Time Magazine has posted its annual list of best inventions of the year, with Sony’s PlayStation VR making the cut in part for its relatively affordable nature.
“In order to access the most cutting-edge virtual reality, people typically have to shell out thousands of dollars–not just for a headset (like the $800 HTC Vive), but for a computer that’s powerful enough to support it,” Time magazine reported. “Sony’s PlayStation VR, by contrast, is designed to work with a console that millions of people already own: the PlayStation 4.”
PSVR goes for $400 by itself, though, as mentioned, it also requires a PS4 ($300 and up) and a PlayStation Camera.
“As a VR fan, I want PSVR to succeed, but it trips up too many times to wholeheartedly recommend at this point,” he wrote. “Many of the launch titles will make a large percentage of people sick, and it may lead to the false impression that VR has to make you nauseated. If you have a PS4 and are dying to get PSVR, then I’d recommend the $499.99 bundle which includes the PlayStation Camera, two Move controllers, and PlayStation VR Worlds.
“If you have a PS4 and are simply curious about VR, I’d hold out until more titles are released. While there are a handful of fun titles, there’s nothing that I’ve played at launch so far to indicate to me that the PSVR is a must-buy right now. For everyone else, I’d recommend saving up for a better reality.”
That Sony will offer Black Friday deals on the PlayStation Store this year should come as no real surprise. The way in which it shared that news, though, is a bit odd.
PlayStation Europe today shared a 30-second YouTube ad which–rather than featuring a sizzle reel of all the games you’ll be able to get for cheap next week–shows the faces of a series of people who are apparently standing right in front of a giant fan. This goes on for 20 seconds before a message suggests you “play it cool this Black Friday” and teases there will be discounts of up to 60 percent on PSN.
The video also directs people toward a page on the PlayStation website. The US version is not yet live, but those in Europe can sign up to be notified as soon as the sale begins. According to the PlayStation EU Twitter account, the deals will start “a little early this year,” with things kicking off on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.
Last year, Sony had a Black Friday flash sale that began on Thanksgiving. This slashed the prices of more than 100 PS4, PS3, and Vita games and combined with an offer that took 10 percent off everything you purchased. We don’t yet know if something similar will be available this year, but we’ll report back as soon as Sony shares official details.
Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for the upcoming Tekken 7, teasing some of the story beats and action that awaits.
The bulk of the trailer is dedicated to cinematics and other non-gameplay elements, though it’s all very cool-looking nonetheless. The last third of the trailer or so features a rapid sequence of gameplay shots. Check it out above.
It’s not our first glimpse of the game; we recently saw a trailer dedicated to Miguel that established his story and shows him fighting and mockingly eating fruit, as one does.
Tekken 7 has been out in Japanese arcades for over a year and a half. It’s slated to arrive in early 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. We recently got the chance to speak with longtime series producer Katsuhiro Harada about the importance of Story mode, bringing the game to PC, the series continuing to stick with 3D, and more. You can read the full interview here.
The update deals primarily with multiplayer but also makes some tweaks and fixes for its Zombies in Spaceland mode. On the multiplayer side, scorestreaks used in Frontline mode now provide team score based on where the user is located. The Volk has been nerfed, doing less damage at range, having more recoil when aiming down sights, and being less accurate when fired from the hip. And Rigs are now unlocked as they should be when you unlock any of their packages (rather than just the first one).
On the Zombies side, you’ll now see a splash screen when you rank up with a weapon. An exploit allowing weapons to be ranked up much more quickly than intended has been removed, and solo players won’t find their match end if the Hoff is active.
A subsequent update made some further changes to multiplayer playlists. It adds Infected and Hardcore Free For All on all platforms, removes Hardcore Defender on PS4 and Xbox One, and adds Hardcore Kill Confirmed on consoles.
You can see the full list of changes in both of these updates below or in Infinity Ward’s post on Reddit.
Even more detailed patch notes for the PC version’s latest updates have been shared on Steam. This includes information on not just general gameplay fixes, but PC-only changes like the addition of an option to support raw mouse input.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Patch Notes
Infected has been added back to all platforms
Hardcore FFA has been added to all platforms
Hardcore Kill Confirmed has been added to PS4 and Xbox
Hardcore Kill Confirmed replayed Hardcore Defender in the Moshpit on PC
Removed Hardcore Defender from PS4 and Xbox
Reintroduced SnD into PC Moshpits
Multiplayer
Scorestreaks now give team score based on where the owner is on the map in Frontline
Double XP UI added
Volk Tuning: reduced damage range, reduced hip fire accuracy, more violent ADS view kick
Infected: Inactivity kick (Infected will be added back shortly)
Infected: always turn initial infected to normal infected if a survivor suicides
Frost: spawn additional out of bound trigger to catch dropped bombs by sub wallrun
Rigs are now properly unlocked when ANY of their rig packages are unlocked, rather than just the first one.
Speculative fix for a crash in the wild
Fix for split screen weapon streaming
Zombies in Spaceland
Added a weapon rank upgrade splash when that weapon reaches a new rank.
Don’t end the game in solo if The Hoff is active
Correctly handle Coupon Clipper FnF card when used to call in The Hoff V3.
Fixed an exploit where players can double jump after respawing from dying via a kill trigger.
Weapon upgrade powerup fixes.
Fixed an exploit where players who played both MP and CP would get drastically increased Weapon XP gains
Another PS4 port of a PS2 game will be available in a matter of days, Sony has revealed.
In its weekly PlayStation Blog post on upcoming releases, it lists Samurai Shodown VI for PS4 as coming on Tuesday, November 22 (via Gematsu). No details about the release were shared, but PS2-on-PS4 games generally feature slightly improved visuals and support for things like Trophies. A price also wasn’t announced, but PS2-on-PS4 games typically go for $10-$20.
The SNK fighter was originally released on PS2 back in 2006 (following a prior release in arcades). It features a roster of just over 40 characters, including a handful not seen in the previous Samurai Shodown games.
Samurai Shodown VI is the most recent numbered entry in the series, which has been dormant for the better of a decade now.
Final Fantasy XV has been in development for nearly a decade; and as a result, has undergone a multitude of changes. But among these changes, what has transformed the most is the game’s combat system. First available to us via Episode Duscae in 2014, combat has changed in a myriad of ways throughout the various playable builds. Below you can find the major ways combat has evolved since its first public playable build.
For more on Final Fantasy XV, check out the news and features below.
Episode Duscae gave us our first taste of FFXV’s combat, offering a glimpse at Noctis’ multi-blade fighting style. This early iteration focused on equipping weapons to particular instances of a combo. For example, you could assign a spear to the opening blow of Noctis’ combo, and then assign a sword to the flurry of attacks that followed.
Depending on the weapons you assigned to these particular instances in a combo, you could change Noctis’ fighting style in interesting ways. You could assign a Greatsword to your primary attack flurry, but open up your combo with a swift strike from your sword; or you could even equip Noctis with light weapons but use a heavy weapon for his air attack. This system emphasized experimentation, allowing you to mix and match different weapons to create a customized combo tailored to how you wanted to fight.
While this combat system was subtly altered with some minor balance adjustments via the Episode Duscae 2.0 patch, it was completely overhauled in the Platinum Demo. In that build, Noctis brandished multiple weapons, each with their own particular set of attacks and animations, and he manually switched between them mid-combo. Warp strike was also given a randomized damage bonus multiplier. The combat system in this build is the same as the final preview build of the game, albeit with small changes, such as a switching the lock-on button and altering the Armiger’s attack animations.
Weapons
Weapons function similarly across all builds with each type retaining its overall feel and attack animations. However, slight alterations were made as the builds went on. Episode Duscae’s 2.0 patch added the ability to perform variations to a weapon’s attacks depending on the direction you were holding. For example, if you held forward, you could perform lunge attacks with your sword; or if you held back with the greatsword, you could do a charge strike. The Platinum Demo added more weapon types, allowing for more variety to the arsenal than swords and spears.
The final preview build lets you switch between weapons on the fly.
The final preview build implements these changes, while adding in enemy resistances that makes foes invulnerable against certain weapon types but weak against others. However, a major feature that didn’t make it to later builds was the Techniques from Episode Duscae, which were powerful special attacks tied to weapons in your arsenal that consumed MP.
Magic
Magic wasn’t implemented in Episode Duscae, but we did see it in the Platinum Demo, where it was showcased as a limited supply of items you could equip and cast against enemies.
While this has been retained in the final preview build, magic has been made more complex thanks to the spell crafting system, which allows it to be given special effects depending on the items you combine it with in the crafting process. For example, you can craft a lightning spell with a curse status effect that diminishes enemy attack power.
MP (Mana Points)
In the final preview build, you can’t attack while in Stasis.
In each FFXV build, MP (Mana Points) are tied directly to Noctis’ warp blade abilities and evasive maneuvers. In Episode Duscae, evasive maneuvers, special techniques, and Armiger consumed MP. However, when the 2.0 patch was released, the game was updated to exclude guarding right before an enemy attack from consuming MP. These changes were mostly retained in both Platinum Demo and the final preview build with the exception of Armiger, which was given its own separate meter.
Using too much MP renders Noctis into a weakened state called Stasis; the only way to recover from this is by taking cover or warping to safe space. This constraint has been kept consistent across all builds, though, small changes have been made to balance it. Initially in Episode Duscae, you could attack in Stasis and you even recovered MP for an unlimited amount of time when hanging onto a point warp. However, you can no longer do either in both the Platinum Demo and the final preview build.
Evasive Maneuvers
In the initial version of Episode Duscae, you could only defend yourself by getting into a stance that allowed you to phase through oncoming enemy attacks at the cost of MP. A much requested dodge roll was later added in the 2.0 patch, while slight adjustments were made to how much MP was consumed when phasing through attacks in the defensive stance.
Vulnerability
The Off-Guard state has been renamed to Vulnerable.
As you fight enemies in battle, your attacks inevitably stagger them. In Episode Duscae, this weakened state was referred to as “Off-Guard,” however; it has been renamed to “Vulnerable” in the final preview build. This mechanic persists across all iterations; it’s an ideal opening for you and your party to deal a ton of damage.
A backstab mechanic called Blindsight has also been added to the final preview build; this gives you the ability to deal more damage to enemies when you hit them from the rear.
Party Attacks
When Episode Duscae first launched, Noctis’ party would only support him with standard attacks. However, once the 2.0 update rolled around, you could perform Cross Chains, special cooperative attacks that could be performed when an enemy was staggered. Activating these attacks allowed Noctis and one of his party members to deliver a barrage of “link attacks” that led into a powerful finishing move.
Cooperative attacks have been updated in the final preview build to allow Noctis to trigger them manually. Each move can be leveled up the more you use it, increasing it’s overall effectiveness in battle; and there’s plenty more to unlock for each member in your party the further along you get. Your party’s initial attacks include the following: Ignis’ Mark ability sinks throwing knives into enemies, allowing Noctis to rapidly warp strike between those marked in one swoop; Prompto’s Marksman attack has him focus on a target for a powerful shot from his gun; and Gladiolus’ Tempest initiates a quick-time event that leads to him and Noctis landing a devastating blow.
The final preview build also adds in Link Strike and Blindside Link. These are special cooperative attacks that occur under specific conditions when you’re near an ally: Link Strike occurs just after a parry, while Blindside Link occurs when you’re behind an enemy.
Blizzard Entertainment has canceled the Overwatch graphic novel,First Strike, the developer announced in a blog post. Explaining the cancellation, Blizzard’s Michael Chu said, “We’ve ultimately decided to take the story in a different direction.”
“The original idea for the graphic novel dates back to the early days of the game’s development and came from our desire to tell the story of the founding of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis,” he added. “In the years since First Strike‘s conception, we have done a lot of development on the universe and its stories. While the core of this story remains, we have changed and expanded upon how we see the events that took place during the first days of Overwatch.”
Chu teased that Blizzard plans to eventually tell the story of the early adventures of Overwatch’s main characters–but that’ll have to wait for “another day.”
“I’d like to thank everyone for the enthusiasm, passion, and support you’ve shown towards the Overwatch universe,” Chu added. “We have a number of stories in development that will delve deeper into the world and its heroes, and we can’t wait to share them with you in the coming months.”
Announced in July, First Strike was scheduled to come out in November 2016. It was described as a “brand-new entry in the Overwatch canon” and “will contain 100 pages of sequential artwork telling the story of the original Overwatch strike team.” It was going to be written by Micky Neilson and penciled by Ludo Lullabi.
Star Citizen has been in development for a long, long time now, as the original Kickstarter campaign began in October 2012. Pieces of the game have been released, but the full thing isn’t out yet. The game has grown in scope over the years, so the initial target release dates have come and gone. In a frank and candid blog post today, director Chris Roberts announced a major change for how the studio will communicate release dates, namely that the studio will share “target” dates that could change.
“Whether or not to share this kind of information has been a long running debate among the team here at Cloud Imperium Games,” Roberts said. “Target dates are not release dates, and everything you see will shift at some point, sometimes slightly and sometimes wildly. The danger in doing this has always been that casual observers will not understand this, that there will be an outcry about delays every time we update the page.
“We’ve taken stock, thought through everything and decided that, while that is a risk, above all we trust the community that has given us so much support,” he added. “The community that has let us focus our passions on this incredible project. You have allowed us to take this journey, you have tracked and followed so much of how game development works… and now we think it is right to further part the curtain and share with you our production process.”
Beginning with Star Citizen Alpha 2.6, Cloud Imperium will share its internal development schedule on a weekly basis. “These are the very same schedules we update daily and are circulated internally on our intra-studio hand-offs with a few exceptions: the individual developer names assigned to the tasks will be omitted (for obvious reasons), we’ll remove the JIRA details and we’ll modify the technical wording to make it readable for a wider audience, but otherwise, when something changes, slips or is completed, you will know,” Roberts went on to say.
Here is a sample of what the production chart will look like:
This schedule will be permanently posted on the Roberts Space Industries website; additionally, the developer will provide updates every week with a new “snapshot” of its internal schedule.
“We take the process of production very seriously and spend a lot of time on improving our ability in this area,” Roberts added. “Our worldwide Production Team is twenty-five strong and they are the backbone that drives our development forward. They work closely with developers to break down and create tasks, chase up task completion daily, update their respective team’s schedules, encourage and strengthen open communication by organizing meetings, agendas, and creating action items to help push the project forward day by day. The Production Team has many collective years with some of the biggest developers, publishers and games. They are like the rest of the CIG team, world class.”
Also in the blog post, Roberts spoke about how the studio has “take a lot of flak” over the years for pushing Star Citizen’s timeline further into the future.
“But the simple fact is that game development, especially game development on the scale of Star Citizen, is complicated. If you talk to any developer that works on large titles they will tell you that schedules, especially early in the development cycle, move all the time,” he said. “Most people never see this because a publisher won’t announce a project publicly until it is very far along; normally at least in Alpha, with all the technology and gameplay R&D completed. Even then, the timelines can be unpredictable as can be seen in the delays on big name titles from publishers.”
“Open development does have its drawbacks,” he added. “Not everyone understands the process or how difficult it can be. We have always tried to be open and share our progress. We refactored Around the Verse to focus more on developers showing and talking about their work to help give insight into the process. Our monthly reports have more information than any monthly report I had to do for Electronic Arts or Microsoft when at Origin or Digital Anvil.”
A report earlier this month named Leitch as the frontrunner to direct Deadpool 2, though at the time it was said that others were being considered as well. Variety reported today to confirm that Leitch has been officially named the director for the sequel.
Though Miller, who was instrumental in helping bring the massively successful Deadpool to theaters has dropped out of the sequel, original writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Rheese are still on board.
Commenting on Miller’s exit from the sequel, Reynolds said earlier this month, “All I can really add is that I’m sad to see him off the film. Tim’s brilliant and nobody worked harder on Deadpool than he did.”
Released in February, the R-rated Deadpool was a smash hit. It made $782 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $58 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The NPD Group this week announced what games sold the best in the US during October, confirming that Battlefield 1 led the way. Here’s the full list. Any surprises?
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick shared some new insight into Red Dead Redemption 2 this week. He said, “I think the times are right for a big, sprawling, optimistic view of America again.” The executive added the game will have “great story elements and great gameplay elements.” [Full story]
Atlus announced another delay for Persona 5 this week. The PS4 and PS3 game won’t make it out in February as planned, but is now slated for April. [Full story]
THE OTHER STUFF:
Rainbow Six Siege’s new DLC map is the focus of this new in-depth trailer in which developers talk about Red Crow Operation. Take a look:
A man faced trial this week in a case where it’s claimed he defrauded EA out of millions of dollars using FIFA. Get the full story here at Kotaku.
Developer Netmarble Games this week announced Star Wars Force Arena, a real-time PvP game set in the Star Wars franchise. It’s a free-to-play game that will feature more than 65 “iconic” characters, vehicles, and units. You can read more about the game here on its website.
Would you vote for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for president? You might be doing just that in 2020, as the world’s highest-paid actor said this week that he hasn’t ruled out a bid for the office. Get the full story here at Vanity Fair.
What if FIFA glitches happened in real life? That’s the premise of this silly video.
Polyphony Digital has shared new insight on the improvements that GT Sport players can expect on PS4 Pro and PlayStation VR. Get all the details here at the PlayStation Blog.
Is Disney going to buy Netflix? That’s what’s claimed in a new report going around this week. That would surely be something. Read this report to find out more about what’s going on.
The newest episode in Rare’s ongoing Sea of Thieves video has been published. This latest video focuses on the Xbox One and PC game’s island–looks pretty cool!
Streaming site Hulu this week announced everything coming to and leaving the service for December 2016–get the full rundown here on Hulu’s blog.
Ever want to see someone play a video game with a microwave? You’re in luck, as Rudeism is back with his newest video where he plays Overwatch with a microwave. Watch the video at Polygon.
This new IMAX/Transformers video contains some new footage of next summer’s Transformers: The Last Knight. Check it out:
