New Games |
- Interesting look at input lag in fighting games
- Hearts of Iron IV is coming on D-Day
- Superfight is coming to Steam
- Tyranny is Obsidian's new RPG in the Pillars-style
- Mega Man Legacy Collection just got patched on PS4
- Oh hey, there's tons of Unreal Engine stuff in the pipeline
- There will be a PlayStation VR bundle with a PS Camera
- Review: Just Cause 3: Sky Fortress
- PSA: Do NOT buy Hyrule Warriors Legends if you only have an old 3DS
- The Division has best-selling week one for any new IP
- King of Fighters XIV roster allegedly leaked
- Niero talks 10 years of Destructoid (Part 1)
- PlayStation VR launches this October for $399
- Review: Pokken Tournament
- Valve is rolling out paid passes for Dota 2 custom games
- At GDC today? Come party with the Dtoid Community
- Hearthstone finally adds more deck slots
- Nintendo's new rewards program begins this Thursday in Japan
- Paragon's early access starts now, no more progress wipes
- I just climbed Mount Everest in the middle of San Francisco
- StarCraft II picks back up with Nova Covert Ops on March 29
- Metal Gear Online's Quiet DLC pack is out today
- We Are Chicago is a bit rougher than its namesake
- Here's how the Hyrule Warriors 3DS to Wii U transfer process works
- Gears of War 4's beta starts on April 18
- Your next Splatoon Splatfest is snowmen vs. sandcastles
- Xbox boss wants 64-player parties
- Strafe might be the Spelunky of first-person shooters
- What is Blizzard teasing for Heroes of the Storm?
- Review: Senran Kagura Estival Versus
| Interesting look at input lag in fighting games Posted: 15 Mar 2016 02:30 PM PDT Frames count. Microsecond delays between the push of a button and when that action is carried out can make or break a fighting game. After all, if you can't trust the game to respond when you need it to, what's the point? It can take a highly skilled competition and turn it into a dice roll. This video from YouTuber Battle(non)sense dives deep under the hood of some of the most popular fighting games in the industry to figure out exactly how each game handles the reality of input and network lag. The results might surprise you. Gotta give it up for the little guy, indie favorite Skullgirls handles input delay and online lag the best. That's not too shocking given its well-known implementation of the GGPO rollback system that seems to be the best way to handle online matches. What is surprising though is just how badly SFV handles input delay in every scenario. Even in a single-player match with V-sync disabled (a system tweak that requires players to dive into .INI files), SFV loses out to MKX, Skullgirls, and even its predecessor, Ultra SSFIV. The tests were performed on the PC too, so MKX was marked without the benefit of recent netcode improvements on the console versions which likely would have made the disparity even more apparent. I'm getting really worried for SFV. As a lifetime Street Fighter fan and someone who plugged hundreds of hours into SFIV, I want to see the game succeed, but it seems like the news just gets worse and worse for it. Thanks to community member Lex for sending this in, always appreciate tips from the community! |
| Hearts of Iron IV is coming on D-Day Posted: 15 Mar 2016 01:45 PM PDT Finally after nearly a year's worth of delay, Hearts of Iron IV, the World War II-themed grand strategy game from Paradox Interactive, has a release date, after some appropriate hemming and hawing. That's D-Day. I assume the Hearts of Iron fans showing up have that date committed to memory, but, show of hands, everyone else: who knew it was June 6 off the top of the old noggin? Admittedly, I didn't remember that. I also took a US geography quiz over the weekend and could only identify about half the states, though. I am dumb. Thanks. |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2016 01:30 PM PDT Superfight is one of those things I instinctively sneered at the first time I heard about it, only to be proven dead wrong. The game is a mix between Cards Against Humanity and every embarrassing cafeteria nerd argument you ever had in high school. You draw cards to assemble a ridiculous hero, and then argue why that hero should beat the crap out everyone else. It pretty much ruined/made the last board game night I had with my friends, reducing the room to a pile of giggling idiots. Soon PC players will be able to experience the thrill of explaining why a mountain goat with the torso of an NHL Center couldn't stand a chance against a Stephen Hawking who can fly (but only when nobody is looking), as 505 Games is bringing the game to Steam. The digital version of the game promises the same silly fun and has been designed from the ground up for live cam and Twitch support, so you can make all your inane arguments in front of an audience. Given how much I've enjoyed the Jack Box games implementation of Twitch, and how charming Superfight can be when you get into, I think this is going to be a riot. Dibs on a sobbing Katniss leading an army of tweens. |
| Tyranny is Obsidian's new RPG in the Pillars-style Posted: 15 Mar 2016 01:06 PM PDT Now that it has been thoroughly expanded, Pillars of Eternity can be left to sit and digest while folks work on that Triple Crown achievement. In the meantime, though, Obsidian has a new game in the Pillars of Eternity style called Tyranny, just announced at Paradox's press conference at the Game Developers Conference. Paradox is, again, publishing. The two companies announced their partnership at GDC two years ago. Tyranny takes place, "in a world where evil won," rather than offer a "good vs evil" story. You play as one of the leaders who marched the evil empire's army across the land. It releases in 2016 and we'll have more on it next week. |
| Mega Man Legacy Collection just got patched on PS4 Posted: 15 Mar 2016 01:00 PM PDT I experienced Mega Man Legacy Collection on the Xbox One with little in the way of problems, but PS4 owners have been complaining about an audio issue for months now. Finally, Capcom has pushed an update that will presumably smooth over this concerns, as well as add Japanese language and Rockman version support (the latter of which the 3DS launched with). According to producer Frank Cifaldi, the 3DS edition is not going to get any further patches (at least for now), but the PC version will get a patch at some point in the future. Frank Cifaldi [Twitter] |
| Oh hey, there's tons of Unreal Engine stuff in the pipeline Posted: 15 Mar 2016 12:30 PM PDT Unreal has quite a presence at GDC, and this sizzle reel shows off why. There's a metric shit ton of games based on the Unreal Engine 4, and most of them look great. This new trailer shows off everything from Street Fighter V, to Kingdom Hearts III, to Paragon with panache, with the big highlight being the Final Fantasy VII Remake. It's crazy how versatile this engine is, and Epic must be making a killing off of it. |
| There will be a PlayStation VR bundle with a PS Camera Posted: 15 Mar 2016 12:00 PM PDT According to TechInsider, Sony will release a bundle containing the PlayStation VR headset, a PlayStation Camera, and a Move controller. A Sony rep confirmed the bundle for North American release, but did not mention a price window in the interview. The quote came from an interview with Shuhei Yoshida, PlayStation's president of Worldwide Studios. Yoshida also mentioned that Sony did not include a camera because "many people" already own one. When Sony announced pricing ($399) and release information (October 2016) for the PlayStation VR earlier today at GDC, the company stated that the headset would require a PlayStation Camera. PlayStation Move controllers will be optional, but considering that PS VR's competitors have been touting VR-specific controllers, investing in one or two of those seems like a smart idea. Let's play the speculation game! How much will this bundle cost? I'm putting it all on $449 -- Sony has sold those cameras for practically nothing before, and I bet the company could easily take a bath on Move controllers. Don't panic: There's a version of the PlayStation 4 VR headset that has everything you need [TechInsider] |
| Review: Just Cause 3: Sky Fortress Posted: 15 Mar 2016 11:30 AM PDT The first round of Just Cause 3's "Air, Land, and Sea" expansion, Sky Fortress, is out now and certainly fulfills the "air" qualification. Rico gets a fancy new upgrade to his wingsuit, which was easily the best part of the core game. That being said, upgrades can make people lose touch with what they really loved in the first place. |
| PSA: Do NOT buy Hyrule Warriors Legends if you only have an old 3DS Posted: 15 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PDT I now have access to Hyrule Warriors Legends on 3DS, set to arrive on March 25 in the west. I already detailed the Wii U transfer process, but I also discovered another tidbit for myself while playing this afternoon that many Japanese players have already mentioned -- it runs like garbage on the old 3DS. If you have a New 3DS, you're in the clear. The game runs optimally without the 3D effect on with the New unit, at a very stable framerate that rivals the Wii U version. It's fine with the 3D on actually, you'll just get a slight dip -- but it's playable. Having tested it on my spare launch [old] 3DS however, it's noticeable worse, to the point where I sincerely think Nintendo should have just made this a "New" exclusive. It's really, really bad, with sub 30fps performance and no option for 3D. I didn't even want to play through the first stage it was so poor. Consider this a PSA, and I'll also mention it in my review next week, which will take the New hardware into account. |
| The Division has best-selling week one for any new IP Posted: 15 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PDT The Division shares its DNA with a lot of Ubisoft games but it is technically not a sequel and it isn't exactly based on existing property (despite the "Tom Clancy's" in the title). That makes it a "new IP." And this new IP went beyond breaking Ubisoft's day-one sales records by grossing $330 million (worldwide, physical and digitial estimation) and "ongoing record sell-through sales" en route to becoming the best-selling new franchise in its first five days of existence. Ubisoft also boasts a 1.2 million peak concurrent user count and The Division's constant place in the top five (and sometimes the top, period) viewed game on Twitch. All of which is incredibly surprising to me, about-games writer, whose own myopia left me thinking folks weren't particularly excited for this game. I guess hype didn't cool from a few years back, or Ubisoft marketed the shit out of it and I don't see ads anywhere? Maybe Destiny simply already proved console players do want to play MMOs as long as they're polished and don't look like World of Warcraft. |
| King of Fighters XIV roster allegedly leaked Posted: 15 Mar 2016 10:00 AM PDT The leaks for King of Fighters XIV have been off the chain. Just about everything leaked so far has been accurate, and that includes this brand new one that shows off the entire roster. If you care about those kind of things don't look at the gallery or comments below, but for everyone else, have at it. Sure, the menus don't look final, but the roster itself lines up with the previous leaks. I'm not jazzed up about the uninspired art style, but if every character (of which there are 50) feels good, I'm cool with it. shen-woo [Twitter via Shoryuken] |
| Niero talks 10 years of Destructoid (Part 1) Posted: 15 Mar 2016 09:30 AM PDT I can't remember exactly what it was that brought me to Destructoid so many years ago. It had to be an article, probably a review, that attracted me here. I know for certain it was the community that made this my new home for video game news after the tone of comments found at my old site became too much to bear. I didn't want to bitch about games, I wanted to celebrate them and make jokes about them and not take this whole thing too seriously. That's what I found here at Destructoid, both in the users who fill the comment sections with delightful gifs and clever wordplay, and in the editors and writers for this site who seemed to really enjoy this hobby we all share. In this time I delighted myself getting to know the personalities that made Destructoid, Destructoid. This is what brought me back to the site hour after hour, day after day. Through two site redesigns, multiple controversies, sudden staff changes, and hundreds of 404 errors, the spirit of Destructoid never died and neither did my fascination with this site. What's funny is that as I familiarized myself with everyone here, there was one person who remained an enigma to me. Even after I was brought on to the main staff, his presence was by this point buried so far behind the scenes that you might not even know he ran the place. That's why as we approached Destructoid's 10 Year Anniversary, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to really introduce myself, as well as some of the newer readers here, to Yanier "Niero" Gonzalez – the founder of Destructoid.com. |
| PlayStation VR launches this October for $399 Posted: 15 Mar 2016 09:05 AM PDT During a press event at the Game Developers Conference today, Sony announced its price and release plans for PlayStation VR. The PS4 virtual reality device will be out this October in North America, Europe, and Asia for $399 / CAD $549 / €399 / £349 / 44,980 yen. Sony didn't stream the event, but someone had it up on Periscope. What a time to be alive.
Here's a look at the final specifications for the hardware and what the gear looks like:
Which has me wondering about the cost of other peripherals, like the PlayStation Move controllers (a widely used input method for VR games) and the PlayStation Camera (required). That stuff adds up! This equipment is already available, so be on the lookout for deals, I guess. We're being asked to pay the price of another game console here, on top of needing a PS4, but Sony is still at a not-insignificant advantage compared to the Oculus Rift ($599) and the Vive ($799). As for specific games, Sony lists the following titles as being among the 50 expected to release in 2016: Eagle Flight (Ubisoft), EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games), Headmaster (Frame Interactive), Rez Infinite (Enhance Games), Wayward Sky (Uber Entertainment), RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, Tumble VR, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, and PlayStation VR Worlds (SCE WWS). Also, The Playroom VR, which will be a free download at launch. Some are real tech demo-y, but others (like RIGS and Valkyrie) are damn cool. I've experienced enough VR to want in sooner than later. I prefer the Rift, but my PC isn't quite cutting it these days, and the superior Vive is too expensive for me to justify. So you got me, Sony. I'm in. |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2016 09:00 AM PDT When I first heard of the existence of Pokkén Tournament, I wasn't completely sold. That is, until I actually played it in Japan. At that point, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it again. Having spent nearly two weeks with it on Wii U I'm basically of the same opinion when it comes to its core fighting systems, but my enthusiasm did die down a bit over time due to a few console-centric issues. |
| Valve is rolling out paid passes for Dota 2 custom games Posted: 15 Mar 2016 08:30 AM PDT Valve famously "didn't understand exactly what [it] was doing" when it tried letting people charge money for their The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mods on Steam. There was enough of a backlash that those plans quickly fell through, and refunds were issued, but the company hinted that it would experiment with paying community creators again in the future. That time is now. The company has introduced Custom Game Passes, a new method for rewarding the folks behind popular Dota 2 custom games. The games themselves will continue to be free, but players will be able to buy passes to receive "additional content or features" on a 30-day basis, with revenue split between the creator and Valve just as it is for full games sold on Steam. The first and only pass available at the time of writing is for Roshpit Champions, and it costs $1 per month (note: passes won't auto renew). In the developer's own words, these are the benefits:
Not just any game can sell a pass. "The process will be curated by the Dota team," says Valve. "We will be carefully selecting which custom games are able to offer a Custom Game Pass, selecting only games which have already established a sizeable community and are mature enough to offer good value to customers. Ultimately, players will help determine which games are right for a pass by choosing to play and engage with growing communities, and the Dota team will continue to work with the custom game community to identify good candidates." Valve has also talked through its plans in an interview with PC Gamer. The outlet brought up pay-to-win incentives, which is one of the biggest concerns, to which Valve replied: "If we see custom game developers designing Custom Game Pass rewards that are hostile to custom game players, we will work with the developers to improve their design. If necessary, we will remove the custom game's right to sell Custom Game Passes. We believe it's unlikely that custom game creators who have successfully created and continuously maintained a high-quality custom game would knowingly destroy both their game and their community with a badly-designed premium reward scheme." The official line is that "Creators should focus on rewards that provide premium value to pass owners without harming the experience of users who have not chosen to purchase a pass." Additionally, refunds are available within the first 48 hours after paying for a Custom Game Pass. This system does sound like an improvement over the paid Skyrim mod situation, but I don't know that Valve has had the best track record when it comes to curation. We'll have to see how it goes. If you're curious, maybe consider flipping some Steam Trading Cards and trying it out. Supporting Custom Game Developers [Dota 2] |
| At GDC today? Come party with the Dtoid Community Posted: 15 Mar 2016 08:12 AM PDT In less than 24 hours we'll somehow be celebrating 10 years of Destructoid! Madness. Where to meet: meetup at Hawthron and enjoy happy hour, hosted by GameChops (5-8ish) at 46 Geary St. Preparty responsibility: you're going to need to put food in your body to survive the night. At 8pm we break for a quick dinner and after 9 we converge onto Love and Propaganda (previously Vessel, right across from Union Square behind the Nike store) where we're crashing the Homefront: The Revolution Party. Find us and we'll have blinking things to give you. Party goes until about 1am or until they drag us out. Hope to see you there! Who's spinning? MyKill, Murder Palace, and maybe you've heard of this guy |
| Hearthstone finally adds more deck slots Posted: 15 Mar 2016 08:00 AM PDT After two years of complaints, Blizzard has finally added more deck slots to the game. There's now 18 slots, double the original limit, to mess around with. Now you can have two decks per class! Deck Recipes are also in, which help suggest new cards to use. Finally, Liadrin is coming as a Paladin hero character, but instead of paying $10, you'll acquire her through World of Warcraft by leveling a character to 20. Sadly, you will need to level a character to 20 after 11AM PT, March 11, to unlock her. Retroactive accounts will "not be rewarded." Very lame. Alternatively, you can unlock a new WoW mount by winning three games in Hearthstone (play or arena). Hearthstone Patch Notes [Battle.net] |
| Nintendo's new rewards program begins this Thursday in Japan Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:30 AM PDT Nintendo's Mii-centric social app Miitomo launches this Thursday, March 17 in Japan alongside the company's customer loyalty program, My Nintendo, which tracks digital purchases and offers rewards like coupons. Buy games or use Nintendo apps, earn points, then buy more games. That's the idea. You might've known all of this already, but there are a few points of clarity on Nintendo's Japanese website. Notably, any eShop purchases you make before My Nintendo is up in your region will not count as far as points are concerned. And once the program is live (we'll likely get it soon after Japan), there are exceptions, including DLC and 3DS themes. Those types of purchases won't earn you points. This is all to say that if you're about to load up on eShop games and you want to get your My Nintendo account off to a good start and you can show restraint, it's probably worth waiting. Also, while we're on the topic, did you pre-register for Miitomo yet? You can do so here, and you should! Even if you aren't interested in the app, you'll at least secure some Platinum Points. If Club Nintendo (RIP) taught me anything, it's that every little bit helps. I hope the rewards are decent. My Nintendo [Nintendo Japan via Nintendo Life] |
| Paragon's early access starts now, no more progress wipes Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:00 AM PDT Paragon is gearing up for launch in the future, but for now, Epic is keen on putting it into an Early Access phase. The good news is that there will be "no more data wipes," so from this point on, you can play to your heart's content and unlock all the cards (read: items) you want. Note that the game is in active development, so we could see balance changes, and a ton of content still isn't live, including a tutorial system, as well as some assets. It still works just fine though, and I had a chance to check out the Early Access period myself with no major problems. New heroes are going to be added every three weeks as well. |
| I just climbed Mount Everest in the middle of San Francisco Posted: 15 Mar 2016 06:30 AM PDT I still haven't had much exposure to VR. Last August, I used the Oculus Rift to high-five a dead alien (please read that and tell me I'm funny) and pluck bullets out of the air. I still remember those events as if they were physical areas that I traversed instead of digital spaces that I temporarily inhabited. Today, I briefly visited Sólfar Studios at the GDC VR Lounge to see its mountain climbing experience, Everest VR. An HTC Vive and a pair of headphones were placed on my head and touch controllers found their way into my hands. I watched a short video about the history of Mount Everest and was already impressed by how the looming mountain in front of me had immediately become my real world. Despite being surrounded by a few thousand humans and having someone holding a cord attached to the back of my head, Matrix-style, my brain was like, "Sure, I can accept an instant mountain." The booth that Everest VR was set up in was a bit too small (something about fire hazard codes or some such prevented all VR booths from being the recommended size for the HTC Vive), but a convenient grid appears whenever you get too close to a wall so you can minimize how much of a dumbass you appear to be to the on-looking crowd. Once I had found the middle of the room, I was tasked with placing a carabiner on a rope. Then I had to move to some ropes and climb up to the next ledge. I turned around to see a fellow climber, and a blizzard blew in before I could see much else. This whole demo lasted five minutes at most, but being able to edge up to a the side of a sheer cliff and look over accelerated my heartbeat, and I'm not even afraid of heights. It kind of makes me mad how easy it is to fool my brain. All I could think of was how quickly my dad is going to shit his pants when he eventually tries this out. Everest VR is supposed to be short, so I'm curious to see what other snowy wonders there are when you're on top of the world. |
| StarCraft II picks back up with Nova Covert Ops on March 29 Posted: 15 Mar 2016 06:00 AM PDT Blizzard is cooking up more StarCraft II story content with its Nova Covert Ops single-player mission packs. The first pack of three will release on March 29, 2016, the company announced today. "The reign of Emperor Valerian Mengsk is under threat. Along with facing political opposition, several Dominion ghosts have gone missing in action while under his rule. Their trail leads to a secretive Terran group, the Defenders of Man. As Nova Terra, a psionic ghost trained to be the perfect covert operative, you must delve into the conspiracy before it's too late for the Terran Dominion." Each Nova Covert Ops pack comes with three missions, for a total of nine, and they should all be out by December. If you buy everything bundled, it's $14.99, otherwise you're paying $7.49 per pack. I know long-time StarCraft fans were let down by the story campaign, but as someone who isn't invested in the lore and mostly just wanted cool mission designs, I had a good time with that side of Legacy of the Void. |
| Metal Gear Online's Quiet DLC pack is out today Posted: 15 Mar 2016 05:30 AM PDT Metal Gear Online is still alive (though "well" is debatable), and a brand new DLC pack is arriving on all platforms today. Three new maps are in tow (all of which have a nostalgic element), as well as the Quiet character, for $3.99. There are also four $1.99 cosmetic packs on offer, in addition to a bundle with everything (and 550 MB) for $10.99. If you buy the DLC, you'll get instant access to a survival mode, balanced around win-streaks, which arrives on April 7. At that point, anyone can "try" the new maps 10 times per week. It's...a strange and convoluted system, but then again, it's Konami we're talking about. |
| We Are Chicago is a bit rougher than its namesake Posted: 15 Mar 2016 05:00 AM PDT We Are Chicago takes place in Chicago's south side. It is a city whose residents are besieged by violent crime, with homicide rates that make Los Angeles and New York look like Pleasantville. Much of that is confined to the gang-heavy south side of the city that most of us don't know beyond pop culture, typically music from the likes of Common, Kanye, Rhymefest, Twista, and more. I can't think of another game that explores the territory, certainly not one with a "myriad of in-depth first person interviews that are interwoven into the game's story" and includes "music from local artists that live and grew up on Chicago's south and west side." That level of authenticity resonates with me, as an insufferable San Francisco native (also from the "bad" part) dealing with the rapid gentrification of the city and subsequent clash over income disparity -- though San Francisco's Bayview doesn't come close to Chicago's south side. This is all to say I like what We Are Chicago's aiming for. Developer Culture Shock will even use, "a portion of the proceeds from the game to help raise awareness and support non-profit groups who have a mission to help curb violence and provide positive and creative opportunities to people living on Chicago's south and west side." |
| Here's how the Hyrule Warriors 3DS to Wii U transfer process works Posted: 15 Mar 2016 04:45 AM PDT As you may have heard, Nintendo is allowing players to import characters from the 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors Legends (Tetra, King of Hyrule, Skull Kid, Toon Link, and Linkle) into the previous Wii U edition of the game. It's been out in Japan since January, but now that I have a US copy of the game, I can confirm the details of the transfer process. It's...relatively painless. Tucked within the actual physical case is a code, which unlocks the appropriate cast members for use in free mode or adventure mode on Wii U. There's also a code for a bonus 3DS theme. I was not able to test out the code itself as I am greeted with a "This content is not currently being distributed" message, but I'll check back when the game actually launches on March 25. Stay tuned next week for our full Hyrule Warriors Legends 3DS review. |
| Gears of War 4's beta starts on April 18 Posted: 15 Mar 2016 04:30 AM PDT For those of you who are already enjoying Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on the Xbox One or Windows 10, you're already in the Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta. Microsoft has announced that the early access period for the newest game in the series will be held on April 18, concluding on April 24. From that point on until May 1, anyone (with Gold) can get in. Microsoft is also extending the window for entry into the beta, as anyone can still get in until April 11. All you need to do to qualify is log in and play the Ultimate Edition by 11PM PT that night. Sounds easy enough! I hope Gears 4 mixes things up and actually feels different, as I haven't been super impressed with the last few title's online modes. Gears of War 4 Multiplayer Beta [Xbox.com] |
| Your next Splatoon Splatfest is snowmen vs. sandcastles Posted: 15 Mar 2016 04:00 AM PDT Splatoon isn't done just yet, and although it's very clear that we're going to get a sequel of some sort (possibly with another creature), the live team is still hard at work on ancillary updates, which includes Splatfests. The next contest will start on Friday at 9PM PT, and will involve snowmen vs. sandcastles. As is customary with these posts I'll lay my choice out in public -- snowmen. I love winter, I love the cold (below 60 degrees, please), and I love snow. Nintendo of America [Twitter] |
| Xbox boss wants 64-player parties Posted: 15 Mar 2016 03:30 AM PDT The Director of Programming for Xbox, Mike Ybarra, wants bigger party sizes. Speaking to Game Informer, Ybarra notes that although the current limit is 12, he wants to go much higher, starting with an upcoming update that will raise that cap to 16. When asked about raising it further, he stated, "I’d love to get that to 64 because that’ll get Battlefield and games like that which do 64 vs. 64…have at it! Now, I don’t want to be in a party of 64, but that’s a different problem!" The reason for this extended count, even though a lot of Xbox games don't necessarily go that high? Because of parity with the Xbox app, which can be used by PC gamers. Ybarra is looking outside of the [x]box, and uses the example of playing World of Warcraft, with raids facilitated through the Xbox app. As Game Informer points out, the PS4 is still limited to parties of eight. This is a great idea overall, and could be part of Microsoft's big plan if they shift to cross-platform play successfully. With many publishers saying for years that Microsoft's closed policies were a big holdup for MMO ports and the like, there could be a nice future ahead for the publisher. Xbox's Director Of Programming Wants 64-Player Parties For Battlefield, MMO Raids [Game Informer] |
| Strafe might be the Spelunky of first-person shooters Posted: 15 Mar 2016 03:00 AM PDT One look at Strafe and its influences are obvious. The first-person shooter looks like a lot of first-person shooters. Quake, Doom, and Half-Life are a few titles that developer Pixel Titans grew up revering. Game director Thom Glunt even admitted that he used to be into the modding scene for these games. Yet, despite all that, in some ways Strafe is more like Spelunky than anything else. Initial impressions can be deceiving like that. Although it's unabashedly a fast murdering spree, Strafe is also admirably deep. There's very much a method to all the madness, and it's never the exact same. That's because Strafe is procedurally generated, always dealing a different hand. That's where the Spelunky comparisons begin, but it's not where they end. An apt connection can be made through difficulty, as Glunt cheerfully told me after my second run quickly failed "Hey, at least you made it out of the first room this time!" Or, the fact that it's a roguelike, meaning that each run is self-contained and no progress is carried over (although, there is a shortcut system). But, the thing that Glunt most likened to Spelunky -- and the guiding design philosophy for the entire game -- is that he wanted to give the players everything they need to beat the game right from the start. Whereas other roguelikes like The Binding of Isaac are about crafty stacking of skills, Strafe is more about tailoring a style. There probably won't be a surefire way to just crush whatever the game randomly presents, but there will be ways to make yourself more comfortable. |
| What is Blizzard teasing for Heroes of the Storm? Posted: 15 Mar 2016 02:00 AM PDT Blizzard is hinting at something Heroes of the Storm related with posts to Facebook and Twitter, stating -- "Breaking News: ‘missing’ minions found dead. Early reports suggest an ‘outlandish’ creature is responsible. Many question the legitimacy of the eyewitness reports." Many are speculating that it's Dehaka from StarCraft (voice files were found a while ago hinting at this), or even a raptor mount. There's also a balance patch coming in on Wednesday, involving a Nova buff (ha, another one), heavy Xul nerfs, and a controversial nerf to Rehgar that doesn't let him use Ancestral Healing on himself (!). Heroes of the Storm [Facebook] |
| Review: Senran Kagura Estival Versus Posted: 15 Mar 2016 01:00 AM PDT We've all heard the expression "sex sells." It's the idea that our brains are so hardwired toward carnal pleasures that we'll buy anything so long as there is a pretty face and a nice ass we can associate with it. But let's be honest, that's not true. No amount of sex can sell a product you know to be crap. So while I can appreciate Carl's Jr (or Hardee's for you east coasters) trying to tempt me with a nearly nude Emily Ratajkowski straddling a hamburger, it's not going to work because I already know that story ends with me suffering from indigestion due to their disgusting, flavorless meat circles. Same goes for video games, and the Senran Kagura series in particular. No amount of boobs pushed up against a screen or bare butts smacking into one another will convince me to spend $50 if the actual gameplay is garbage. You have to give me more than sex if you want to sell, and thankfully Senran Kagura Estival Versus has plenty of fast paced beat-em-up fun to go along with its nearly nude heroines. |
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