In a bid to promote the imminent release of World of Warcraft‘s fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, developer Blizzard Entertainment is ramping up its marketing efforts. One such campaign is an impressive scene in New York City’s Times Square, where a cab has bore the brunt of an epic ax.
Blizzard shared the image through its Twitter account, saying, “They’ve left their mark on New York City. Azeroth is next…”
Warlords of Draenor launches on November 13. It raises the level cap to 100, introduces new zones, and features new character models. World of Warcraft itself celebrates its tenth anniversary this month, and Blizzard is marking the milestone in a number of ways.
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The Entertainment Software Rating Board has posted its rating for 2015’s Resident Evil: Revelations 2, and, among other things, it reveals that Barry Burton may be a playable character.
As spotted by DualShockers, the rating mentions a “father searching for his daughter” as a playable character. He’s not mentioned by name in the rating, but one likely possibility is that the missing daughter is Moira Burton, one of the supporting characters in Revelations 2 alongside Claire Redfield.
This is unconfirmed for now, as Capcom hasn’t shed any further story details about the game. However, we do know that Revelations 2 will be released episodically, so it would be possible for Barry Button to be added to the game sometime after its initial release release.
Revelations 2’s ESRB rating also reveals that, as you might expect, the game will be rated M for Mature. “Combat is highlighted by screams of pain, realistic gunfire, and large blood-splatter effects,” the ESRB writes. “A handful of enemies are depicted with exposed organs, and one scene depicts an enemy having its hand cut off in slow-motion.”
Another scene in Revelations 2 will show a human character shooting herself in the head with a pistol, which results in a “large splatter of blood.” There will also be lots of swearing in Revelations 2, specifically words such as “f**k” and “sh*t.”
Nintendo has announced a new patch for the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros., revealing that it will adjust game balance and fix bugs, but also block you from viewing previously saved replays.
Per a post on Nintendo’s website (translated by Kotaku), update 1.0.4. will adjust game balance and “fix various problems to make the game more enjoyable to play.” Nintendo has not yet detailed the gameplay balance tweaks and fixes, though that should come later through official patch notes.
Update 1.0.4. also impacts other areas of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. After you apply the update–which is required for online play–you won’t be able to play offline multiplayer with people running version 1.0.3 or lower. In addition, the update will block you from playing your replays.
A PlayStation 4 patch will be deployed soon to fix a major problem with Dragon Age: Inquisition on that platform, according to a new report. During its own testing, Polygon found that the game suffered from frequent freezing, which would lead to the entire PS4 getting locked up, only fixable with a hard reset.
In a few cases, these crashes even led to corrupted save files–a major issue when you consider Dragon Age: Inquisition takes dozens of hours to finish.
The issue does not stem from Dragon Age: Inquisition, but rather the PlayStation Network’s 2.0 update, which also impacted the Evolve beta and led to more issues with the PS4’s Rest Mode. EA told Polygon that it is aware of the issue and that Sony will release a PSN patch ahead of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s release on November 18 for consoles and PC.
Sony even sent Polygon a PS4 already loaded with the new PSN patch, and the update fixed the problem. This patch appears to be the 2.02 update that Sony announced last night.
“While unfortunate timing, we worked with Sony since the issue was discovered and are committed to ensuring it does not impact players by launch,” BioWare manager Aaryn Flynn said in a statement.
Dragon Age: Inquisition’s review embargo was lifted today. GameSpot scored the game a 9/10, with reviewer Kevin VanOrd saying the game “is a wonderful game and a lengthy pilgrimage to a magical world with vital thematic ties to one we already know.”
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One week ahead of Far Cry 4‘s release on November 18, what appears to be the game’s map has appeared on Reddit, showing off the various regions, wildlife, and more from the world of Kyrat.
Featured on the map are names of regions and a key for where to find all manner of animals, including elephants, wild pigs, and honey badgers, among others.
It is unclear how the Reddit user was able to obtain the map, or if indeed it is legitimate. We have contacted Far Cry 4 publisher Ubisoft for comment.
Halo developer 343 Industries has released a new video that shows off the numerous and significant player abilities you’ll get to use in upcoming Xbox One first-person shooter, Halo 5: Guardians.
343 explains in the video above that the traditional Halo multiplayer formula has three major pillars: weapons, melee, and grenades. However, Halo 5 will introduce a fourth layer in the form of player abilities that everyone has access to.
All Halo 5 players will sprint, jump, and clamber with the same attributes–no one will have an advantage in that department. “So it’s equal footing,” 343 says.
Some new player abilities that everyone will have built into their Spartan are a thruster pack that lets you move quickly in any direction and in the air; a “ground pound” ability that lets you crash to the ground, emitting a powerful shockwave; a “clamber” ability where, if you leap to a faraway ledge, you can hit a button to vault onto it; a slide move; and a “charge” move that lets you effectively melee someone from the front by mowing them over.
Halo 5 also lets players sprint as much as they want, though when they are sprinting, they become more vulnerable because shields do not recharge. Lastly, Halo 5 players will have a “smart scope” ability where they can zoom in with any weapon, though hip firing is still effective, 343 says.
To see all these abilities in action, check out the video above. You can also watch the video below to hear our impressions of how Halo 5 is shaping up. You’ll be able to play Halo 5 multiplayer when the beta kicks off next month.
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Next month’s Halo 5: Guardians beta will run in 720p at 60fps, developer 343 Industries has confirmed. In an interview with Eurogamer, studio head Josh Holmes explained why the beta will run at the sub-1080p resolution, and assured fans that the final version of the game will “look amazing.”
“For the beta, at this point we’re totally focused on gameplay,” he said. “We’re midway through development. We’re balancing and tuning the gameplay systems. All of the polish and optimization graphically is stuff that typically comes towards the end of the production cycle.”
“You can expect it will look amazing when it comes out” — Josh Holmes on Halo 5’s final resolution
“So, for the beta, we’re going to be coming out at 720p and 60fps,” he added. “That’s not the final resolution for the game. You can imagine as we go through the remainder of the project we’ll be focused on polishing the visual look of the game. You can expect it will look amazing when it comes out.”
The Halo 5 multiplayer beta kicks off December 29 and runs through the middle of January 2015. Everyone who buys The Master Chief Collection is guaranteed a spot in the beta, though it’s unclear if there will be other ways to get in.
343 Industries took the lid off Halo 5 last night during the HaloFest livestream. The developer showed off brand-new gameplay, highlighting the new player abilities in the game that could shake up the series in a big way. Check out the clip above to see Halo 5 multiplayer in action.
Halo 5 will launch in fall 2015. 343 Industries previously confirmed that it will run at 60fps.
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Developers at Mass Effect studio BioWare recently helped two longtime fans of the game get engaged in quite a unique way.
BioWare writes on its blog that someone named Jackie wrote to BioWare Montreal asking for help in proposing to her partner, Amy. Both are big fans of Mass Effect, and the studio was eager to help Jackie create a special in-game moment for their engagement.
Concept art for the next Mass Effect game
Studio manager Marie-Renee Brisebois put together a team composed of a writer, lead level designer, and QA analyst, all of whom worked overtime to create a special Mass Effect level for the proposal.
“They wanted to ensure the level was peppered with references to the couple’s relationship so far, but they also didn’t want to give anything away before the big reveal,” BioWare says. “They also didn’t want Amy to die and have to start over, so [lead level designer Colin Campbell] made sure there were safety nets in place that would ensure she got to the end on her first try.”
The team was able to get the level up and running in Frostbite 3, so all that was left to do was to find a way to get Amy to come to the studio to play it. BioWare pulled this off by telling Amy and Jackie (who was in on it, of course) that they had won a fake contest called “A Day with Our Devs.”
“It was a beautiful sight to see. No matter how grumpy you are, when you see a thing like that you can’t help but smile and maybe even tear up a bit” — Marie-Renee Brisebois
Jackie and Amy then took a trip to BioWare Montreal. Amy got to play the upcoming Mass Effect game, thinking she was participating in a consumer feedback test, but really it was much more.
Here’s how the rest unfolded:
“After loading up the level, Jackie was prompted by a mission briefing, stating that a drone manufacturing lab had stopped sending reports and asking her to investigate. As she played through the level, Jackie uncovered more and more reports that contained subtle references to her relationship with Amy.”
“Once she reached the end of the level, Amy walked into a room with a lone console in the center that had her and Jackie’s names for one another spray-painted on the wall in 50-foot high graffiti. When she clicked on the console, a message popped up: ‘Dear Amy, Jackie would like to ask you something.”
As you can see in the image above, Jackie then got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and proposed. All the work paid off, as Amy said yes.
“When she got to that room, everyone around was riveted and hoping she’d say yes,” Marie-Renee said. “It was a beautiful sight to see. No matter how grumpy you are, when you see a thing like that you can’t help but smile and maybe even tear up a bit.”
This is not the first Mass Effect-related love story BioWare has told this year. On Valentine’s Day in February, BioWare revealed how two gamers whose surprise meeting one day in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer led to a real-world relationship and eventually marriage.
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Anyone who already bought GTA V on Xbox 360 or PS3 and is upgrading to the new version will receive a range of in-game benefits. In addition, Rockstar recently confirmed a first-person mode for the current-generation and PC versions of GTA V.
This teaser stands out from the rest, however, in that it reveals that Iron From Ice will be the first of six episodes in the series. This is notable because Telltale’s past franchises, including The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, spanned only five episodes.
If you’re interesting in attempting to piece together Telltale’s Game of Thrones clues, check out this roundup post for all the teasers the developer has released so far.
The first episode in Telltale’s Game of Thrones series will be released by the end of 2014, the developer recently confirmed. However, there is no indication yet as to a specific release date or platform availability.
Since its announcement in December 2013, Telltale has kept its Game of Thrones adventure game largely under wraps. Over the past two months, the developer has released various teases about the game’s setting, but we have not yet heard much in the way of specifics.
What Telltale has said, is that its Game of Thrones title will be “taking advantage of all the [series’] fiction.”
