Saturday, October 31, 2015

News::Nuka-Cola Quantum available in time for 'Fallout 4'

Finished Nuka Cola Barstool

No one really knows what's in those bottles of Fallout Beer, but they likely won't hit US shores. What will however is Nuka-Cola Quantum. The folks at Fallout developer Bethesda have teamed up with the purveyors of funky fizzy drinks, Jones Soda, to put the "irradiated" refreshment on Target shelves just in time for Fallout 4's launch. Come November 10th, you'll be able to start slugging down what looks like the company's Berry Lemonade (a picture's embedded after the break) in preparation for what we're affectionately calling "Vault Day" here at Engadget. You know, what everyone else is referring to as November 10th, a.k.a. Fallout 4's release date.

Via: Technabob

Source: Jones Soda Co. (Instagram)



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News::ICYMI: Halloween Spooktacular and some tech news too

ICYMI: Halloween Spooktacular and Some Tech News Too
Today on In Case You Missed It: Chinese state-run media announced the country will begin building the world's largest super-collider, with an ETA of 2020. Realm Pictures just pulled off another live action shooter game, this time with an alien version and we are all tempted to get Chatroulette accounts. And Tokyo's auto show just wrapped this week and beside the totally Jetsons cars, we were struck by the cool factor of many of the cars' head and tail lights, which are made of lasers.

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Friday, October 30, 2015

News::Find life on Mars and kill it in 'The Techromancer'

Miss the character decision-driven science fiction epic of Mass Effect, but wish it had a little more of a melee focus? Pay attention to Techromancer -- it could be the spiritual successor you've been looking for. The game's developer, Spiders, doesn't exactly bill it as a Mass Effect clone, but the similarities are hard to ignore: an action RPG with a robust leveling system, forking story paths based on player choices and the ability to befriend and romance your teammates? That sure sounds familiar.

Source: Focus Files



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News::Amazon to deliver 'Call of Duty' at midnight on release day in 20 cities

Going the physical route on day one videogame releases has always meant either braving an in-store midnight event or waiting for a package to be delivered. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Amazon has an alternative: midnight delivery straight to your door, at no extra charge. In 20 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Minneapolis, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle) it promises to drop the game off -- along with any snacks you might order -- within a two hour window on November 6th through its Prime Now one-hour option.

Source: Amazon



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News::Playdate: A (probably terrifying) chat with 'SOMA' dev Ian Thomas

Well, the chat may not be terrifying, but the game certainly will be. Today on Playdate, we're diving into two horrifying, Halloween-worthy games, SOMA and PT. SOMA is the creepy underwater game from Amnesia: The Dark Descent studio Frictional Games, and PT is Konami's once-promising haunted-house exploration teaser for a game that's sadly not going to be made. While we're playing SOMA, we'll conduct a live interview with Ian Thomas, Frictional's level scripter and gameplay programmer. Let's find out what makes a master of digital horror tick. Playdate kicks off at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific and you can watch live right in this post, on the Engadget Gaming homepage or on Twitch.tv/Joystiq.



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News::Watch a live Director's Commentary of 'Until Dawn' right now

Until Dawn is a spooky spectacle of classic horror themes and beautifully branching narrative paths -- and today, developers at Supermassive Games will spill a bunch of behind-the-scenes secrets, live on Twitch. Supermassive is participating in an Until Dawn Director's Commentary livestream at 3:30PM ET, hosted on the official PlayStation Twitch channel. If you have questions about the characters, setting, mechanics or story of Until Dawn, this is where you might find your answers. Were we supposed to loathe Emily? Who was Josh modeled after? Will Sam be our BFF in real life (please)? For the answers, tune in right here, right now. Who knows -- the devs may even talk about Rush of Blood, the Until Dawn spin-off for PlayStation VR.

Source: PlayStation Blog



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News::SXSW apologizes, launches day-long Online Harassment Summit

South by Southwest organizers earned the ire of the internet this week after canceling two panels aimed at addressing online harassment and "GamerGate" culture in the video game industry. SXSW canceled the discussions because it received "numerous threats of violence" -- a reason that, to many, gave power to those threats and in fact encouraged continued harassment. Both Buzzfeed and Vox Media swiftly announced plans to skip SXSW entirely unless the panels were reinstated. Today, SXSW Interactive Director Hugh Forrest offered an apology and announced the Online Harassment Summit for March 12th. It's a full-day event that SXSW says will feature people from both of the canceled panels, plus a lineup of additional speakers. SXSW will live-stream the summit all day, for free. However, one panel organizer says she's not on-board with this new solution.

Source: SXSW



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News::'League of Legends' shoutcaster loves the game, not the fame

Trevor Henry doesn't like to think of himself as "famous." He prefers the term "recognizable," and then only in certain situations -- like at the League of Legends World Championships in Europe this year. Henry, professionally known as Quickshot, is a shoutcaster for League of Legends, which means he's often the face and voice of professional matches as he commentates on live games and analyzes important moves afterward. Literally millions of people know who he is: In 2014, 27 million fans watched the final match of the League World Championships. For perspective, the NBA Finals in 2014 averaged just 15.5 million viewers per game. Quickshot has been in the shoutcasting game for half a decade, although at first as a hobby and now professionally in a rapidly evolving industry. He knows where professional League of Legends started and sees where it can go -- and he told us all about it.



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News::Sony's new PSVR shooter is a rollercoaster ride of horror

Until Dawn Rush of Blood

"When we announced this, we saw a 50/50 split among the fanbase," said Simon Harris of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Supermassive Games' recently announced virtual reality shooter. The title, which debuted at Paris Games Week, is an extension of the PlayStation 4 exclusive released last August.The reason for the mixed reaction? Although its predecessor is an intense interactive drama, Rush of Blood is an on-rails arcade shooter (think House of the Dead or Time Crisis). Fans of the original want more drama, more Until Dawn, and this clearly isn't more of the same. But after playing a brief session of Rush of Blood and talking to Harris about the studio's plans, I'm convinced Supermassive knows what it's doing.



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News::'Dreams' isn't an enigma, it's 'LittleBigPlanet' reborn

Dreams

Sony hasn't worked out how to explain Dreams, the new title from LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway creator Media Molecule. Its debut at E3 was exciting but enigmatic, with a focus on player-driven creation and animation mechanics. At Sony's Paris Games Week press conference on Tuesday, the studio showed off a little more of Dreams. But it still wasn't clear how exactly what was shown on screen would work in practice -- we've seen a lot of creation tools, but not a lot of gameplay. Luckily, Media Molecule took some time after the event to talk us through its grand vision for Dreams. And, despite the confusion, it most definitely will be a game.



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News::Download every 'Tribes' game for free

Fancy yourself a fan of playing awesome PC shooters online? Boy howdy, do I have a story for you: Developer Hi-rez Studios has released every game in its Tribes series for free on its website as part of the franchise's 21st birthday celebration. That means everything from Starseige: Tribes to the free-to-play Tribes: Ascend is available right now, gratis. And you don't even have to buy it a drink -- the party's on Hi-rez's dime! As if you had any big plans for this weekend anyway.

Via: Dave Oshry (Twitter)

Source: Tribes Universe



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News::​Nier: Automata is hack-and-slash the Platinum way

A Nier sequel was one of the last things we expected to see at E3 this year -- which is why it was such a surprise when Square Enix showed off a proof-of-concept trailer for an upcoming PS4 sequel. Today, the company gives us something more substantial: the game's full name (Nier: Automata), a new gameplay trailer focusing on Platinum Games' combat engine and a bit of backstory.

Source: PlayStation



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News::Video games are pretty lazy in their portrayal of PTSD

It's reported that one in three troops returning home from war are being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress symptoms. If you look at video games, those numbers are probably exponentially higher considering the events characters endure while saving the (virtual) world. But games aren't exactly known for being particularly subtle, and that's what the latest episode of Low Batteries from Eurogamer is all about. The clip examines Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Spec Ops: The Line, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and a few others. The findings? Sadly, games use PTSD as short-hand to fill in character backstory or motivations and sometimes are pretty lazy about it.

Via: (2)

Source: Eurogamer (YouTube) (1)



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Thursday, October 29, 2015

News::Terror returns in 'Outlast 2,' confirmed for fall 2016

Outlast was one of the most horrifying games of 2013 -- and perhaps of all time. Our review called it a "perfect nightmare" of gore, mental strain and tense sound design, and the Whistleblower DLC, which followed in 2014, was similarly heart-pounding. Just two days before Halloween 2015, independent studio Red Barrels has unveiled Outlast 2, due next fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Details are scarce, but we know that this sequel will be a brand-new beast. "The game will be a survival-horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast, but it will have different characters and a different setting," Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin outlined in October 2014. A brief teaser trailer released today suggests Outlast 2 will continue the franchise's theme of haunting religious imagery.

Source: Red Barrels



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News::Steam Halloween sale slashes prices on 'GTA V' and more

Sailing on Halloween Lake

You know Steam loves to celebrate most holidays in a big way -- with notable discounts on ton of different games. And since Halloween is almost here, the service is now letting you save cash on spooky titles such as BioShock, Left 4 Dead 2, Alien: Isolation, Outlast, ARK: Survival Evolved, Dead Realm and SOMA, to mention a few. There's also Grand Theft Auto V, which is priced at about $40 right now, compared to the usual $60 -- while we wouldn't exactly call Rockstar's title "spooky," it's great to have it as part of the promotion. Speaking of, the Steam Halloween sale will be live until November 2nd at 1AM ET, so you have some time to look over the games list and determine whether you want to pull the trigger on any of them.

Source: Steam



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News::'Mirror's Edge Catalyst' release date pushed back to May 2016

Mirror's Edge Catalyst, the long-awaited sequel to 2008's free-running spectacle Mirror's Edge, has been delayed from February 23rd to May 24th, 2016. The developer, DICE, will use the extra months to polish the game's mechanics and make it "as entertaining, impressive and memorable as it can be," Senior Producer Sara Jansson writes. The publisher, EA, will probably put the extra time to good use as well -- Catalyst's original February date was getting crowded, with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Far Cry Primal also launching then. Packed release dates aren't new: Last year, it looked like five major games would launch on the same day, October 7th, and of course a few of them ended up changing dates.

Source: DICE



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News::Playdate's Xbox 360 Halloween Horror: 'Dead Space and 'Condemned'

Today on Playdate, we're facing our fears. Not of things that go bump in the night, but of industrial mining spaceships and rabid hobos. It's all in the name of good fun though! We're taking a trip back to check out some of the Xbox 360's best horror games this Halloween week and checking out Dead Space and Condemned: Criminal Origins. Join myself and Sean Buckley for the scream-fest starting at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific for two hours of survival horror here on this post, the Engadget Gaming homepage or Twitch.tv/joystiq if you'd like to make fun of Tim's shrill shouts of terror.



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News::'Titanfall' is going mobile

Titanfall, the mech-based multiplayer shooter from the creators of Call of Duty, will land on iOS and Android in some form in 2016. Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment has partnered with free-to-play publisher Nexon and mobile developer Particle City in a multi-year, multi-game deal. There are no details about the mechanics or style of the coming Titanfall mobile games, but considering Nexon's involvement, it's a good bet that they'll be free with in-app payments. "Nexon's unrivaled publishing network and free-to-play expertise will allow Titanfall to reach new global audiences. And with Particle City, we are closely collaborating to create all-new standalone games with original gameplay experiences that expand the Titanfall universe to players everywhere," Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella says in a press release.



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News::I played through 'Halo 5: Guardians' solo and hated it

This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

Halo 5: Guardians is not the Halo you remember. It's a different kind of game altogether, something that more closely resembles a modern first-person shooter that focuses on multiplayer rather than a strong solo experience. This isn't the first time that's happened, but it is the first time in 11 years that a new Halo campaign feels like a massive step backwards compared to its predecessor. Microsoft-owned studio 343 Industries is capable of better than this and proved as much with its killer freshman effort, Halo 4. But instead of addressing what it got wrong with that installment (i.e., an unexplained main villain) and doubling down on what it did right (i.e., an emotional storyline and constantly varying gameplay), the team fundamentally altered how a Halo campaign works to horrendous results.



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News::Befriend a bear or get killed by it in PS4-exclusive 'Wild'

When Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman, first demoed Wild, the PlayStation 4-exclusive game set in a lush Neolithic world of ancient tribes and animals, it was generally met with raves. After nearly a year, however, gamers actually want to know how it plays. At Sony's Paris Games Week event, Ancel replied in the best way possible: By showing you could ride a freaking bear. In Wild, you can also take control of animals and play as them, summon spirits and walk (or swim) around the vast open world. But before any bear-riding happens, you'll need to get savvy about your environment. As Ancel explained in his charming French accent, "For hours and hours at the beginning of the game, you will be killed by the bears."



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News::PlayStation in Paris: Lots of trailers, not much news

Paris Games Week 2015 became a Iot more interesting when Sony decided to hold its fall event there instead of at Gamescom. So after all the hand-wringing, how was it in the end? Comme ci, comme ca. There were a few important announcements, like a release date for No Man's Sky, the launch of Gran Turismo Sport, complete with an entire league, and the reveal of Quantic Dreams' beautiful-looking Ex Machina-type game called Detroit. We also saw gameplay for Wild, Michel Ancel's (other) eagerly anticipated title. Otherwise, it was a bit of a letdown, with a lot of rehashing and still no solid release date for PlayStation VR. For more, check out our wrap-up video below or yesterday's liveblog.

Sony's "Pairs Games Week" Recap

Aaron Souppouris contributed to this report.



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News::Watch all of Bob Ross' 'The Joy of Painting' on Twitch

This undated image released by Copyright Bob Ross Inc./The Joy of Painting, shows the late Bob Ross, host of the PBS series "The Joy of Painting." PBS said Thursday it's posted a video remix with clips from "The Joy of Painting" instructional series, featuring the late Bob Ross. The "Happy Painter" remix is from John Boswell, who created the "Garden of Your Mind" video tribute to Fred Rogers. That mashup of clips from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" has been viewed nearly 6 million times on YouTube. "The Joy of Painting," still seen in repeats, aired on PBS from 1983 to 1994 with its bushy-haired, mellow-voiced host. Ross died in 1995. (AP Photo/Copyright Bob Ross Inc. Æ The Joy of Painting)

To celebrate the Bob Ross' birthday, streaming video outfit Twitch has secured the rights to broadcast all 403 episodes of the well-coiffed artist's The Joy of Painting series. The magic runs for a week, starting today, over at Ross' Twitch channel, and is part of a bigger announcement: Twitch Creative is partnering with Adobe as a launch sponsor, and the category's getting its own homepage that'll highlight, well, folks painting and doing other creative stuff on the service. What's more, the fledgling Music category's getting brought over under the Creative umbrella, so there's a good chance you could log on and see Deadmau5 making his next electronic track on the homepage soon.



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News::PlayStation and a strong dollar help Sony turn a profit

Twelve months ago, Sony was busy recalculating the losses it was expecting to report, due to its beleaguered mobile division. Today, the firm's announcing a 33.6-billion yen ($278-million) profit thanks (once more) to PlayStation and its image sensor division. Overall revenues came in slightly lower than a year ago (down by 0.5), but a general uptick across the company's many divisions has helped push it into profitability. Despite this, mobile sales continue to slide (down 15-percent this quarter). Sony's Xperia brand is an expensive pastime, costing the company approximately $1.9 million per day in losses.

Source: Sony



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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

News::Nintendo's first mobile game sounds weird, has in-app payments

Mario won't be leaping or exclaiming on your iPhone any time soon. At an investor's meeting, NIntendo announced that it's delayed its smartphone game debut til around March 2016. It's also aiming for a global launch. Elaborating in the Q&A session, Nintendo CEO Kimishima said the first game is called Miitomo ("Mii Friends") and will involve Mii interactions. Your avatar will apparently even interact with people on its own volition, helping shy types or unearthing sinister new facets of your friend's personality. Maybe. Inevitably, (mobile games maker DeNa is involved), in-app payments will be built-in, but the game will be free to play. Games following Miitomo will be pay-to-download. You know, like normal Nintendo release. The company plans to launch five different apps by March 2017.

Source: WSJ



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News::'Batman: Arkham Knight' returns to PC with some lingering issues

Warner Bros. removed Batman: Arkham Knight from Steam in June because that version of the game was essentially too broken to function. Today, it re-launched Arkham Knight on Steam, though some players are still experiencing problems. In an effort to address these issues, Warner Bros. posted an update with a few suggestions for specific problems: Windows 7 players may encounter hard-drive paging issues after "extended gameplay sessions," but "re-launching the game will resolve" that. For Windows 10 players, Warner Bros. says, "having at least 12GB of system RAM on a PC allows the game to operate without paging and provides a smoother gameplay experience." It should be noted that 12GB of RAM would provide a smoother gameplay experience for just about every game in existence. The studio is also looking into stabilizing the experiences on specific graphics cards.

Via: Motherboard

Source: Steam



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News::Xbox One Kinect bundle drops to $399 for a limited time

CHINA-TECHNOLOGY-CES ASIA

With the holiday season just around the corner, Microsoft is looking to capitalize on Xbox One sales over the next couple of months. As such, the company has announced a limited-time deal for the kit that includes its latest console and companion motion sensor, plus Dance Central Spotlight, Kinect Sports Rivals and Zoo Tycoon. If you're in the US, Mexico or Canada, starting today you can buy the Xbox One Kinect bundle for $399, $7,999 MXN and $449 CAD, respectively. What's more, for people who only want the Kinect, Microsoft's also offering it for $99 right now. Microsoft didn't say how long this promotion will last, so those of you who are interested should probably act on it as soon as possible.

Source: Xbox



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News::A 'Quake Live' Steam update raises the game's price from $0 to $10

Quake Live, a highly competitive first-person shooter from Doom studio id Software, has been free since it launched in 2010. Rather, it had been free. On Wednesday, long-time players booted up the game to find it now costs $10 on Steam and no longer offers subscription options for serious fans. The move is part of Quake Live's transition to Steamworks, which allows players to use their Steam display names in-game, receive Steam stats and achievements, and download new content through the Steam Workshop. "By retiring our services and subscription service, all players now have the same benefits and features in-game," the Quake Live team says. The move also erases all previous game data, which, for some players, is five years' worth of clan-building and killing. Many players were surprised (and some were enraged) by today's news.

Via: Kotaku Australia

Source: Quake Live



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News::Android can record your mobile gaming sessions

Game recording on Android

Google doesn't want YouTube Gaming to be populated solely with videos from consoles and PCs. It's rolling out a feature in the Google Play Games app that lets you record 480p or 720p footage from any Android game that supports the Google Play framework. All you do is pick the game from the GPG app and start capturing -- when you're done, you can edit the clip before sending it YouTube's way. You can have it record your on-camera reactions, too, if pure gameplay isn't entertaining enough. Only US and UK gamers will have access to recording in the next few days, but more countries are coming "soon after."

Source: Android Official Blog



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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

News::Playdate's Wii U Halloween Horror: 'Fatal Frame' and 'Year Walk'

'Spooky' isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind when one things of the family-friendly Wii U -- but that didn't stop the PlayDate crew from digging up a couple or horror titles to mark the coming of all hallows eve. Join us at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific as we tour Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water's haunted Hikami Mountain and learn the legend of its ghost-wrangling shrine maidens. Then, we'll take a Year Walk and step into the darker side of old Swedish folklore. Join in the fun right here, at twitch.tv/joystiq and on the Engadget Gaming homepage.



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News::Copyright exemption lets you modify old games to keep them running

A First Look At The Brand New National Videogame Arcade

You no longer have to dread the day that a game developer shuts off its servers and renders your favorite title unplayable. As part of a series of DMCA copyright exemptions, the US Library of Congress has granted long-sought permission to disable authentication server requirements in games where a server's shutdown will completely break the experience. Historians can even hack the consoles themselves, if necessary. This doesn't allow you to tweak games where you'd only lose multiplayer modes, but it does mean that at least some aspects of a classic game will live on.

Via: Electronic Frontier Foundation

Source: Copyright.gov (PDF)



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News::Enjoy all the trailers from PlayStation's Paris Games Week event

Sony had plenty of titles to show off at its inaugural Paris Games Week press conference today, from Star Wars: Battlefront to No Man's Sky, Dreams and Gravity Rush 2. It showed off some new games, including Gran Turismo Sport, Vector (made in collaboration with the musician Avicii), Housemarque's Matterfall and Detroit: Become Human from Beyond: Two Souls creator David Cage. We also got a closer look at Wild, the fantastical, mysterious, open-world game from Rayman creator Michel Ancel. See trailers for all of these and more, including some videos not shown on-stage today, all handily collected below. You can even read along with our liveblog and pretend the conference is happening all over again, at your own speed.



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News::'Detroit: Become Human' is Quantic Dream's debut PS4 game

Detroit is bouncing back from some absolutely devastating economic times, but Detroit: Become Human from Quantic Dream exists in an altogether different timeline. The team behind Heavy Rain is using the Motor City and its manufacturing legacy as a backdrop for its tale of an AI with human emotions, and the game is an extension of the studio's "Cara" demo from a few years back. Aside from that, lead David Cage didn't give an awful lot of info. Considering the studio's pedigree, it isn't too much of a stretch to assume the game will be highly cinematic but that could also be a detriment. After all, the team's last game, Beyond: Two Souls looked great in demos too but fell a bit flat in terms of actual gameplay. Become Human isn't the first time a game about androids and AI's been set in Motown -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution did that back in 2011.


We're live from France for Paris Games Week 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.

Source: PlayStation (YouTube)



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News::'Gran Turismo Sport' for PS4 will award real prizes

An Audi in 'Gran Turismo Sport'

At long last, Gran Turismo is coming to the PlayStation 4... and you'll have more reasons to play than just the usual graphics and gameplay updates. The newly unveiled Gran Turismo Sport will have two FIA-sanctioned championships running throughout the year (one for countries, one for manufacturers), and the winners of each will get real FIA prizes. This is about building the "next 100 years of motorsports," Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi says -- in other words, he wouldn't be surprised if racing is increasingly virtual in the future. It's certainly an easier path to glory than becoming a real race car driver.



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News::You can ride a bear in 'Rayman' creator's PS4 game, 'Wild'

We haven't heard much about Wild, the new game from Rayman creator Michel Ancel, since its announcement in August 2014. It was a highlight of Sony's Gamescom press conference that year, offering a fantastical, open-world landscape filled with ferocious beasts and strong warriors, and then it seemingly disappeared -- until today. Ancel took the stage at Sony's Paris Games Week press conference and showed off Wild's mechanics, transforming from a human into an eagle and a rabbit as his needs dictated. He also rode a bear for a while, which was "the greatest thing," as our liveblog put it. At the end of the demo, a giant snake lady appeared in front of the main character, sealing the fantastical tone of the game. Check out the PGW walkthrough below.


We're live from France for Paris Games Week 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.



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News::Surprise: 'Tekken 7' is heading to PlayStation VR

Squeezed between the high-octane trailers of its Paris Games Week press conference, Sony quietly announced that Tekken 7 will launch on PlayStation VR. Details are scarce, but it's definitely happening. Tekken 7 is, of course, heading to PlayStation 4 in the traditional, non-VR form as well.


We're live from France for Paris Games Week 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.



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News::'Until Dawn' coming to PlayStation VR in 'Rush of Blood'

Thankfully it looks like Sony isn't treating the excellent Until Dawn as a one and done. The interactive horror flick is coming to PlayStation VR sometime in the future and PlayStation Head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida promises that the horror will be all around you once it releases. When's that? No dates were given just yet.

We're live from France for Paris Games Week 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.



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News::Media Molecule's 'Dreams' beta coming to PS4 in 2016

One of the most interesting games we saw at E3 2015 was Dreams, created by the team behind LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway. Today, at Sony's press briefing at Paris Games Week, Media Molecule showed actual gameplay and revealed that a beta of the title will be available next year.

Developing...


We're live from France for Paris Games Week 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.



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News::'Driveclub' spices up its racing with superbikes

Driveclub Bikes

Like Driveclub's arcade racing, but miss the two-wheeled adventures of Evolution Studios' earlier MotorStorm? You might just get the best of both worlds. Evolution has taken the wraps off of Driveclub Bikes, a stand-alone game (also available as an add-on) that brings superbikes into the fray. The core mechanics will be familiar if you're a veteran of the PlayStation 4 racer, of course, but the switch to motorcycles can't help but alter the experience. Is Bikes going to change your mind on Driveclub if you were soured on it at first? Probably not, but you can download it today -- it might be worth a look if you want to know whether or not the franchise has turned a corner.



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News::Watch the trailer for Uncharted 4's frenetic multiplayer

With Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection safely out the door, Sony can turn its attention to the franchise's next instalment: Uncharted 4. During its press conference at Paris Games Week, the company unveiled a brand new trailer for A Thief's End. This time the company is focusing on multiplayer, with Nathan and the gang facing off in fast, frantic team-based combat.

Source: Sony (Livestream)



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News::Hello Games says 'No Man's Sky' will launch in June, 2016

At Sony's inaugural Paris Games Week press conference today, studio Hello Games revealed that its much-anticipated exploration survival game will hit store shelves some time next June. The developers were also kind enough to drop a new trailer for the game, which you can see immediately below.



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News::Sony announces SZ5 release date and new playable character

At Sony's Paris Games Week on Tuesday, Yoshinori Ono, the mastermind behind Street Fighter 5, made a series of stunning revelations. First, he revealed that Dhalsim, everybody's favorite ass-kicking yogi, will be among the 16 playable characters when the game launches. Second, the game will hit North American and European store shelves on February 16th 2016. Finally, and most excitingly, Ono-san announced that six additional characters will be available within the first year of gameplay. What's more, they'll be unlockable -- for free -- using the in-game "fight money" currency. No DLCs here, folks, you're going to have to earn these characters the old fashioned way: by beating the snot out of your opponent.



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News::We're live from Sony's PlayStation event!

PlayStation Paris

Sony skipped its traditional August Gamescom conference this year, preferring the golden fall leaves of Paris to the sweltering summer heat of Germany. Today it's holding an event just outside of Paris to reveal what's next for PlayStation. Expect a big focus on PlayStation VR, some new games, and an update on upcoming titles like Uncharted 4, No Man's Sky, Dreams and WiLD. We're on the ground at La Grande Arche de la Défense, watching the sun set over Paris' financial district. After we pry ourselves away from this idyllic scene, you can join us at 6PM CET (1PM ET, 10AM PT) to follow Sony's big show from the comfort of our liveblog.



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News::'Uncharted' borrows from cinema to sidestep clunky game design

Developer Naughty Dog's games have always had a flair for the cinematic and that's due in large part to their presentation. The studio takes a minimalistic approach to how it delivers information to the player, eschewing ugly on-screen means of directing you where to go by using filmic techniques like smart scene composition and color to subtly guide the players from one area to the next. In the video below, YouTuber Mark Brown explores Uncharted 3's opening, breaking down how Naughty Dog pretty masterfully keeps players on the right track during the rooftop chase sequence without it feeling claustrophobically linear.

Source: Mark Brown (YouTube)



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News::'Dragon's Lair' hits Kickstarter in search of a feature-length movie

That Dragon's Lair debuted as a LaserDisc format game/interactive movie but was never a proper film was always a little weird, but that could change. Original creators Don Bluth (An American Tale and The Land Before Time -- not Arrested Development) and Gary Goldman are taking their cinematic aspirations to Kickstarter in the hopes that you'd want to see protagonist Dirk the Daring once more. Dragon's Lair: The Movie will be a prequel this time 'round and fill in the bumbling knight's backstory. The idea here is that if the $550,000 goal's met, the team at Don Bluth Films, Inc. can make a fleshed out teaser presentation to show investors that a feature-length flick is worth pursuing to the tune of the proposed $70 million budget.

Source: Kickstarter



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Monday, October 26, 2015

News::Researchers use video games to test chameleons' vision

Baby Yeman Chameleon

You probably know that a chameleon's eyes move independently of one another. Thanks to video games, however, it's clear that this oddball vision is more powerful than previously thought. Israeli researchers made chameleons play a simple game where they had to track and lash out at multiple digital flies, gauging their ability to focus on two objects at once. In the tests, the lizards easily followed one target in each eye -- they only focused on one fly when they were ready to strike. The eyes even have distinctive movement patterns based on their active roles, so there's no doubt as to what they're doing.

Source: Reuters



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News::SXSW cancels online harassment panel, because of harassment

SXSWi design and logo

Online harassment is a real world problem, and you don't need to look any further than a cancelled South by Southwest Interactive panel for more reasons why. Citing "numerous threats of violence" the SXSW planning team has annulled "Level Up: Overcoming Harassment in Games" at next March's event according to an email sent to panelists that was obtained by Jezebel. What's more, the festival has cancelled a pro-GamerGate panel, dubbed "SavePoint: A Discussion on the Gaming Community," as well. An official statement from the organizers says that since announcing the two panels they've been inundated with threats of on-site violence and in the interest of keeping the marketplace of diverse people and diverse ideas (their words) safe, the best way to do that was simply not act as a venue for the discussions. "Maintaining civil and respectful dialogue within the big tent is more important than any particular session," the statement reads.

Via: Jezebel

Source: South by Southwest, Jezebel, Reddit (1), (2)



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News::Xbox One's big backwards compatibility update arrives November 12th

During tonight's Halo 5: Guardians launch festivities, Xbox boss Phil Spencer just announced that the Xbox One will receive its Windows 10-based update on November 12th. That's the one that will put a new UI on the console, as well as give everyone the ability to play certain Xbox 360 games. Some Xbox One owners in the preview program has been beta testing the new OS for a few months, and the experience has occasionally been a bit rough. Hopefully all that testing means the bugs are appropriately squished once this software rolls out wide in a couple of weeks. You can see the announcement in the video embedded after the break, or jump to the live broadcast as the Microsoft folks count down to midnight.

Source: Xbox (YouTube)



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News::What's on your HDTV: 'Halo 5,' 'Ash vs. Evil Dead' and the World Series

army of darkness

This week's releases are topped by the arrival of Halo 5: Guardians, complete with the usual midnight releases and excitement. We've been playing it for a few days and while the game is as well-put-together as ever, the real question is if Microsoft's servers can hold up once gamers start filling them up later tonight. We'll see -- and good luck to all. On Tuesday night the World Series kicks off between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets, while ESPN has a new 30 for 30 about John du Pont. CBS is premiering its new Supergirl series tonight, but we're more excited about Saturday when Bruce Campbell comes back to TV in the role of Ash as Starz premieres Ash vs. Evil Dead. If you need a copy, there's also a new Army of Darkness collector's edition on Blu-ray. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).



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News::Nintendo wanted to tone down the violence in 'GoldenEye'

The classic N64 first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 is one of the most beloved games of the '90s and played a big part in ushering such games from the PC to the living room. It's the kind of game that a certain audience will never tire of learning more about, which is why this report from The Guardian is such an enjoyable read. GoldenEye's director Martin Hollis discussed the game at the GameCity festival in Nottingham England and dropped some details on just how developer Rare was able to bring such a violent game to the family-friendly Nintendo console.

Via: Kotaku

Source: The Guardian



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News::AuraVisor takes on Gear VR, no phone required

Most current virtual reality headsets fall broadly into one of two categories: high-end options (Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR etc.) that connect to a console or PC, and glorified phone holders (Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard et al). AuraVisor offers a third way: the freedom of an untethered headset, but you leave your phone in your pocket -- everything is built-in to the visor. It's a fairly logical solution to the fast-growing problem of family-friendly VR. Using your phone in a headset is quick and dirty, but it comes with compromises on compatibility and comfort. Not to mention the ever-present risk of your fun being interrupted by all the other things your phone does (email, calendars and myriad other notifications). AuraVisor put VR into a single, Android-based device that could provide a Gear VR-like solution to everyone, minus the anxieties of using a phone.

Source: AuraVisor (Kickstarter)



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Saturday, October 24, 2015

News::Inventor makes a real-world 'Assassin's Creed' rope launcher

Colin Furze is terrified by his 'Assassin's Creed' grappling gauntlet

One of the centerpieces of Assassin's Creed Syndicate is Jacob Frye's wrist-mounted rope launcher -- he can scale buildings like a Victorian-era Batman. But would such a thing be possible in real life? If you ask Colin Furze, the answer is yes... sort of. As part of a promo for Ubisoft, the inventor built a real rope launcher gauntlet that uses a carbon dioxide canister to propel the line, and a motorized winch to hoist you up. You wouldn't want to use it for any daring escapes: it's bulky, slow, and needs a harness to support your weight. However, the very fact that it works at all is impressive. If you ever need to fight Templars (or just want to climb walls with ease), you'll want to ask Furze for some pointers.

Via: CNET

Source: Colin Furze (YouTube 1), (2), (3)



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