The release of Arc System Works' gorgeous 2.5D fighter Dragon Ball FighterZ is just a couple weeks away and, ahead of its launch, an open beta will be available on Xbox One and PS4 this weekend.
This weekend's beta will give every super saiyan the chance to play as almost every confirmed character so far. This weekend's roster includes Goku (Super Saiyan), Vegeta (Super Sayian), Gohan (Adult), Frieza, Cell, Kid Buu, Krillin, Piccolo, Nappa, Android 18, and the game's most recently announced character Beerus.
The beta will be open for 48 hours starting January 14 at midnight PST / 6:30 PM ACDT / 8 AM GMT, and ending January 15 at 11:59 PM PST / 5:59 PM ACDT / 7:59 AM GMT. For those who pre-ordered the game on either system, early access to the beta will begin January 13 at midnight PST.
Five years ago, Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the Cyberpunk 2020 pen-and-paper role-playing game that forms the basis of Cyberpunk 2077 told me: "As long as the street needs heroes and heroes are willing to throw the dice to beat impossible odds, the world is going to need cyberpunk."
Done correctly, cyberpunk can help us experience futuristic worlds, amazing stories and emerge as a wiser person on the other side. It's a genre that takes the problems of present-day society to troubling, dystopian ends, and explores ways to combat them. For a while, major works like Blade Runner, Neuromancer, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell overshadowed strides forward in the genre, but they're no longer the be-all and end-all. In just the last few years, there has been a surge of new creators in all forms of media who are more than willing to dive into these eternal yet difficult concepts, and explore new issues relevant to us today.
Bloober Team's Observer (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Whether it's the revival of Deus Ex or Shadowrun that kicked things off, game developers especially are starting to explore cyberpunk worlds. In the last year, studios in Poland delivered two original titles with Observer and Ruiner, both drenched in strong aesthetics and interesting narratives. Observer deals with themes of family and humanity while forcing protagonist Lazarski to corrode his soul through the use of irresistible technology. Ruiner, on the other hand, keeps its focus squarely on blood and balletic carnage, set against the backdrop of corporate augmentation and gang warfare. These games uphold some tropes of the genre, like cybernetic wars in far-off lands and pulsating cities overflowing with dangerous people, but at the same time, they pose fascinating questions. How strong are family ties? Are we losing ourselves to machines willingly? In the end, do we as human beings really matter?
Wadjet Eye's Technobabylon (PC)
Games like Wadjet Eye's Technobabylon and 2064: Read Only Memories from MidBoss explore the ramifications of wetware technology used to connect our biological functions to computers and the over-reliance on artificial intelligence. Sukeban's VA-11 HALL-A made some creative moves with its narrative, dealing with prejudice as witnessed through the clients of a dystopian bartender. Matt Trobbiani's Hacknet throws the player headfirst into a hacker's world, a key profession in cyberpunk stories, and explores the failings of network security and our increasingly interconnected world via a rudimentary text interface. All these games were released in the last few years, with some ported to more platforms just in the last few months. In film, Blade Runner 2049 and Snowpiercerpropose different ideas of protein farming to sustain human beings as we dive into a new era of uncertainty and decadence. The relevance of examples like these to the modern day are the reason why the current resurgence of cyberpunk is exciting.
Concept art for Cyberpunk 2077
As an audience, we're drawn to cyberpunk because of things like cybernetic arms and all those cool jackets, or because of foreground details like rainy streets and alluring neon lights. Layer by layer, as we creep through a run-down apartment block, hide from a police drone or try our best to disappear into a midnight crowd, the best cyberpunk stories reveal to us modern society's worst tendencies and offenders. Corporations that have grown too large and powerful to be governed properly. Politicians that are openly engaging in fascist tactics to further their own corruption. Violent and discriminatory law enforcement that continues to rise with no oversight or accountability. Satellites and technology that track our every move. Cities across the world that are choking under the weight of millions of inhabitants who are, in return, choking the environment until all that remains is concrete, glass, and steel.
In the five years since I spoke to Mike Pondsmith, the hope and anticipation for Cyberpunk 2077 has not subsided at all. The critically-acclaimed and wildly successful Witcher series has demonstrated that developer CD Projekt RED is more than capable of slipping players into worlds filled with rich, vulnerable characters and expansive, treacherous sagas. Working in tandem with Pondsmith to bring his pen-and-paper universe to life, the Cyberpunk 2077 project holds a great deal of hope for people looking for thrilling and layered cyberpunk stories to envelop themselves in, but it's been a mysteriously opaque project for over half a decade, with almost no new information (though some tidbits about its unconventional character classes hint at a number of interesting possibilities) and zero marketing.
And then: *beep*. After four years of inactivity, Cyberpunk 2077's official Twitter account has reactivated.
Cyberpunk 2077 remains an extremely exciting prospect not only because of CD Projekt's pedigree, but because cyberpunk stories speak to who we are as a society. Stories of downtrodden nobodies trying to get through technologically-driven but brutal lives help us contemplate the picture of humanity bigger than ourselves.
"As long as the street needs heroes and heroes are willing to throw the dice to beat impossible odds, the world is going to need cyberpunk." - Mike Pondsmith
And what a time for this to happen. While unpleasant stories populate our news feeds, technology is bubbling at the surface of innovation quicker than you might expect. Illinois' Northwestern University is studying the limits of 3D-printed bones, with human testing about to begin, and Harvard chemists have made new breakthroughs in editing genes at the embryonic level to delete abnormalities in our DNA before we are even born. Billion-dollar startups in China are taking sophisticated face-detection systems into corporate security, rail travel, and criminal detection. Uber's new transport initiative called 'Uber Elevate' is set to launch around 2020 and could be seen a step towards the personalized flying transportation we so often see appear in cyberpunk stories. But in the face of all this new and shiny technology, the global climate worsens, food shortages widen, and corporations grow larger.
CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077
Other video game genres have already had the best versions of themselves in the spotlight. Pick a type of game and chances are the definitive example immediately comes to mind. The cyberpunk genre has yet to do this, but we are in the perfect environment for new ideas to cultivate and it's starting to show. Whether it evolves on our screens, in our books or outside our rainy neon-lit windows, cyberpunk is on the cusp of enveloping us, and Cyberpunk 2077 might just be the big-budget explosion that makes us take a closer look at modern society.
DC's upcoming superhero movie Shazam has an official release date. It will hit theaters on April 19, 2019, and is now the third confirmed movie on the the studio's slate together with this year's Aquaman and Wonder Woman 2, which arrives in November 2019.
The Shazam release date has been rumored for some time; DC first announced it back in 2014, but it subsequently disappeared from the schedule. Since then the studio has undergone much upheaval, with rumored films never happening and other ones cancelled, not to mention various changes of personnel behind-the-scenes.
Shazam will be directed by David F. Sandberg, who previously helmed the horror hits Annabelle: Creation and Light's Out. In October, Zachary Levi was announced in the lead role of Billy Batson. Levi is no stranger to the superhero genre--he is already part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having played Fandral in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sandberg previously hinted that Shazam will be a lot lighter in tone than other films in the DC movie universe. "The big attraction for me with that character is the fact that every kid dreams of being Superman, right? I mean I certainly did, and [Billy Batson] is a kid that gets that chance," he said. "He gets to become the superhero. So it'll be big with superpowers in a way. In terms of what people can expect, I think this will be one of the more fun or lighthearted movies so far in the DC universe. It certainly will be a departure."
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was previously announced in the role of Shazam's nemesis Black Adam, but it was subsequently confirmed that he will not feature in Shazam. However, he is still set to appear in a spin-off movie.
Shazam first appeared in 1939, when he was known by the name Captain Marvel. The character was bought by DC in 1971, when he was renamed, due to Marvel's ownership of the name Captain Marvel. A live action Shazam TV show was broadcast in the mid-70s, while an animated show followed in 1981.
Following yesterday's PC update to Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, the developer today addressed a number of specific issues in the Xbox One version of the game. On the game's official forums, a community coordinator noted that the team is pushing the fix to address "an in-game issue that was undermining the core experience for some players." And while addressing that more serious bug, today's patch also fixes some smaller issues.
But bugs haven't slowed down the growth of PUBG's userbase; despite some prevalent issues, the game has surpassed 3 million players on Xbox One. The game is still included in Xbox One's Game Preview program, with no specific word on when it will go into its full retail release on console.
The full patch notes are listed below:
Gameplay
Pistols have been removed from Y button's weapon rotation and grouped with the melee weapon.
Players can now equip pistols by pressing 'up' on the D pad.
Optimization
Continued improvements related to player "rubber banding."
Enhanced server performance while parachuting.
Option
Added a new controller preset to options menu.
Type B (new preset) now supports:
Holding LT to aim down sight.
Holding LB to use 3rd person perspective aim sight.
Controller guide has been updated to include the new controller preset.
Bug fixes
Fixed an issue where players repositioned out of the battleground after certain actions and remained invulnerable until the end of the match.
Additional memory and non-memory related crash fixes.
Fixed the inability to join duo/squad through invites outside of game.
The update also highlighted two things that will be addressed in the games next patch:
Dropping objects causes the player to switch weapons.
User is unable to switch grenade types when tapping right on the D-Pad.
Hyperkin showed off plenty of neat retro accessories at CES 2018, but one of the standouts was the original Xbox controller, commonly referred to as the Duke. This hulking gamepad is oddly making a comeback by the end of March according to Hyperkin for $70 USD. Official international pricing hasn't been stated but one can estimate £50 GBP and $90 AUD.
Given that it was happily succeeded by the Xbox S controller during the first generation of Microsoft's console, the Duke's return taps into perplexing nostalgia. However, after getting our hands on it at CES, we noticed that it does have some modern touches. While button placement is exactly the same as before, there are two tiny shoulder buttons to act as the black and white buttons, which are also still functional on the controller. The Duke is noticeably lighter than its forebear as well.
A closer look at The Duke. (Sean Buckley/CNET)
In terms of other modern features, the Xbox One's view and menu buttons are found in the middle. But at dead-center where the Xbox logo once stood is a huge circle that plays the boot-up screen animation of the original console when it's pressed. The Duke will only work through a wired micro USB connection and it is compatible with PC, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.
Sean Hollister from CNET (GameSpot's sister site) spoke with Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the Xbox, about how and why the massive gamepad is coming back. Blackley said it's "miraculous" that he got Microsoft's approval, but continued:
"I discovered to my horror and fascination that The Duke was an object of nostalgia and comfort and happiness and childhood memories, and all these people with big hands saying it was the only controller that was comfortable."
"I contacted Phil [Spencer, Head of Xbox], who was a buddy of mine, and asked, 'Phil, is this crazy enough to do?' and some of the hardware guys who were there when the Xbox was on the drawing board said we should absolutely do it."
The Dragon Ball FighterZ roster grew to 24 fighters with the recent reveal of Goku Black, Beerus, and Hit. The three Dragon Ball Super characters join the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and more in the upcoming fighter. In the video above, you can see them in action in 4K.
Beerus can create Spheres of Destruction, which explode when they come in contact with an opponent. His Meteor special attack is God of Destruction's Judgment. The assassin Hit's moveset emphasizes striking, much like his Time Skip technique in the series; his Meteor special temporarily stops time and unleashes a combo attack. Goku Black's special is called The Work of a God, and he can summon Zamasu to "bind" an opponent.
A beta of Dragon Ball FighterZ begins on January 14 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET and runs until January 16. Of the three newest characters, only Beerus is playable in the beta.
The holidays may be over, but you can still find plenty of deals on games if you're looking for something new to play. Many digital storefronts are holding New Year sales to usher in 2018, and that includes the Humble Store, which has now kicked off its annual winter sale.
You'll have until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on January 25 to take advantage of the above discounts. Many publishers such as Ubisoft and Bethesda are also holding separate sales in the digital store, giving you a ton of options to choose from. You can find the full list of discounted games on Humble's website.
Xbox One may have had a slimmer lineup of exclusive games than either PS4 or Nintendo Switch in 2017, but the new year is certainly shaping up to be a busier one for Microsoft's console. Following the launch of its powerful Xbox One X last November, Microsoft is turning its attention to expanding its roster of first-party titles, with a solid selection of games that can only be found on Xbox One (and PC, thanks to the company's Play Anywhere program) lined up throughout the year.
In the video above, we take a look at the most anticipated games coming exclusively to Xbox One in 2018. On top of some titles that we've already known about for quite some time, such as Sea of Thieves, the anticipated pirate game from storied developer Rare, Xbox One owners have a slate of exciting games to look forward in the coming months, from high-profile releases like State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 to some intriguing indie titles like Ashen and The Last Night. You can also see all of the year's big Xbox One exclusives in our gallery.
Those certainly aren't the only big games coming to Xbox One this year, as a number of major multiplatform releases like Red Dead Redemption 2 are slated to arrive in the next few months. Microsoft will also continue to bolster the Xbox One's library by making even more original Xbox games backwards compatible. The first batch of original Xbox games arrived back in October and added classics like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Ninja Gaiden Black, and Microsoft has said that another selection will be available sometime this spring.
Cherry is best known for manufacturing the most popular mechanical keyboard switches, and at CES 2018, the company revealed and showed off its latest switch. The Cherry MX LP (low profile) sports the smallest form factor of any of its switches, 35% smaller to be exact. This will allow future gaming keyboards and laptops to use Cherry technologies while maintaining a relatively thin profile.
The Cherry MX LP switch that was available to test at CES was a linear, non-tactile version, similar to the MX Red but with different actuation specs. While it shares the same actuation force of 45 cN, the total travel distance is around 3.2mm and the actuation point is about 1.2mm. These specs make them technically faster than most Cherry switches, and close to the MX Speed, although the new MX LP felt much more firm.
Cherry MX Blue switch on the left, Cherry MX LP on the right.
The new switch features an arc around the housing to facilitate better LED backlighting with options for single color or full RGB. Although the MX LP doesn't have any IP standards for spill resistance, Cherry asserts that by nature of its enclosed design, the switch internals will not take on dirt or dust. The company also boasts that its gold crosspoint technology ensures at least 50 million keystrokes per key.
Currently, there aren't any specific keyboards announced yet that'll use the MX LP switch, but Cherry stated that it's working with several partners to release MX LP keyboards this year.
For a while, Corsair had an exclusivity deal for its gaming keyboards with Cherry providing the switches. Even though this has passed, many companies are moving to creating switches in-house. Logitech has the Romer-G switch as seen in the Logitech G413, Razer uses its own line of color-coded switches with the new Blackwidow V2, and Steelseries has its QX2 used in the Apex M750.
The Legendary Pokemon Kyogre is now available in Pokemon Go. Beginning today, players can encounter the powerful Pokemon at Gyms as a Raid Battle, where it can be found for the next several weeks.
As with other Legendaries, you'll need to team up with other players to battle Kyogre; only after defeating the Legendary will you have a chance to capture it. Kyogre is a powerful Water-type Pokemon, so players will want to bring Electric- and Grass-types such as Jolteon, Zapdos, and Exeggutor to gain the advantage over it.
Pokemon Go developer Niantic had been teasing that Kyogre would be the next Legendary Pokemon coming to the popular mobile game. The studio released a promotional image featuring the monster for Pokemon Go's recent holiday event, which also introduced 20 more Water- and Ice-type Pokemon originally from Ruby and Sapphire to the game.
Kyogre marks the second Gen 3 Legendary to arrive in Pokemon Go thus far, following its counterpart from Pokemon Ruby, Groudon. Players who have yet to add that Legendary to their teams can still encounter it for a limited time; Groudon will appear in Raid Battles until January 15, giving you only a couple more days to catch the gigantic Pokemon.
Players will be able to encounter Kyogre in Pokemon Go until February 14, just over a month after it first began appearing. Similarly, the Legendary Psychic-type Mewtwo will also be available in the game for a while yet; however, unlike other Legendaries, Mewtwo only appears in invite-only EX Raids.
In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic has announced a new monthly real-world event for the game called Community Days. These events have players gather in local parks to meet other Trainers and capture Pokemon. January's Community Day will feature a special Pikachu that can use Surf, just as in the classic Pokemon Yellow version.
After some back-and-forth Twitter banter, the English voice actors for Dragon Ball's Goku and Vegeta will be facing off in a live Dragon Ball FighterZ match on January 25. The event will be held at the Esports Arena in Santa Clara, Calif., and will be livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook.
Sean Schemmel, who voices Goku, and Christopher Sabat, who voices his longtime rival Vegeta, started talking smack in a Vegeta-themed Twitter thread on January 6. It culminated in Sabat suggesting they settle the score in FighterZ. After fans and even Bandai Namco jumped on the idea, Sabat issued a more formal challenge to get the attention of anime streaming site Funimation, which decided to make the "Super Saiyan Showdown" official.
— Funimation @ SuperSaiyanShowdown (@FUNimation) January 10, 2018
Funimation is responsible for the English dubs of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and now Dragon Ball FighterZ. FighterZ includes both English and Japanese voiceover.
When Netflix announced that they were producing the urban cop fantasy Bright, it came with a heavy price tag and plenty of expectation. The streaming giant shelled out $90 million for the movie, and lined up a formidable team: stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, Suicide Squad director David Ayer, and a script from Max Landis, for which they paid $3 million (a notably high price). And it seems like the financial gamble paid off, with Variety reporting that Bright was watched by an estimated 11 million viewers in its first three days. As always, Netflix itself has not released any official figures, but the company did reveal it was its most-viewed film ever in its first week, and a sequel has already been greenlit. Landis isn't coming back, but Ayer is taking on script-writing duties himself.
Of course, if you had only read the reviews for Bright, you could be forgiven for thinking the whole enterprise had been a big mistake on Netflix's part. The movie was hit by terrible reviews, and currently boasts a pretty dismal 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ayer is no stranger to bad reviews--he is the director of Suicide Squad after all--and was so taken by one particular vicious takedown that he stated that "the highest compliment is a strong reaction either way" and that the review was "going on my fridge."
While Ayer's reaction is somewhat passive-aggressive, he does have a point. Bright has indeed provoked a strong reaction, whether it's the critical panning, or what seems to be a far more positive response from Netflix subscribers. And we're getting a sequel, whether the haters like it or not. So what did the filmmakers get right, and what changes can make Bright 2 a better movie?
Look who's Orcing
There's a lot going on in Bright. It's a buddy cop comedy, an urban action movie, a fantasy epic, and a social satire. It takes elements we've seen a seen a dozen times before in other movies, and throws them together in a way that is often unfamiliar. It's not surprising that the film is a tonal muddle, but in an age of cookie-cutter sequels, endlessly repeating franchises, and a general dearth of originality, the ambition and imagination of Bright is to be applauded, even if the end result was flawed.
The world that Ayer and Landis built is fascinating. This is an alternate Earth populated by races and elements familiar to World of Warcraft players and readers of Tolkien--Orcs, Elves, Fairies, wands, and magic. But instead of mystical woods and mist-shrouded mountains, this is the urban Los Angeles that Ayers documented in his cop movies Training Day and End of Watch. We learn enough of the history of this world to provide context, but ultimately Bright is a character-driven film with little time for history lessons beyond beyond what is needed for the story.
So there's plenty for Bright 2 to dive into. There are races that we have not seen yet, and others glimpsed very briefly. One fleeting shot shows a centaur officer--half cop, half horse--while in another, a dragon is seen flying high above the city. Dwarves are mentioned but do not appear, and at one point Jakoby, the Orc cop played by Edgerton, mentions that there were once "nine armies" who united against the Dark Lord. In 2016, Landis provided a handy infographic that broke down the racial make-up of Bright's America, revealing that Goblins, Giants, and lizard-like Brezziks are also part of his world.
Speaking of the Dark Lord, we learn little about him, beyond that he's a terrifying Elven presence whose return is feared by all. An evil overlord is a fantasy standard, and the expectation is that he'll play a bigger part in Bright 2. There's an early exchange between federal agents and the magic-user that they capture, in which the latter explains that modern military weaponry would be no match for his return. This certainly sets up a spectacular confrontation if he does make an appearance in the sequel. But it would be a mistake just to deliver a conventional motion-captured CG bad guy, the likes of which we've seen too many times over the past decade, mostly at the end of superhero movies. The Dark Lord needs to be something seriously scary, not just a big dude with a purple face.
Jakoby in particular is fascinating, an Orc who's not accepted by either his own kind or the humans with whom he works. By the end of the movie he's "blooded"--accepted into the Orc world--by Orc gangsters. What does this mean for him? There's opportunity now to set up some serious moral conflicts, as he is now fully a part of a community that is considered a lower class, who are targeted by police daily and compose much of the criminal underworld.
And while audiences obviously want to see Will Smith wisecracking and shooting bad guys, hopefully he can bring additional dramatic weight to his role as the jaded, veteran cop Ward, caught between duty and providing for his family, and not just the Bad Boys-style mugging of the first movie.
Ayer would also be smart to dial down the thunderingly-obvious class and racial analogies too. Science fiction has long had a tradition of mirroring real-world concerns through speculation and satire. But it's really heavy-handed in Bright, from the scenes of cops beating Orcs on the street to Smith's cringeworthy line "fairy lives don't matter today!". The themes of division and prejudice are as relevant today as ever, but a more subtle approach that trusts its audience to get the point might ultimately deliver a more powerful message (and elicit more positive reactions from critics).
Ultimately, Netflix cares more about keeping their subscribers happy than pleasing a handful of critics, and perhaps we shouldn't expect the follow-up to deviate massively from its predecessor. But while Bright was not a great movie, it was also not a dismal failure, and showed enough ambition and originality to potentially lead to something genuinely great in the sequel. Here's hoping.
John Wick: Chapter 3 won't be in theaters until 2019, but the movie's universe is expanding. Starz has confirmed that it is currently developing a spin-off of the Keanu Reeves-starring action movie franchise. Previously, a TV adaptation had been in development as far back as June 2017, but now we know plans for the series are moving ahead.
The Continental will focus on the hotel for assassins from the first two John Wick films. In a press release, Starz says, "Set in a hyper-real version of Los Angeles, the series maintains the urgency of the action along with the dry humor from the John Wick movies."
"This series is truly unlike anything else on TV," Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht says. "The Continental promises to include the thunderous fight sequences and intensely staged shootouts between professional assassins and their targets that fans have come to expect in the John Wick movie franchise as well as introducing some new, darkly compelling characters who inhabit this underground world."
While the network hasn't ruled out an appearance by Reeves in the series, speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Albrecht says the series does not feature him as the main character. However, the show will exist "side-by-side" with the John Wick films, as far as the timeline does.
Chris Collins (Sons of Anarchy) will serve as writer and showrunner on The Continental, with Reeves and John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad among the executive producers. There is no release date yet.
Grand Theft Auto Online, the multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto V, had its "biggest year" ever in 2017, developer Rockstar Games has announced. The studio announced this in a blog post recently (via IGN), though it didn't say if this achievement is based on player numbers, revenue, or some other metric. For December 2017 specifically, Rockstar said more people played GTA Online than ever before in the game's history.
This is extremely impressive, given that GTA Online launched more than four years ago, in October 2013. It is exceedingly rare for any game to have that long of a tail. GTA Online's ongoing success can no doubt be attributed to Rockstar's impressive commitment to launching new updates and activities on almost a weekly basis.
The new player record for GTA Online comes not long after Rockstar launched the large-scale Doomsday Heist expansion. So what seems clear is that, as Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have always said, if you make good content people will flock to it.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick at one time referred to GTA Online as "the gift that keeps on giving" as it relates to the money it makes from the game's microtransactions.
Given the massive success of GTA Online, it stands to reason that Rockstar's next big game, this Spring's Red Dead Redemption 2, may offer something similar. All that we know for sure, however, is that the western will have a "brand-new online multiplayer experience."
In a much-anticipated blog post, Destiny 2 game director Christopher Barrett talked abut what's coming to the sci-fi shooter in the time ahead. Things kick off on January 30 with an update that will expand the Masterwork system to include armor for the first time.
This armor offers better damage reduction when you're using your Super ability. Additionally, you can re-roll your Masterwork armor stat type, and it can be upgraded as well using Cores and Shards tied to Masterworks. The January 30 update also changes how Raid rewards work with the aim of making them "more unique and interesting."
"They will now feature mods with Raid-specific perks, and we are adjusting the rewards to ensure a Raid item drops from each major encounter," Barrett explained in a blog post. "The Raid vendor will also directly sell Leviathan and Eater of Worlds armor and weapons for purchase with Raid tokens and Legendary Shards."
What's more, there will be new perks that can drop from the final encounters in the Leviathan and Eater of Worlds raids. Barrett added that Bungie is working on other rewards specific to some raids and some activities are coming in the future.
An update coming in February, meanwhile, will add scoring and high score tracking to Nightfall Strikes, which will replace the existing time-limit mechanic. "The scoring is similar to the Destiny 1 system but with adjustments to emphasize competitive execution of Strike objectives and support for player selectable score modifiers," Barrett said. "In February, Nightfall High Scores will be exposed in-game via new emblems and will unlock rewards. We also have plans for Clan and Community High Scores in the works."
Destiny 2's February update will also add a 2.0 version of mods, which is described as a "full rework" of how mods work for armor and weapons. "This will focus on reducing redundant mods, more unique theming, and greatly increasing their impact on your power," Barrett said. "We are aiming for a February release, but the scope of the rework could push parts or all of it out to early spring. We will be evaluating how Mods play into the Bright Engram economy as a result, because we're sensitive to pay-to-win outcomes."
Here are some of the other changes coming to Destiny 2 in the February update, with descriptions written by Bungie:
Quickplay Improvements
We are adjusting game mode rules to increase the pace of gameplay and power ammo acquisition in Quickplay.
PC Tower Chat
We are adding text chat to the Tower for the PC version of the game.
Exotic Repetition Reduction
This will prevent players from receiving the same Exotic twice in a row. You may still receive duplicates, just not consecutively.
Fireteam Members on Destination Map
You will finally be able to see the other members of your fireteam on the destination map. No more having to ask your fireteam where they went when they fast travel to another landing zone.
Then in Spring 2018, Bungie will launch Destiny 2's next paid expansion following last year's Curse of Osiris. While some of the content will of course be locked behind the paywall, everyone is getting new updates to other parts of the game. For Crucible, Barrett said Bungie is hoping to give players "new reasons to play, more variety, and balance improvements." One part of this is a new ranking system; starting with Season 3, there will be seasonal Crucible ranks, broken into two categories: Valor and Glory. Here is a rundown of the two:
Valor – A progression rank that goes up as you complete matches. Winning helps you move up faster, but there are no loss penalties.
Glory – A progression rank that goes up when you win and down when you lose. Performance is how you move up here.
Also new in the update will be private matches for everyone, which you can invite friends to and choose a map and mode. Bungie is also launching a 6v6 playlist (an increase from some of the current 4v4 modes), a "Mayhem event" for a limited time, and some behind-the-scenes improvements and fixes to improve the experience overall.
That's not all that's coming and changing in the spring update; the following are some "highlights" that Barrett called out in his blog post, including increasing the vault space, support for multiple emotes, and more:
Additional Highlights
Weapon and Ability Balance Pass
Sandbox adjustments based on player feedback and data from the live game. The Sandbox team will share specific changes as we lead up to Season 3.
Exotic Weapon and Armor Balance Pass
Exotic weapons and armor are receiving a comprehensive design pass to ensure they stand out from the rest of the gear and offer new, exciting, powerful ways to play.
Seasonal Reputation
Specific vendors will now display a Seasonal ranking. Earning reputation will unlock unique Seasonal rewards and will reset each Season.
Improved Iron Banner and Faction Rallies
In addition to the changes that you will see when Iron Banner and Faction Rallies return this month, we will continue iterating on these to make them unique, exciting experiences that you all look forward to.
Playlist Repetition Reduction
This feature solves the problem of experiencing the same playlist entry multiple times in consecutive or frequent succession for both Crucible and Strikes.
End Game Player Pursuits
We agree with your feedback on the imbalance between Achievement and Bright Engram rewards, and we will be making adjustments to shift more rewards into specific endgame pursuits instead of generic XP grinding for Bright Engrams. We are excited to share the details as soon as we have them worked out.
Multi-Emote
When multi-emote launches, you will be able to choose which emote you have equipped to each of your four emote slots.
Vault space
We are targeting an additional 50 slots to player vaults. We don't believe just adding more space is a complete solution and are actively working on other changes to reduce load on your vault space.
We are adding an Exotic accessory tab to Vault collections so you will no longer need to spend Vault space on Exotic Ships, Sparrows, and Ghosts.
PC Clan Chat
In addition to the Tower chat that is targeted for February, we are adding clan chat to the PC version of the game.
Heroic Strike Changes
We'll be introducing modifiers to add more gameplay variety to the experience.
Then in Fall 2018, or potentially sooner according to Bungie, there will be "a lot more" in terms of updates and changes. However, Barrett said Bungie is "not quite ready" to talk about these things with any specificity, though he did provide an outline of what players can expect:
Back in December, Bungie had plans to launch Destiny 2's first Faction Rally event of Season 2 following Curse of Osiris's release. It ultimately canceled the event as the developer shifted courses on what content would be available to those with and without purchasing the DLC. Along with Iron Banner, Faction Rally will now be open to all players whether you own the DLC or not--and after the delay, the first Season 2 Faction Rally is nearly here.
Following an upcoming hotfix, the new Faction Rally event will begin on January 16 and run until January 23. (Iron Banner returns on January 30.) Factions will return to the Tower and allow players to pledge their allegiance, with their activities then contributing progress toward unlocking Faction-specific gear. New items, including armor ornaments and base gear, will be available from the Faction of your choosing, a selection of which you can see in the images below.
Aside from those rewards that players will earn from their Faction, the three groups will also be competing with each other. The Faction that obtains the most rewards packages will be deemed the winner, and that group's exclusive weapon will then be sold for one week. Assuming prices remain consistent with those earlier events, members of the winning Faction will be able to purchase the weapon for 1,000 Glimmer, while everyone else can buy it for 50,000. Unlike in the past, though, all three will sell a weapon of the same type--this time around, it's an auto rifle. You can also see those in the gallery above.
As promised, Bungie has made a wide variety of announcements about changes on the way to Destiny 2. The developer has pledged to be more open about its development plans for the future, and among those are significant adjustments to Eververse and the items that are distributed through the microtransaction-based store.
Bungie acknowledged that "the scales are tipped too far towards Tess at the moment," referencing the in-game shopkeeper who runs Eververse. The store "was never intended to be a substitute for end-game content and rewards," which is what has become for dedicated players. To address this, Bungie outlined a number of changes in a new blog post.
For starters, Bungie says it's "shifting the balance of new content in favor of activity rewards over Bright Engrams," which are currently obtained by leveling up or purchasing them with real money. Activity rewards will now include things like Ghosts, Sparrows, and ships, which Bungie noted were only acquired through Bright Engrams recently. And while they'll no longer be the exclusive home for those items, there will be a "gameplay path" to obtaining Bright Engrams and their rewards. That change also applies to event-specific Engrams, like those offered during The Dawning, something that was a major criticism of the recently concluded event. Furthermore, Bungie intends to provide more ways of directly purchasing the items players want, rather than having to blindly purchase Bright Engrams in the hopes of getting what you're looking for.
More changes will be introduced with the start of Season 3, but some will be in place for the start of the next seasonal event, Crimson Days, on February 13. Completing certain milestones during the event will earn you rewards, including a Legendary emote (for the Nightfall milestone), weapon skin (Raid milestone), and Exotic Sparrow (Crimson Days milestone). When leveling up, you'll earn both a Crimson Engram (for the event) and an Illuminated Engram during the event. Crimson Engrams can also be earned through drops in the Crimson Days match and finishing the aforementioned Crimson Days milestone with each of your characters. This Engram is "very strongly weighted to new rewards when decrypted until all new event items have been obtained."
As noted above, outside of real-money purchases, Engrams are earned by leveling up. Given the value of the rewards inside, that's part of what made last year's XP controversy so significant (the other component being the lack of communication from Bungie). The studio said it's continuing to look at how quickly XP is earned, but it agrees that the current setup is not ideal.
"Right now, it's too slow in general and lopsided towards grinding specific activities (which is not a fun grind) and we want to fix that without making those activities low value to players who aren't grinding them (fairness is cool)," Bungie explained. "Our first attempt turned out to be unworkably buggy so we're having to investigate other angles. We will continue to update you as we move forward."
Like other digital storefronts, the Nintendo Switch Eshop is ringing in 2018 with a limited-time sale. The Nindies New Year Sale is going on from now until January 15, and it offers discounts on a handful of great games for Nintendo's hybrid console.
Unlike the separate first-party Eshop sale going on in Europe, the Nindies sale is available in North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, featuring commensurate discounts across all regions. Switch owners can get the acclaimed rhythm/action game Thumper for $13.39 (£10.71), the retro-inspired adventure game Thimbleweed Park for $15 (£11.24), and the stylish hack-and-slash game Severed for $10 (£9). Other great titles on sale as part of the promotion include:
Those aren't the only games currently on sale in the Eshop. Switch owners in the US can also pick up a handful of retro action games from Inti Create games at a discount, including Blaster Master Zero ($7), Mighty Gunvolt Burst ($7), and the Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack ($32). Those titles will be on sale until January 14. Additionally, the co-op action-RPG Nine Parchments is $18, the supernatural adventure game Oxenfree is $5, and the logic puzzle game The Bridge is $4.49.
You can find the full list of games on sale right now in the US Eshop on Nintendo's website. Those in Europe, meanwhile, have access to a different selection of discounted titles, including Arms, 1-2-Switch, Flip Wars, and Romancing SaGa 2. You can find the list of Europe's Eshop sales here.
World of Warplanes was originally released in 2013 for PC, but the game has been essentially re-released with a recent 2.0 update. The new version promises more strategic combat, in the form of the new Conquest Mode, a new class of aircraft, and more. Check out some of the game in action in the video above.
While the game has traditionally focused on straight-up dogfights, World of Warplanes 2.0's new Conquest Mode is focused on tactical superiority and cooperation between classes of aircraft. You play as part of a team that attacks or defends key sectors on the map, and will need to make full use of all the game's multiple classes to win.
Another big change to the game is the addition of Bombers. As you can imagine, the new class's focus is its large payload of bombs, which you drop on enemy territory from high altitudes where only certain other types of fighters can intercept them. The game's developers say players who want more tactical gameplay will enjoy it. Bombers also have a special camera mode called bomb sight that will help you bomb the right target.
There are many other additions to the game too, including changes to the way maps work, tweaks to the game's economy, and the ability to respawn in the same battle. The 2.0 update also comes with completely overhauled graphics. You can get a full look at all of the new additions on World of Warplanes' website.
If you're looking for a scare, this week Netflix has a few additions you should make time for. In addition to new seasons of TV shows and some original comedy specials, the streaming service is adding a couple of very scary movies--and one your kids are going to love.
On the frightening front, The Conjuring arrived on Netflix on January 10. The 2013 horror film launched a franchise that includes two sequels, two Annabelle movies, and at least two more spin-off films in the years to come--The Nun and The Crooked Man.
In addition to The Conjuring, this week also saw the arrival of 47 Meters Down on Netflix. The survival-horror film follows two sisters stranded inside of a shark cage on the ocean floor, with Mandy Moore and Claire Holt starring. Rounding out the movie additions for the week is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.
Also premiering on Netflix is the second season of Disjointed, the original series starring Kathy Bates as a marijuana dispensary owner. The sci-fi series Colony also has its second season--which aired in 2017--available to stream.
This week's surprise Nintendo Direct presentation may have been all about new Switch games on the horizon, but the company also announced two new demos, now available for free in the Eshop. A demo is now available for Kirby Battle Royale on 3DS and one for Dragon Quest Builders on Switch is coming today. While it wasn't mentioned in the Switch presentation, Forma.8 is also getting a free demo.
Kirby Battle Royale is a tournament game where 1-4 players face off in local or online battles. There are 10 different battle modes and a host of abilities, along with a single-player story mode, where you uncover King Dedede's nefarious plan while unlocking abilities and battle types in the Cake Royale tournament. The demo lets you play three battles in the single-player and multiplayer mode, while letting you try out the Sword, Cutter, and Beetle abilities. The game will release on January 19, and you'll be able to transfer any coins you earn in the demo to the full game at that time.
Meanwhile, players will be able to try out a demo of Dragon Quest Builders on Nintendo Switch. First released for PS4 and Vita in 2016, it's a sandbox spinoff of the Dragon Quest series positioned as the series' answer to Minecraft. The game has a very blocky visual style, with your primary objective being to find materials to craft buildings and other objects in order to rebuild the world of Alefgard (the backdrop for the first-ever Dragon Quest title). When it releases on February 9, it will come with Switch-exclusive content, like the ability to gather special materials with the Great Sabrecub to unlock retro customization options.
Also coming today in a free demo for Switch, Forma.8 is Metroidvania-style action-adventure game with a cool visual style and a huge world to explore. It puts you on the surface of an alien planet, where you're stranded alone. Your mission is to recover a lost, powerful energy source while discovering lots of mysteries about the world around you. The full game was released for Switch in August.
Nintendo has confirmed the release date for Payday 2 on Nintendo Switch as February 27. The announcement was made during it's news-packed Nintendo Direct event, where the game's new character was also detailed.
This character is called Joy, who is described as computer wiz that specialises in heists. Also included in the event was confirmation that an online multiplayer mode will be included in the Switch version of Payday 2. Joy was described as being a timed-exclusive for the Switch version, so the character will eventually show up in Payday 2 on other platforms.
As previously detailed, Payday 2 runs in Switch's portable and tabletop modes, as well as docked. It will feature a new interface and touchscreen support on the platform. Payday 2 was originally released back in 2013 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Since then it has made its way to PS4 and Xbox One. Overkill is also currently working on a VR version of the game.
GameSpot's Payday 2 review awarded the game a 7/10, with Chris Watters saying its "systems and mechanics all have small flaws and limitations, but they come together to set the stage for exciting heists that you'll want to pull again and again." He added: "As long as you can find some felons to fight alongside, Payday 2 is an addictive and challenging criminal pursuit."
In 2016, Swedish publisher Starbreeze announced it had fully acquired the rights to the crime game franchise, and confirmed that Payday 3 was in development.
In an influx of Pikachu-related news, a limited edition New 2DS XL is on its way to the West. Later this month, everyone's favorite electric mouse is getting its own iteration of the 3DS-game-playing system, Nintendo has announced.
The bright yellow handheld features a close-up of Pikachu's cheery face and rosy red cheeks with brown accents. Like the rest of the 2DS family of systems, this model will not have 3D capabilities, but does have every other feature of the New 3DS like Amiibo scanning and the c-stick. It will be available on January 26 for $160 / £117.
The reveal of this system comes after the announcement of 3DS title Detective Pikachu's western release and giant $30 Amiibo figure. The title released last year in Japan, but localization details were not revealed until today. The game will launch in March for $40 / £35.
Along with the release of the New 2DS XL: Pikachu Edition system is the digital version of Pokemon Crystal. This 2001 Game Boy Color game is the sister title to Pokemon Gold and Silver. Pick it up on January 26 in the Eshop for $10 / £9.
Niantic's kicking off Pokemon Go's new year with a brand-new monthly event called Community Days. Beginning January 20, Niantic invites you to join other Pokemon Go players in your area.
Once a month, Pokemon Go players are encouraged to meet up in local parks. This not only gives everyone a chance to mix and mingle, but also a shot at catching the event's exclusive Pokemon. For just a few hours that day, one Pokemon with an exclusive move will be available to catch. Niantic did not specify if these event Pokemon are exclusive to the host parks, or anywhere around the world.
For January's event, Niantic has already confirmed the special Pokemon will be Surfing Pikachu. This Pikachu first appeared in Pokemon Yellow as part of a minigame call Pikachu's Beach--it remains in the games today as a Pikachu with the move Surf.
Other bonuses such as increased XP, Stardust, and Lure Modules may be available during every Community Days event. Even if you can't get your hands on the special Pokemon, it might be worth it to go out to collect some easy extras.
The January 20 Community Days event times are as follows:
Asia-Pacific: Noon to 3:00 PM JST
Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM UTC
The Americas and Greenland: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM PST
While the first season of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale left with the fate of Offred (Elisabeth Moss) hanging in the balance, the first look at the new season of the series is making it pretty clear. Not only has Offred survived, but she's getting bloody.
Hulu has released three photos from the new season of Handmaid's Tale, which provide a shocking look at what's to come, including a funeral for a handmaid. In the image, which you can see below, a number of handmaids gather in their funeral garb during a snowy memorial for one of their own. It's not revealed who the fallen handmaid is.
Another image shows Offred with a defiant look on her face, covered in blood. She certainly doesn't look injured, leaving fans to wonder whose blood that is. It should also have them questioning whether she's still pregnant.
What is known about the new season, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, is that the series will begin to explore those who have been able to escape captivity. The Handmaid's Tale will visit Colonies of those who have been exiled from Gilead, which can also be seen in the photos. The Colonies are made up of pieces of North America that are too polluted or contaminated for the general public to live in, which doesn't sound good.
Still, overall, the second season of The Handmaid's Tale remains a mystery. Given that Season 1 adapted the Margaret Atwood novel the show is based on in full, Season 2 is exploring new territory. With Atwood helping guide the series as a consulting producer, though, it should be interesting to see where the world goes from here.
The comparisons are understandable--inevitable, even--but Electric Dreams' psychedelia-infused cosmic clouds and wire tangles are not the antidote to Black Mirror's technophobia poison. Electric Dreams does strive for something different than its predecessor in modern sci-fi anthology shows, but it's not the anti-Black Mirror.
Black Mirror Season 4 debuted on Netflix in time for holiday-breakers to enter the new year sweating whether killer machines, child murderers, and dystopian dating apps will do us in first, or we'll simply block out reality with brain implants or get trapped in computer chips and tortured for all eternity. It's grim stuff, but we eat it up because deep down we feel we deserve it.
Enter Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, a joint production between the British Channel 4 and Sony Pictures Television, whose US rights were bought by Amazon, echoing Black Mirror's journey from Channel 4 to Netflix over the last few years. The show debuted its first six episodes in the UK late last year, with the full season landing on Amazon in the US this week.
In interviews, Electric Dreams' creators have been perfectly able to articulate how the newer show stands out from Black Mirror. "The future doesn't have to be terrible," executive producer Michael Dinner told GameSpot in an interview last year.
That may be true, but Electric Dreams' visions of the future often are. In the very first episode, "The Hood Maker," humans who've developed telepathy are relegated to third-world ghettos and referred to as "it" instead of "he" or "she." In "Crazy Diamond," lab-made humans have an expiration date and growing your own vegetables is illegal. In "Real Life," virtual reality tech is so advanced it can make you question which life is really your own, while "Human Is" sees a future where a space-faring humanity invades other planets and exterminates alien species in pursuit of valuable, rare resources--like oxygen.
The future may not be terrible by necessity, but let's be honest: It probably will be. As an author, Philip K. Dick was well aware of this, and any adaptations of his work--Minority Report, Paycheck, Blade Runner, Total Recall, The Man in the High Castle, and yes, Electric Dreams--won't be able to escape that.
However, Electric Dreams does stake out its own place in this space. Black Mirror is almost always fettered by its obsession with technology, usually landing somewhere in the near future so its temple-mounted doodads and shrapnel-spewing robot dogs remain partially recognizable to us.
Electric Dreams spans the wide breadth of Dick's short stories, from the contemporary noir thrillers to far future, traditional sci-fi, where humanity has expanded throughout the stars, and Earth is just a distant memory.
It's also not limited by what's plausible or realistic. Electric Dreams doesn't need to chart a path from our present to each episode's version of the future, prodding that vulnerable soft spot in all our brains that screams back, "This could really happen!" Whether in an imaginary town in "The Commuter" or the weepy spiritual overtones of "Impossible Planet," Electric Dreams is free to dip its toes into the unbelievable, the supernatural, and whatever else it wants.
In that way, Electric Dreams does manage to stand out from Black Mirror. Each new episode is less a preemptive admonishment--What fresh dystopian hell did we get ourselves into this time?--and more a genuine journey. The question becomes: Where are we headed next? Black Mirror may embody contemporary, predictive, dystopian science fiction, but Electric Dreams does a fantastic job capturing the essence of Dick's era of golden age sci-fi.
The future may still be terrible, but in Electric Dreams' visions there remains potential for improvement. It may not be the anti-Black Mirror, but like all of Dick's work throughout the 20th century, it definitely has something to say.
Nintendo has a reputation for strong first-party games but limited third-party support. But with Nintendo Switch, the company is looking to turn that reputation around. And with today's surprise announcement of Dark Souls Remastered, the hybrid console is looking like an even friendlier platform for hardcore gaming experiences.
Nintendo ended today's Direct Mini presentation with a very short trailer and a May 25 release for Dark Souls Remastered. Dark Souls' previous re-release on PC was dubbed the Prepare to Die edition, which makes it sound a separate version of the game. However, in a press release following the Direct, Nintendo clarified that Remastered "includes the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, as well as improved framerate and resolution from the original." A remastered version of Dark Souls is also coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The second beta test for Dragon Ball FighterZ takes place this weekend, but players don't have to wait until then to start downloading it. The Dragon Ball FighterZ beta client is now available to pre-load on PS4 and Xbox One, giving you a chance to prepare for the upcoming demo ahead of time.
The client can be downloaded on PS4 from the PlayStation Store and on Xbox One from the Microsoft Store. Players will need to have 2.4 GB of free space on PS4 in order to download the client, while it takes up 3.13 GB on Xbox One.
The beta kicks off for everyone at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET on January 14 and runs until the same times on January 16. However, those who pre-order Dragon Ball FighterZ digitally will be able to jump into the beta 24 hours early, on January 13. In order to get early access, pre-purchasers will need to download the Dragon Ball FighterZ Open Beta Early Access DLC in addition to the beta client.
The Dragon Ball FighterZ beta features seven different stages to battle on, as well as a Battle Tutorial mode and two different Dramatic Scenes. Participants will be able to choose from 11 playable characters, including some recently announced fighters like Beerus, Kid Buu, adult Gohan, and Nappa. The full beta roster consists of:
Several different women have spoken to the Los Angeles Times about their experiences with Franco, some who were students of his acting school, others who appeared in his low-budget film productions. "I feel there was an abuse of power, and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women, and a culture of women being replaceable," Sarah Tither-Kaplan says of her time working on one of Franco's movies.
James Franco in The Disaster Artist
She specifically mentions a scene in one of his films where Franco partook in an orgy with several female actresses. According to Tither-Kaplan, he removed the protective plastic guards covering the actresses' genitals while simulating oral sex.
Hilary Dusome, who took an acting class with Franco in 2012, says she was asked to appear in what was deemed as an "art film," in which she wore lingerie and a mask--along with several other women--in a strip club. Natalie Chmiel, another actress on the shoot, alleges she was told the footage was being used for a fashion commercial.
However, both women say they were approached by Franco during the shoot and asked which actress wanted to take their shirt off. "I felt like I was selected for something based on my hard work and my merit, and when I realized it was because I have nice [breasts], it was pretty clear that was not the case," Drusome tells the Los Angeles Times. Chmiel adds, "He just took advantage of our eagerness to work and be a part of something bigger."
The alleged misconduct wasn't limited to Franco's films, though. Violet Paley says he pressured her into performing oral sex on him in 2016, after offering to give her notes on a script she'd written. "I was talking to him, all of a sudden his penis was out," she says of their experience in her car. "I got really nervous, and I said, 'Can we do this later?' He was kind of nudging my head down, and I just didn't want him to hate me, so I did it."
Franco's attorney disputes all of the claims. This isn't the first time his conduct has been called into question, though. In 2014, it was discovered he was flirting with a 17-year-old girl on Instagram. After asking her age and if she had a boyfriend, he then asked which hotel in New York City she was staying at and whether he could come there to rent a room.
In a later appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael, Franco apologized for his acts. "I'm embarrassed, and I guess I'm just a model of how social media is tricky," he said at the time. "I used bad judgment and I learned my lesson."
While not addressing any of the women making allegations by name, Franco has also addressed these current claims. During an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he says, "Look, in my life, I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done. I have to do that to maintain my well being. The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn't have a voice for so long. So I don't want to shut them down in any way."
We had a chance to go eyes-on with the Vive Pro at CES 2018, and the new HMD is arguably the best VR headset yet. It features an improved screen that offers a 2880x1600 resolution AMOLED display, which is 78 percent sharper than the original Vive. This immediately makes text more legible and objects off in the distance look clearer. The pixels don't completely disappear, but it's hard to notice them if you aren't looking for them. The headset's field of view remains roughly the same, however, at 110 degrees.
The Vive Pro also features a new ergonomic design that is more comfortable and balanced than its front-heavy predecessor. Like HTC's Deluxe Audio Strap (DAS) attachment for the Vive, the Vive Pro comes with built-in headphones, and they do a great job blocking out sound this time around. The headset also features a dial to adjust tightness like the DAS, which we prefer over the strap design of the original.
The exterior of the HMD has a dark navy blue tint to it, and the front of the headset features two cameras as opposed to the Vive's singular solution. The Vive Pro will ship with Valve's new lighthouse trackers, which offer more tracking space and allow you to pair up to four of them together for even larger play spaces.
The Vive Pro seems geared towards VR enthusiasts and VR arcades. Unfortunately, HTC did not announce a specific price or release date for the headset, but it did mention that original Vive users would be able to upgrade to the HMD using their existing controllers and trackers.
The company also showed off its WiGig wireless attachment for the Vive, which it developed in collaboration with Intel. It attaches to the back of the headset, and comes with a battery bank and allows the Vive and the Vive Pro to go wireless. We got a chance to try out the device and can say that it's able to deliver a smooth, low-latency performance. The tradeoff, however, is that the video feed does look significantly compressed. It is worth mentioning that the WiGig isn't finished, so this could potentially improve over time.
No comments:
Post a Comment