Project Cars has become the first car racing simulation to take the No.1 spot on the UK games chart in two years, according to the UK sales monitor Chart-Track.
For the week ending May 9, the crowd-funded sim developed by UK outfit Slightly Mad Studios managed to hold off competition from Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, which ended its 86th week of chart placement at No.2.
Frontier Developments has announced it will give a free Steam key to those that purchase Elite: Dangerous from the developer’s online shop, or backed the game on Kickstarter.
Speaking on the studio’s forum, Edward Lewis, a community manager for the developer, said it wanted to accommodate PC players that prefer to use Valve’s Steam platform to play games.
“We always appreciate it when you buy direct from our store because it means we can put more into supporting and developing Elite: Dangerous,” he said.
“But we know a number of long-time players and backers like to play through Steam and we think it’s fair everyone has that option, not just new players.”
Continuing, Lewis added that Frontier has been working with Valve to provide integration between Steam accounts and Frontier accounts.
“Elite: Dangerous runs on Frontier’s servers, so we’ve been working with Valve to give you a way to seamlessly connect your Steam and existing Frontier accounts in a way that’s easy. It’s coming soon.”
According to Lewis, existing owners will be able to generate a Steam code from their Frontier accounts page from May 28.
Elite: Dangerous is already available on Steam for $59.99 (£39.99). The sci-fi space combat and exploration sim was previously only available for purchase through the game’s website.
Nintendo will not reveal any new information or show NX, its next gaming console, at E3 2015.
Company chief executive Satoru Iwata was asked specific details on the console during a recent meeting with investors, but replied by reiterating that Nintendo does not plan to fully reveal NX until 2016.
“We do not plan on talking specifics about the NX until 2016,” he said, as translated by Kotaku.
Iwata would not provide any additional details or a release window for the NX, only repeating that it is “calling it a ‘new concept’ … not thinking of [it] as a ‘simple replacement’ for the 3DS or the Wii U.”
Smart phone titles and quality of life experiences would also not be represented at E3.
“Since we understand that E3 is an event for dedicated video game machines, we do not intend to discuss the smart devices as well as quality of life,” said Iwata.
During the presentation Iwata once again addressed why the NX had been announced before Nintendo was ready to fully reveal it, saying the company wanted to affirm its commitment to home gaming, following the announcement of its partnership with DeNA and plans to develop mobile games.
The sentiment echoes previous statements Iwata made during the initial NX announcement to the same effect: “As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename ‘NX’.”
“It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt doesn’t officially launch until May 19, but footage from the Xbox One version of the game has appeared online. According to a report by VGLeaks, a retailer in United Arab Emirates has broken the game’s street date, which has led to gameplay videos being uploaded. The videos in question can be viewed on VGLeaks.
Those who backed Star Citizen can already play limited parts of the game in Arena Commander and soon in the first person shooter module Star Marine, but it’s going to a while before we get our hands on a finished product. Until then, you could play a finished version of Star Citizen reimagined as an old arcade game.
Hyper Vanguard Force IV, as it’s called, is a free 2D shooter in the style of Galaga and 1942 based on Star Citizen’s ship designs and story. It was made by Montreal-based game creators Dave Richard and Christine Marsh who designed all the assets themselves based on official Star Citizen concept art. It was then integrated into Star Citizen’s website by Turbulent, one of the game’s developers.
In other Star Citizen news, developer Cloud Imperium Games recently published a huge update about the state of the space game’s upcoming FPS module, now called Star Marine.
The crowdfunding campaign for Star Citizen continues to soar. The game’s total funding now stands at just under $82 million.
Bandai Namco has released a trailer for another Tekken 7 fighter, Yoshimitsu, who’s looking creepier than ever.
Yoshimitsu has received a lot of significant redesigns over the years, and he has a new look for Tekken 7 as well. It looks like he still has the same core move set, with his signature pogo stick-like hopping on the tip of his sword, but now he looks like a mix between an alien and an octopus.
Tekken 7 was announced last year. The game, which is powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, is already in Japanese arcades, but Bandai Namco has yet to announce when the game will hit other platforms in other territories.
More than a year after launch, the heist-themed cooperative first person shooter Payday 2 and its numerous DLC are getting a permanent price reduction, developer Overkill has announced.
“Heisters, we’re thankful for your support thus far,” Overkill said. “As we continue to develop Payday 2, working on additional free updates as well as paid DLC, we feel it’s time to adjust the pricing of both Payday 2 as well as all DLC released during the first 16 months of its lifespan.”
Here’s a full list of the new prices:
Payday 2 — $20 (formerly $30)
Payday 2: GOTY Edition — $50 (formerly $80)
Heist Bundle — $14 (formerly $25)
Gage Weapon Pack — $18 (formerly $30)
Clover Character Pack — $3 (formerly $5)
Gage Historical Pack — $3 (formerly $5)
Hotline Miami DLC — $4 (formerly $7)
Gage Shotgun Pack — $3 (formerly $5)
The Big Bank Heist — $4 (formerly $7)
Gage Sniper Pack — $3 (formerly $5)
Gage Mod Courier — $3 (formerly $5)
Gage Weapon Pack #02 — $3 (formerly $5)
Gage weapon Pack #01 — $3 (formerly $5)
Armored Transport — $4 (formerly $7)
The official soundtrack — $3 (formerly $5)
For more on Payday 2’s latest update, which includes the new Meltdown Heist, check out Overkill’s blog.
Console players who’ve been waiting for an updated version of the game will be happy to learn that 505 Games and Overkill on Thursday announced that Payday 2: Crimewave Edition, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of the heist-themed shooter, will arrive on June 16.
The new version of Payday 2 comes with more than two dozen DLC packs, including the Big Bank Heist, as well as the game’s first female character, Clover. The Crimewave Edition also features enhanced visuals (compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions), including improved frame rate, better textures, and 1080p resolution.
Payday 2 was originally released for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 in summer 2013. For more, check out GameSpot’s review.
If you were ever curious about the realistic modern combat simulator Arma 3, now’s the perfect time to give it a shot.
Arma 3 is currently free to download and play via Steam, and it will remain that way until 1PM Pacific Time. If you try it and like it, the game is also being offered at a 50 percent discount, down from $60 to $30.
Arma 3 publisher is discounting some of its other games as part of the weekend sale, including DayZ, Take On Mars, and a $100 Bohemia Interactive Bundle that includes that includes a ton of Arma games and DLC.
It looks like some copies of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt may have leaked prior to the game’s official release date, but you probably won’t be seeing anyone playing them on Twitch.
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is not allowed for broadcasting until May 19, 2015,” Twitch’s verified support account said on Twitter. “Broadcasting before this date is subject to DMCA guidelines.”
The warning comes after a user on Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt RED’s official forums posted pictures of the game already on store shelves in United Arab Emirates. On the forums as well, moderates ask that users not post links to leaked footage from the game.
Welcome back to GameSpot Q&A, a weekly section where we ask our staff and readers an interesting discussion question about video games. Look at this as a forum where you and others can discuss and compare your opinions of this beloved hobby of ours. So don’t hesitate to let us know what your answer is to this week’s question in the comments below!
This week’s question is as follows:
What’s your favorite beginning of a game?
Half-Life–Danny O’Dwyer
The opening sequence of Half-Life is an absolute masterclass in game design and though you’re forced to spend five minutes walking around a tiny rectangular area, it’s one of the most engrossing five minutes in video game history. It’s not a cut-scene, you’re actually moving through the world – understanding it’s shapes, rules and mechanisms before you ever get to step into it. It’s a safe zone to get used to the games controls while also showing off the vast scale of the facility you spend the next ten hours trying to escape. It sets the slow pace of the early game and expresses the culture of Black Mesa – from bumbling scientists getting locked out of their offices, to updates on the company decathlon and it’s health and safety policies. Half-Life’s intro manages to dispense an absolute wealth of information on the player – and all they had to do was watch. We’ve never seen it done as well since.
Final Fantasy VIII–Zorine Te
I’d say Final Fantasy VIII, because it had magic and teenagers fighting to the backdrop of some epic music with a chorus chanting lyrics in Latin. LATIN! The emotional themes touched upon in the opening resonated well with me at the time, being an emo teenager myself.
Shadow of the Colossuss–Kevin VanOrd
Shadow of the Colossus. It has a sad beauty to it that perfectly suits the story’s overall arc, and the music that accompanies the start of Wander’s journey is absolutely rapturous. In the intro, there’s a profile shot of Wander riding Agro in the midst of rainfall, and soon after, they emerge into the light to see a bridge stretching in front of them. The result is melancholy, then uplift, a classic emotional response to excellent cinematography.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater–Daniel Hindes
The Virtuous Mission in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It plays out in true Bond fashion, as a self-contained mission which sets up the plot for the rest of the game. It’s quite long, too–over an hour–so it’s not entirely clear that this is actually an opening sequence. But once you complete it, and the Bond-inspired title montage and song begin, the tone of the rest of the game is made crystal clear.
Final Fantasy X–Alexa Ray Corriea
The sequence I still randomly think about to this is that first cutscene from Final Fantasy X. It’s not even 10 minutes long, and conveys so much by doing so little. The camera pans over Yuna and her Guardians, all sorrowfully hunched over a tiny campfire, while Tidus narrates the most despondent, bleak outlook on his situation. “Listen to my story,” immediately made me think that someone wasn’t making it out of this game alive, and that made me nervous. This cold open was so tense, so anxiety-inducing that it had me on edge for the first few hours of the game. Sin destroying Zanarkand was shocking (and beautifully orchestrated) in itself, but that wasn’t the worst that could happen. When was the REALLY bad stuff going to happen? When was Tidus or someone going to die? That look on Yuna’s face as she looks up at him says it all: this is a war that they probably won’t win, at least not without some serious sacrifice. And running over all of it is “To Zanarkand,” the saddest goddamn piano track Nobuo Uematsu has ever made.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare–Eddie Makuch
2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare remains one of my favorite games of all time; and I adored it right from the opening scene. [Spoilers, of course] After touring a war-torn city, your character is taken into a city square and shot in the head execution style. It was brutal, but it was effective. It set the tone for what was to come–one of the best games I’ve ever played.
Half-Life 2–Rob Crossley
Half-Life 2. It’s just so incredibly bold, even to this day, to open with a close-up of a character’s face. It was a technical marvel (lip-syncing you could lip-read; lifelike eye behaviour; brilliant texture detail) but also so beautifully written and acted. You really can sense, through his odd stammers and inexact phrases, that the G-Man is merely pretending to be human. The audio and visual effects are exceptional; you’re looking through the eyes of a man lurching back to life from stasis, memories flashing into view, along with these wonderfully strange sounds of electrical charges.
The Last of Us–Chris Watters
Well, since my esteemed colleague Rob Crossley already called Half-Life 2, I’ll tell you why I love The Last of Us. Many games are about living in a broken world, but the catastrophe that broke the world is often left in the distant past. TLoU shows you not only the moment that the world breaks, but the moment that Joel, the protagonist, breaks. This trauma feeds everything that comes after and draws you into the world as you find yourself wondering, “When did this town crumble? How did this person break?”
Metal Warriors–Peter Brown
My favorite opening sequence is from a Super Nintendo game called Metal Warriors, from LucasArts and Konami. The intro to this side-scrolling action game features impressive sprite work that captures the essence of sci-fi anime from the 80’s and 90’s. Mind, the narrative element is paper thin, but I can’t help to gawk at the heavily-saturated colors and nuanced animations within. It’s a brief but satisfying treat for anyone who likes anime and mecha.
Silent Hill 2–Matt Espineli
Silent Hill 2. That opening close-up shot of James Sunderland’s face looking into a bathroom mirror is so eerie and introspective. When you hear James desperately question the impossibility of his deceased wife being still alive in Silent Hill, it instantly pulls you into his plight. The scene’s tone is well complimented by Akira Yamaoka’s relaxing yet ominous soundtrack that furthers the alluring sense of melancholy that fills in these first moments. What is setup here is so utterly attracting that it’s bound to hold you in a trance…until you realize that you absolutely have no idea how to solve the clock puzzle at the Wood Side Apartment complex.
