can now reclaim a bit of the brilliance that made Season 1 so compelling.
When the series premiered in 2015, the story introduced audiences to social outcast Alderson as he worked to make sense of his budding relationship with the show's title character (Christian Slater) and take down global conglomerate E-Corp--or as he calls them, EvilCorp. A complex mystery began to unfold. In its second season, the story spent a lot of its time following Alderson as he grappled with his ever-complicated relationship with Mr. Robot--a Tyler Durden-esque alternate personality modeled after the hacker's abusive father.
As audiences return to this world, they will be met with a powerful new component in Alderson's strange anti-hero psyche: a guilty conscience. Is it too late to fix all the damage in the 5/9 attack which led to a global economic crisis? That's the gist of the new conflict Season 3 introduces in the premiere episode, "Eps3.0power-saver-mode.h."
As complex as the character of Elliot is--Rami Malek's Emmy wins are very well deserved--it's been shown time and again that he's not one to make the best decisions in the face of adversity. And while his old friends, Angela Moss (Portia Doubleday), and fellow resistance fighter/sister, Darlene Alderson (Carly Chaikin), are still there for him, it's boggling just how many formidable opponents Alderson has accumulated along the way.
From the sinister Dark Army exploits of Whiterose (BD Wong) to EvilCorp CEO Phillip Price (Michael Christofer) to FBI agent Dominique DiPierro (Grace Gummer), Elliot has racked up a bunch of enemies along the way. The most notable threat, though, has come from Mr. Robot himself--who has stepped into the proverbial driver's seat from time to time, leading Elliot to extended blackouts.
This major detail is one of the driving factors that leads Season 3 into new territory. Angela's team-up with Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallstrom)--the dude who left Elliot with a bullet in the stomach in the show's Season 2 finale--alludes to an unexpected partnership in fsociety's cryptic-sounding Stage 2, it's revealed that Ms. Moss is aware of Elliot's alter-ego and has been colluding with Mr. Robot to take down the company that killed her mother.
When you think about it, the formula that has helped Mr. Robot work--aside from Elliot's fourth wall-breaking internal monologues--are the variety of partnerships that has led our hero down this anarchic path. Season 1 found Elliot and Mr. Robot taking on the threat of corporate greed. Season 2 put Darlene in the leadership role of resistance hacker group fsociety, as Elliot spent his time sequestered away. Now, in Season 3, it seems that teamwork will make the dystopian dream work as Angela, Tyrell and newly introduced fixer Irving (Bobby Cannavale) all join Mr. Robot in their mysterious efforts to make Stage 2 a reality.
There's something frustrating about the story Mr. Robot is telling, though: the timeline for the series still exists firmly in the year 2015, putting some 20/20 hindsight into play. Barack Obama is still president and the ramifications of Elliot's collusion with the Dark Army haven't completely been felt, as of yet. But Sam Esmail, who once again directs every episode, doesn't shy away from giving winks and nudges to the audience--alluding to America's cultural chaos and political strife by giving glimpses of Donald Trump's rise to power.
In its first two seasons, Mr. Robot solidified its foundation on an anti-establishment thrust with a geeky hacker in a position of power even he never expected to achieve. With the global picture of capitalism, greed and destruction still opening itself up to Elliot and audiences alike, it's clear that Season 3 has its work cut out for it.
"What if I told you we could make it like none of this ever happened?" Angela posed this question to Elliot in the premiere's final act. It's an intriguing notion that will probably act as a through-line in these new episodes. Realistically speaking, Elliot can't just undo all the damage he's caused. Then again, it's possible that Stage 2 is the clean slate Angela is aiming for.
After viewing the Season 3 premiere, it's clear that the series has learned from a few mistakes. Honing its focus in on the characters and conflicts that matter most--keeping Whiterose's ancillary threats temporarily in the background--the stylized series is reconnecting with Elliot, giving our hero an inner conflict that feels organic and new. Elliot Alderson has always been the empathetic center of the story; as long as the series maintains that focus, Mr. Robot will be just fine.
A new batch of games is coming to the Nintendo Switch Eshop. Seven more titles arrive to the digital service today, many of which are definitely worth a look for those anxious to buy something new for their Switch.
One of today's new releases is Yono and the Celestial Elephants, an adorable isometric puzzle-adventure game. Players must help the titular elephant Yono navigate through three dungeons, using his trunk to spray water, shoot flames, and more in order to solve puzzles. The game also features four towns full of NPCs and sidequests, as well as a variety of treasures to find. Yono and the Celestial Elephants runs for $15/£13.
Yono and the Celestial Elephants
Also available today is Wulverblade, a retro-style side-scrolling beat-'em-up. The game features a "historically accurate" story and has players battling through eight levels in the campaign mode to defeat the invading Roman army. Wulverblade also supports two-player co-op and features an arena mode. It retails in the Eshop for $20/£15.
By Anonymous on Oct 12, 2017 11:03 pm This week in Destiny 2 we get the Inverted Spire Nightfall Strike with Attrition and Timewarp: Killing Time modifiers, as well as the return of Lord Saladin and the Iron Banner PvP event.
Nintendo has released a new trailer for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The video showcases a pair of powerful new Z-Moves that Necrozma can use in its Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings forms, as well as a few handy new features that have been added to your Pokedex for this adventure.
When either Solgaleo or Dusk Mane Necrozma hold Solganium Z, they can unleash the new Steel-type Z-Move Searing Sunraze Smash. If Lunala or Dawn Wings Necrozma are equipped with Lunalium Z, they can use the Ghost-type Z-Move Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom. Necrozma itself can also learn a new move called Photo Geyser, a powerful Psychic-type attack exclusive to the Prism Pokemon. You can see screenshots of the new moves below.
On top of the new Z-Moves, developer Game Freak has expanded the role of your Rotom Dex in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In these titles, players can form a bond with the Rotom Dex "the more you communicate with it." According the games' official website, the Rotom Dex's personality will change depending on how often you interact with it, and forming a strong bond with the Pokedex will unlock its own Z-Power, which will allow you to use a Z-Move a second time during a battle. Previously, you could only unleash one Z-Move per battle, so this new ability has a significant impact on the gameplay.
The Rotom Dex also has a new feature called Roto Loto. As you develop a bond with your Rotom Dex, you'll be able to use the slot machine-style mini-game Roto Loto to get new items, which can have a variety of different uses. Some of these increase the amount of experience or money you earn for a period of time, while another causes Pokemon eggs to hatch faster.
Xbox One's catalog of backwards compatible games has grown once again. Microsoft has announced three more Xbox 360 games have been added to the library and are now playable on the current-generation system.
First and foremost of the three is Child of Eden, a rhythm-action game from Tetsuya Mizuguchi that serves as a spiritual successor to one of his most acclaimed games, Rez. On Xbox 360, it featured Kinect support, but it can also be played with a standard controller. While not as strong of a game as Rez, in lieu of an Xbox One version of Rez Infinite, this is a very welcome addition to the Xbox One's catalog.
Also now playable on Xbox One is KOF Sky Stage, a shoot-em-up spin-off of the King of Fighters fighting game series. And rounding out the list is Goat Simulator. This is another case of a game being made backwards compatible despite the existence of a native Xbox One version. While the latter is the ideal way to play on Xbox One, it's always nice to see fans gain access to the games they already own. As always, physical copies will work on Xbox One, or you can find digital copies in the My Games and Apps' Ready to Download section.
The Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature, introduced in November 2015, lets you play Xbox 360 games on the current-gen console. But what games are available? We've rounded them all up--and we'll continue to update this post as new games are made available to the extensive list. [Updated October 12 with three more games]
Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Lineup:
New titles are bolded
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
A Kingdom for Keflings
A World of Keflings
Aegis Wing
Age of Booty
Alan Wake
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Alice: Madness Returns
Alien Hominid HD
Altered Beast
Anomaly Warzone Earth
Arkanoid Live
Army of Two
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed Rogue
Assault Heroes 2
Asteroids & Deluxe
AstroPop
Aqua
Babel Rising
Band of Bugs
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts n Bolts
Banjo Tooie
Banjo Kazooie
Batman: Arkham Origins (disc only -- added August 8)
Battlefield: Bad Company (added August 17)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield 3
BattleBlock Theater
Battlestations: Midway
Bayonetta
Beat'n Groovy
Bejeweled 2
Bejeweled 3
Bellator: MMA Onslaught
Beyond Good & Evil HD
Bionic Commando Rearmed 2
BioShock
BioShock 2
BioShock Infinite
Bloodforge
Blood Knights
Blood of the Werewolf
BloodRayne: Betrayal
Blue Dragon
Bomberman Live: Battlefest
Boom Boom Rocket
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Bound by Flame
Braid
Brain Challenge
Bullet Soul
Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Burnout Paradise
Cabela's Alaskan Adventures
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
Cabela's Hunting Expeditions
Cabela's Survival: Shadows of Katmai
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (added September 28)
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Capcom Arcade Cabinet
Carcassonne
Cars 2
Castle Crashers
Castlestorm
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Catherine
The Cave
Centipede & Millipede
Child of Light (added October 12)
Civilization: Revolution
Clannad
Commanders: Attack of the Genos
Comic Jumper
Comix Zone
Condemned
Contra
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Crazy Taxi
Crystal Quest
Crystal Defenders
Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (Japan only -- added September 14)
Dark Souls
Dark Void
Darksiders
Darksiders II
Daytona USA
de Blob 2
Dead Rising 2: Case West
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 3
Dead Space Ignition
Deadliest Warrior: Legends
Deadliest Warrior: The Game (added August 8)
Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue
Defense Grid
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
Dig Dug
Dirt 3
Dirt Showdown
Discs of Tron
Disney Bolt (added August 8)
Disney Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (added August 3)
Domino Master
Doom
Doom II
Doom 3: BFG Edition
Doritos Crash Course
Double Dragon: Neon
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon's Lair
DuckTales Remastered
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Dungeon Siege III
E4: Every Extend Extra Extreme
Earthworm Jim HD
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Encleverment Experiment
Escape Dead Island
F1 2014
Fable Anniversary (added October 4)
Fable II
Fable II Pub Games (added October 4)
Fable III
Faery: Legends of Avalon
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
Feeding Frenzy
Feeding Frenzy 2
Fighting Vipers (added August 8)
Final Fight: Double Impact
Flashback
Flock
Forza Horizon
Fret Nice
Frogger
Frogger 2
FunTown Mahjong
Galaga
Galaga Legions
Galaga Legions DX
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Gatling Gears
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime
Gin Rummy
Goat Simulator (added October 12)
Golden Axe
Go! Go! Break Steady
Golf: Tee It Up
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grid 2
Gripshift
Guardian Heroes
Gunstar Heroes
Guwange
Gyromancer
Gyruss
Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax
Halo: Combat Evolved (added September 21)
Halo 3 (added September 21)
Halo 3: ODST Campaign Edition (added September 21)
Halo 4 (added September 21)
Halo: Reach
Halo: Spartan Assault
Halo Wars
Hard Corps: Uprising
Hardwood Backgammon
Hardwood Hearts
Hardwood Spades
Harms Way
Haunted House
Heavy Weapon
Hexic 2
Hexic HD
Hitman: Absolution
Hydro Thunder
I Am Alive
Ikaruga
Ilomilo
Injustice: Gods Among Us + disc-only Ultimate Edition
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos
Iron Brigade
Jeremy McGrath's Offroad
Jet Set Radio
Jetpac Refuelled
Joe Danger Special Edition
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
Joust
Joy Ride Turbo
Juju
Jurassic Park: The Game
Just Cause 2
Kameo
Kane & Lynch 2
Killer Is Dead
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters 2002
KOF Sky Stage (added October 12)
Lazy Raiders
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Lego Batman
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Limbo
Lode Runner
Lost Odyssey
Lumines Live!
Luxor 2
Mad Tracks
Magic: The Gathering 2012
Mars: War Logs
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath, and Beyond
The Maw
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Meet the Robinsons
Mega Man 9
Mega Man 10
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (added August 15)
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug XX
Midway Arcade Origins
Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
Military Madness
Mirror's Edge
Missile Command
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monday Night Combat
Monkey Island: SE
Monkey Island 2: SE
Monopoly Deal (added September 14)
Moon Diver
Motocross Madness
Ms. Splosion Man
Ms Pac-Man
Mutant Blobs Attack
Mutant Storm Empire
MX vs. ATV Reflex
N+
NBA Jam: On Fire Edition
Neogeo Battle Coliseum
Nights Into Dreams
Of Orcs and Men
Omega Five
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Operation Flashpoint: Red River
The Orange Box
Outland
Pac-Man
Pac-Man C.E
Pac-Man CE DX+
Pac-Man Museum
Peggle
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark Zero
Phantasy Star II
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
Pinball FX
Planets Under Attack
Plants vs. Zombies
Poker Smash
Portal: Still Alive
Portal 2
Prince of Persia
Pure
Putty Squad
Puzzle Quest
Puzzle Quest 2
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
QIX++ Puzzlegeddon
Rage
Raiden IV
Raskulls
Rayman 3 HD
Rayman Legends
Rayman Origins
Red Dead Redemption
Red Faction: Armageddon
Red Faction: Battlegrounds
RoboBlitz
Rocket Knight
R-Type Dimensions
Runner 2
Sacred 3
Sacred Citadel
Saints Row: The Third (added September 14)
Saints Row IV
Sam & Max: Beyond Time & Space
Sam & Max Save the World
Samurai Shodown II
Scarygirl
Scrap Metal
ScreamRide (added August 15)
Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl (added August 3)
Shadow Assault/Tenchu
Shadow Complex
Shadowrun
Shadows of the Damned
Shank 2
Shinobi
Shred Nebula
Shotest Shogi
Silent Hill: Downpour
Skate 3
Skullgirls
Skydive
Slender: The Arrival (added September 14)
Small Arms
Soltrio Solitaire
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic Adventure (added September 28)
Sonic CD
Sonic The Fighters
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Soulcalibur
Soulcalibur II
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Space Ark
Space Giraffe
Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Spelunky
The Splatters
Splosion Man
SSX
Stacking
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Steins; Gate 比翼恋理のだーりん (Japan only)
Steins; Gate (オリジナル版) (Japan only)
Steins; Gate 線形拘束のフェノグラム (Japan-only, requires game disc)
Strania
Street Fighter IV
Stuntman: Ignition
Super Contra (added September 14)
Super Meat Boy
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (added July 13)
Supreme Commander 2
Syberia
Tekken 6
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Texas Hold 'Em
Ticket to Ride
TimeShift
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Torchlight
Tour de France 2009
Tour de France 2011
Toy Soldiers
Toy Soldiers Cold War
Toy Story 3
Tower Bloxx Deluxe
Trials HD
Trine 2
Tron: Evolution
Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
Unbound Saga
Undertow (added September 14)
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series (added August 29)
The Walking Dead: Season 2 - A Telltale Games Series (added August 29)
The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries (added August 29)
One of the common criticisms lobbed at American Horror Story Cult, the show's seventh season, is that it's simply not scary. A show with "Horror" in its title should be scary, and besides a few scattered clown cult murders, the season's opening episodes just didn't live up.
Over the last couple of weeks, that changed. After episode 4, "11/9," revealed the backstory of Evan Peters' character Kai Anderson, it opened the floodgates. Now the cult is in full view, and the last two episodes of American Horror Story Cult were filled with pure, horrific dread.
Seriously--if you don't think watching a room full of people ritualistically drive a dozen nails into a man's skull while he's still alive is horrifying, that's on you.
With the veil lifted from Anderson's cult, American Horror Story Season 7 is no longer holding anything back. It's a quirk of this season that knowing more about the killers has made them scarier, rather than doing the opposite. Maybe it's because those killers include characters we used to trust, making the danger for the show's last sane person, Sarah Paulson's Ally, feel extremely real.
It's not like Cult was hiding it before. Councilman Chang disrespected Kai, and then got murdered. Beverly Hope (Adina Porter) seemed way too enthusiastic whenever she reported a new murder on the news. Ally's therapist, Dr. Vincent (Cheyenne Jackson), was the only person who could have known that poor woman who died with her husband in Episode 3 was afraid of caskets. And Winter (Billie Lourd) is Kai's sister; of course she's in on it.
But seeing these characters in full cult mode, driving massive knives into Beverly's boss or shooting nails into a former member's forehead, is unnerving. They're still maintaining public facades of normalcy, but under cover of masks and darkness, they're pure evil. It plays into a very modern paranoia that everyone around you is hiding something sinister. For Ally, that's a literal truth, not some vague fear, but by the time she realized it at the end of this week's episode, "Mid-Western Assassin," it was too late.
Even an edited version of the episode's opening shooting was chilling to watch, and the unedited version, available online, is even worse. It's twice as long, for one thing, and it shows several casualties by (what's later revealed to be) Meadow's hand that the aired version omitted.
By the end, Ally's been arrested for a shooting she didn't commit. She looks guilty, and there's absolutely no one alive who will back up her version of events. It's unclear where the rest of the season will go, but it's obvious this was a turning point.
Ally has spent the entire season of American Horror Story Cult up to this point wondering if she was going crazy. Now she knows the truth: She's not, but the world is. With or without masks, the people who want to capitalize on our fear are terrifying. And now that they're out in the open, this season of American Horror Story is finally living up to its name.
We recently had the chance to try out Oculus' latest prototype of its wireless VR headset at the Connect 4 event. Codenamed Santa Cruz 2, the head-mounted display uses four front-facing sensors that allow it to provide six-degrees of movement, which allows you to effectively lean into and away from objects. This is a crucial VR feature that other wireless HMDs like Gear VR and Google Daydream lack.
While Oculus revealed Santa Cruz last year at Connect 3,the second generation prototype stands out for its ability to track Oculus' new motion controllers. The controllers themselves are similar to the Oculus Touch models released late last year and are designed by the same team. They use the same Constellation technology and similarly feature a bunch of small infrared LEDs to enable tracking.
Santa Cruz' tracked controllers looks similar to Oculus Touch.
Because Santa Cruz will not use separate, external sensors, it will rely on the four sensors on the front of the HMD to track its controllers. This means that if the controllers extend beyond the front of the headset, they can lose tracking. And just as a slight spoiler warning, we were able to break tracking a bit when we tried.
We had a chance to try out two gameplay demos with Santa Cruz. One was more of a simple tech demo, and the other felt more like a fleshed-out room-scale game that demanded we walk around our environment.
The demo one is called Boundless, and featured a small dragon-like creature named Bogo frolicking around a meadow. We were able to reach out and pet Bogo, and it convincingly reacted with delight. We were also able to walk around, pick up a stick, and play fetch. While the graphics weren't as impressive as something you'd see on the Oculus Rift with a powerful PC, it was refreshing and freeing to walk around a fully 3D tracked environment with six degrees of movement without any wires to tether us down.
While the controllers tracked well when they were within our line of sight, we did temporarily lose tracking when we extended our arms beyond our peripheral vision. It took about a second or so for them to snap back in place once our hands were back in the safe zone.
The Santa Cruz controllers feature similar grip and trigger buttons to Touch.
We also tried a demo for a game called Time Stall. The premise is that there is a guy asleep in a cryo chamber, and it's your job to protect him from bullets and rock shards that are slowly flying his way. You only have a short time to do this and once time's up, you get to see the action play out in real-time and see whether you did enough to prevent his death. Imagine the Quicksilver scenes in the X-men movies, and you've got the right idea. While we weren't able to save our subject, that had more to do with our performance than with Time Stall itself. The game makes great use of Santa Cruz's untethered nature, as you really have to walk around your space to prevent incoming projectiles from multiple angles.
Because the headset is wireless, it uses a mobile processor. The HMD was a bit front-heavy, but Oculus isn't focusing on its ergonomics yet, nor is it talking about its specific system-on-a-chip (SOC), optics or lenses, as the company says all these aspects of the HMD are still up in the air. The company is primarily focusing on proving that its inside-out wireless tracking technology is viable. As a result, Oculus hasn't announced pricing or a release date for Santa Cruz, but the company says that developer kits will ship sometime in 2018.
We didn't experience any latency, judder, or motion sickness with our 15 minutes with it. The controllers tracked well when they were within our line of sight, but it would be nice to see extra sensors perhaps on the sides and the back of the headset that would further prevent controller occlusion issues. As an early prototype, however, Santa Cruz shows a lot of promise and combines some of the best elements of mobile VR with PC VR.
Blizzard continues to experiment with Overwatch's Mercy following her overhaul in September. The latest batch of changes on the Public Test Realm affects her ability to fly and, more importantly, exactly how her ability to revive other players works.
An update in September gave Mercy a new Ultimate, Valkyrie, which provides her and her abilities with a variety of buffs. Her previous Ultimate, Resurrect, was made into a regular ability that can only revive a single player, rather than all nearby allies. Since those changes were made, Blizzard has been looking to tweak her further. A recent PTR update made it so that Valkyrie didn't reduce Resurrect's cooldown, but instead doubled its range. An even newer update is now trying something different, doing away with the cooldown reduction in favor of a new perk.
With the latest update on the PTR, Mercy gains a free Resurrect charge when she uses Valkyrie. This is only available for the duration of Valkyrie; if you don't use it by then, it's lost.
"Valkyrie still no longer affects Resurrect's cooldown directly now, but this method preserves some amount of 'burst ressing' when needed, while making it more flexible to use," principal designer Geoff Goodman said on the Overwatch forums. "For example, in the past if you want to res two targets with Valkyrie, you had to first res one target, then Ult (causing the cooldown to reset), then res the other target. With this new change you can now hit Valkyrie first, fly in quickly, and res two targets instantly."
According to Goodman, this change "still reduces the overall numbers of Resurrects Mercy can provide since Valkyrie no longer reduces its cooldown."
The other change to Mercy involves Guardian Angel, which is the ability that allows her to fly to the ally she's healing or buffing. This PTR change provides her with an "unlock boost" by using the jump key. "This unlocks you from your target and lets you fly past them for a little bit, and sort of use your target like a slingshot," Goodman explained. "This somewhat replicates some of the behavior the recent Mercy zero-air resistance bug caused, but in a way that is more consistent and with less buggy side effects." However, using Resurrect no longer resets the cooldown on Guardian Angel.
This PTR patch also features some tweaks for Lucio. "We have also made some changes to Lucio's speed boost when jumping off a wall to try to compensate for the super-boost bug fix that just went out," Goodman said. "He now gets a more significant boost off a wall."
These changes are live now on the PTR, which you can check out if you own Overwatch on PC. However, be aware that the changes to Mercy are not on the verge of being released in the live game, as Blizzard wants to continue experimenting before implementing anything.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm's first episode launched in August to a positive reception, and now the second installment is almost here. Episode 2 - Brave New World launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 19.
Episode 2 is the second segment of the three-part prequel to the original Life is Strange. It focuses once again on Chloe Price and her growing relationship with Rachel. Take a look at some of the characters and locations you'll encounter in the trailer above.
We enjoyed the first episode, with critic Justin Clark awarding it an 8/10. "Despite using the same graphical engine, the same gameplay elements, and some shared, familiar locations, the experience of inhabiting Chloe in Before the Storm is a completely new experience," he said. "Episode 1 promises a series that uses love and empathy as a sword and shield, the only way to either stay safe or strike back at a harsh life, harsher still by nature of being a teenager. That's a special ability we are so seldom asked to employ in games and it's so heartening to know there's at least two more episodes of Before the Storm where we get to do it again." Read more in our full Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 1 review.
First announced at E3 2017, a new Olympics-themed expansion is coming to Steep. Called Road to the Olympics, the expansion adds a number of new sports and modes.
In the video above, you can watch the first gameplay from Road to the Olympics. It includes ski slalom, snowboard slopestyle, and more. It also adds two new environments: Japan and South Korea.
Highlighting the expansion is the addition of downhill skiing. Currently, Steep only includes freestyle skiing; ski races are open-mountain affairs that send skiers careening down big cliffs and over huge jumps. Downhill is more technical, requiring skiers to ski on a set track.
Road to the Olympics will release on December 5 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
In just a few weeks, Microsoft will launch a new console in the form of the Xbox One X. A more powerful version of the Xbox One, the system arrives on November 7, priced at $500 in the United States. While Microsoft of course expects it to sell well (the pre-orders are apparently strong already), Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now reiterated that the lower-cost Xbox One S model will remain Microsoft's best-selling console this generation.
"Xbox One S will be the market leader for us. It's the more affordable console. It plays all the same games," Spencer told us at the Brazil Game Show. "It will be the console that sells."
The Xbox One X, meanwhile, is aimed at players who are looking for the "very best experience" with a home console. Even if you don't have a 4K TV, you'll still see the benefits of the console's increased horsepower and more, Spencer pointed out. But similar to the Xbox One Elite controller, the Xbox One X won't be for everyone. It's all about giving players choice; if they want to spend more for a high-end experience, they can. This has been the setup on PC basically since the start, and now consoles are catching up, starting last year with the PS4 Pro and now the Xbox One X.
"Whether you're on a 1080p TV or a 4K TV, you're going to have a great experience. But it's not for everybody. It's like when we built the Xbox One Elite controller, we didn't try to say to everybody, 'If you need an extra controller, go buy the Elite controller.' We sold a ton of those controllers. We know in the gaming segment, there are a lot of people who play games casually and there's also people where gaming is their number one hobby.
"Their number one form of entertainment, and we want to give them the very best experience. I've played games in true 4K with HDR, and they look fantastic. But it doesn't mean everybody has to do that. So we're giving gamers a choice. Whether we've pushed the innovation too far? It's hard to do that with gamers. I guess we'll see; I feel very confident in the product we have coming to market."
Are you going to pick up an Xbox One X next month? Let us know in the comments below! And for lots more on our conversation with Spencer, see the stories linked below.
Season 2 of Riverdale, the darker, grittier take on Archie, premiered last night on The CW. It was the first new episode since Season 1 concluded in May, but if you missed it or just want to watch it again, you can watch it online right now.
For those in the United States, you can load up the CW app on your phone or head to the network's website. You can stream the entire episode, "A Kiss Before Dying," for free without needing to login with a TV provider. That said, you will have to sit through some ads.
Those outside of the US have what's arguably the more desirable path to watching the show. Not unlike Star Trek: Discovery, Riverdale episodes air on Netflix outside of the US. Episodes will arrive on Netflix internationally the day after they premiere in the US, so you can look forward to it later today, October 12. There's no official word yet on a Season 2 release date on Netflix for US fans, although Season 1 is still available through the streaming service.
Riverdale's second season is set to be much bigger than the first. Whereas Season 1 consisted of only 13 episodes, this upcoming season received a full, 22-episode order. You can check out our feature from earlier this year about why Riverdale is worth checking out.
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This week in Destiny 2 we get the Inverted Spire Nightfall Strike with Attrition and Timewarp: Killing Time modifiers, as well as the return of Lord Saladin and the Iron Banner PvP event.
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