“You are alone in your rebellion, Ms. Dickinson.” Get ready to be enthralled by the words and emotions of Emily Dickinson. A festival trailer has debuted for the film A Quiet Passion, from director Terence Davis (whose other film Sunset Song was just released in theaters this year). Cynthia Nixon stars as the legendary poet Emily Dickinson in this “luminous biopic”. Also starring Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine, Duncan Duff, Jodhi May, Joanna Bacon and Catherine Bailey. These kind of intense period pieces aren’t usually my thing, and I’m not that curious about this. However, the music they used for this trailer definitely got my attention. It’s the track “Stars Wait For Us” by Plu-Ton and it seems odd, but totally works. ›››
“You’re not a bad man, and I’m glad we’re friends.” Paramount has debuted the trailer for a drama called Same Kind of Different as Me, adapted from the memoirs of Denver Moore, Ron Hall & Lynn Vincent, about the lives of three people bound together by fate and friendship. The film stars Renée Zellweger in her first major role (aside from Bridget Jones’s Baby) in years, Greg Kinnear, and Djimon Hounsou; along with Jon Voight, Olivia Holt, Ty Parker and others. This looks like an emotional, heartfelt story of friends and family, but some of it looks pretty bland and melodramatic. They’re also dumping this during the Oscar season meaning it’s not that great, but at least Djimon Hounsou looks exceptional. Give it a watch. ›››
“We’re focused on a few things. I’d say first we’re focused on growing the user base of our games, bringing our games to as many gamers as possible; that’s why you see a lot of our big franchises on Windows 10,” he explained. “That allows more gamers than ever before to play titles like Gears of War, Forza Horizon, etc. From a console ecosystem standpoint, we’re seeing really healthy console sales and really healthy engagement. Year over year, for the month of July, we saw Xbox One usage up 18 percent, so also really healthy.”
Greenberg acknowledged that Sony has had “a lot of success as well.” The overall market, combining Xbox One and PS4, is “really healthy” right now, Greenberg said, while game sales are also “strong.” The executive added that Microsoft and Sony are “innovating in different ways,” citing Microsoft’s console/PC unification efforts specifically.
“It’s been a good industry for both of us, and we’re innovating in different ways,” Greenberg explained. “We’re innovating in a way where we know a lot of gamers are multi-device gamers–they don’t just buy one system–and so we want to be able to have the same types of experiences on Xbox Live, the same games, the same friends, both in the living room on their console or at work, on vacation or at school on their PC. You should be able to stay connected, and play the same games through things like Play Anywhere. That’s really been where we’ve been focused.”
PlayStation president Andrew House has suggested Sony does not plan to imitate Microsoft’s Play Anywhere feature, saying recently he’s unsure if there is actually demand for it. “Yes, there was a big emphasis from the folks at Microsoft on Xbox and PC cross-play. It remains to be seen whether there is latent large consumer demand for that,” he said during an investor briefing.
The images show off a team of four characters going through all kinds of hell. In the events of Metal Gear Survive, players are are sucked into wormholes that transport them into alternate timelines, where they’ll encounter desert landscapes and half-formed structures that were sucked in along with them. Click through the images in the gallery below to get a closer look.
It launches in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more on Metal Gear Survive as new information becomes available.
Ubisoft’s wonderful platformer Rayman Origins is now free on PC through the publisher’s Uplay store. To get the game, all you have to do is head to the Ubi 30 website and click “Get the Game Now.”
You’ll need to sign into Uplay to add the game to your library, but that’s it.
Rayman Origins, which replaces the previous freebie, Splinter Cell, will be available for free for 30 days; after you’ve download it, it’s yours forever. Ubisoft made the game free to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The publisher gave away Prince of Persia in June and then Splinter Cell in July.
If you’re not interested in Rayman Origins, the good news is that four more free Ubisoft games are coming. One game will be released through Uplay every month through the end of 2016. September’s free game has not yet been announced.
The Battlefield 1 open beta kicks off at the end of the month, with action taking place on the just-announced Sinai Desert map. While you have to wait a little while longer to play the map yourself, EA has now released a lot of footage of it from a livestream event this week at Gamescom in Germany.
GameSpot captured some of the footage, showing off horse combat, swords, and a deadly armored train, among other things. You can see all of this in the two videos embedded in this post, above and below.
Battlefield 1 is set during World War I and aims to shine a light on some of the lesser-known elements of the Great War, including horseback combat and more. In addition to multiplayer, there is a single-player mode that sees players traveling across the war’s various fronts. However, EA has yet to provide much in the way of specifics about the campaign.
The Battlefield 1 beta begins on August 31 for everyone. However, Battlefield Insiders can jump in ahead of that; it’s not too late to sign up for this free service, either; sign up here.
The Battlefield 1 beta will feature two modes–and they are the bread and butter of Battlefield. Beta players will get to try out Conquest (64 players) and Rush (24 players). Official descriptions of these modes and how they work for Battlefield 1 can be found here.
With shooter Titanfall 2 scheduled to come out in a couple months, Respawn has now revealed it’s aiming to have the game run at 60 FPS. Art director Joel Emslie told DualShockers at Gamescom this week that the FPS target applies to multiplayer and single-player.
Unlike the original Titanfall, the sequel has a single-player mode (read more about it here). Reaching 60 FPS is a “huge goal” for Respawn, Emslie said, though it appears it hasn’t been completely locked down yet.
Emslie also talked about Titanfall 2’s resolution. This is not yet finalized, so Respawn isn’t ready to discuss this in terms of specifics, he said. However, Emslie explained that the Respawn is currently putting the “finishing touches on some features that could help with resolution,” according to the report.
Eagle Flight, which was made by Ubisoft Montreal’s FunHouse division, will come out on October 18 for Oculus Rift, with a PlayStation VR release to follow on November 8. The HTC Vive version will debut on December 20. This game lets players become an eagle, flying over the skies of Paris after humans have left. There is a single-player mode, as well as multiplayer in the form of the “Capture the Prey” mode.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a licensed game made by Ubisoft’s Red Storm Entertainment, will come out on all three major VR platforms on November 29. This game lets you become a member of the Federation onboard a Starfleet ship. You can play as the captain or a member of the crew.
Ubisoft’s third VR game, the medieval-themed Werewolves Within, launches on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR on December 6. Also developed by Red Storm Entertainment, this multiplayer game challenges players to discover who is a werewolf.
“Uncover the werewolves that have been terrorizing the townsfolk through fast-paced games with five to eight players,” reads a line from its description. “No two games are the same–one round you could be a villager, pleading your case for innocence, and the next round you could be a werewolf, lying your way to a win.”
Additionally, arcade racing game TrackMania Turbo will receive a free patch its PlayStation VR version on November 8 that introduces virtual reality support.
An exclusive new clip shared with GameSpot shows a glimpse at the level of detail to be expected from action scenes in the upcoming Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV movie. The featured scene depicts Nyx and Luna attempting to make their way through an airship, with explosions and a large octopus-like monster getting in the way. Check out the visuals in the video, which is embedded above.
Kingsglaive’s main characters are voiced by actors Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, The Island), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Need for Speed), and actress Lena Headey (Game of Thrones). The movie will be released in select theatres on August 19, then digital channels on August 30. The Blu-ray disc version will be available on October 4.
Kingsglaive was well-received in GameSpot’s review. Editor Alexa Ray Corriea said, “The casting is on point, and the visuals are sharp and spectacular… As a film, audiences may have some problem chewing on what’s essentially a beautiful story dump ahead of Final Fantasy XV’s release. But as a Final Fantasy film, it’s a tribute to all who have touched this series and who have been touched by it–a labor of love for the fans who ask for more from their stories. The power and the praise that Kingsglaive lends XV’s team is well-deserved indeed.”
To see what other critics are saying about the film, check out our For more on Kingsglaive, check out our review roundup.
Ubisoft is showing off South Park: The Fractured But Whole alongside a device that shoots farts into your nose. It’s a parody of Oculus’ VR headset called the Nosulus Rift, and it utilizes a fart-scented perfume to make players feel like someone is shooting an air biscuit directly up their nostrils. GameSpot got the chance to speak to Oculus head of studios Jason Rubin and asked what the video game industry veteran thought of the nightmare device.
“[Matt Stone and Trey Parker] are some of the funniest human beings on the planet and very deserving of their accolades,” Rubin said. “Having Matt and Trey take on Oculus says we’ve made it. It is absolutely a moment of pride for Oculus.”
Rubin worked with Stone and Parker on South Park: The Stick of Truth back when he was the CEO of the now shuttered THQ. He says “producing Matt and Trey was one of the most amazing moments” of his career.
“We would go and hear their pitches for levels and they’d be like, ‘Okay, you’re climbing up a rectum,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, how are we going to get this by the ratings board?’” Rubin laughed. “Those guys are amazing. It’s a moment of pride. More power to them. Ubisoft is a big supporter of VR, so the joke is on all of us and we all share in that.”
If you like to watch people suffer, you can watch GameSpot’s own Tamoor Hussain and Lucy James play victim to the Nosulus Rift here or in the video at the top of this article.
“South Park: The Fractured But Whole is still a ways off from its December 6 release date, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s shaping up to be an RPG worth sinking your teeth into,” Alexa Ray Corriea wrote. “If you don’t mind the farts, that is.
