Handshakes can be messy, awkward things. First, there’s the problem of whether or not to shake hands. Then, there’s the problem of what to do if the person whose hand you try to shake isn’t on your wavelength. Finally, there’s the fleshing fumbling that comes with actually trying to lock hands in anything resembling a normal handshake. Hence the ubiquity of the high-five: why attempt to graciously dock your mitten in someone else’s when you can simply slap them together instead?
One of the two closest finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series came in 2003 when Ricky Craven edged out Kurt Busch by .002 seconds. The second was nearly a decade later when Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer by the same. To say that either racer won by a hair would be an understatement.
When it comes to competitive gaming, League of Legends is soccer and the month long championship tournament that kicked off earlier this week is its world cup. The event, referred to as “Worlds” for short, sees 14 teams from five different regions, as well as two wildcards, compete for a grand prize of over $1,000,000 in front of one of esports’ largest audiences.
If you’re in the United States, you still can’t pre-order Nintendo’s upcoming Mini-NES, due to be released on November 11. But you can look at its emulation capabilities compared to the Wii U virtual console thanks to a new video by GameXplain.
Whoa! This looks cool. A new teaser trailer has debuted for a Russian alien invasion/arrival movie called Attraction. We’ve also added the original teaser along with the new trailer, since this is the first time we’ve encountered this film. There’s some awesome footage in this, mainly the original arrival and crash in a city. The ship design is incredibly unique, and I love the way it looks as it crashes down. The film stars Oleg Menshikov, Alexander Petrov, Rinal Mukhametov and Irina Starshenbaum. It’s made by the same guy who made Stalingrad and will be presented in IMAX 3D (at least in Russia) when it opens. The newest teaser actually reveals the aliens, which are huge creatures without a discernible face, making me even more intrigued. Along with Guardians, there are some impressive action movies coming out of Russia these days. ›››
343’s ongoing support for Halo 5, which launched one year ago this month, has been steady and impressive. The developer continues to support and update the game, the latest example being some changes to the game’s love-it-or-hate-it multiplayer mode, Breakout.
As outlined in 343’s latest weekly blog post, the most noticeable changes include new starting weapons and giving players full shields. Additionally, all five of the original Breakout maps are redesigned, while a new one called Knell, which was made by the community, has been added to the hopper.
The full-shields gameplay element is particularly interesting, as the previous setup was no shields at all. Matches could end very quickly if a team wasn’t organized–or if the other side was just really good.
Discussing the changes, 343’s Quinn DelHoyo said the developer enjoyed “a lot” of what the original version of Breakout was, but it wasn’t the best it could be.
“We felt that the combat engagements always sat in a gray area between the ultra-lethality of no-shields SWAT and the classic gameplay of full-shields Halo,” he said. “We’re still very committed to the original spirit of Breakout, and for the update we wanted to maintain the high stakes of single life elimination but make it feel more at home with Halo players by enabling full shields, as well as motion tracker to more closely match Arena settings. Now you’ll have more time to react when getting shot or survive a blast from a frag grenade. The encounters will have that unique ‘dance’ that only Halo combat offers.”
As for the weapon changes, Breakout players will now see their Magnum’s power increased with a “slight buff,” while it gets an extended magazine that holds 18 shots instead of the previous 12. Players will also have a shotgun–and for good reason.
“The Shotgun’s role in all of this is to augment the playmaking ability of a single player,” DelHoyo said. “Every Spartan must be respected and we’ve found that 1v2s and 1v3s are very viable when that lone player has a shotgun in their back pocket.”
Additionally, the max frag grenade capacity is rising from two to four. “The reasoning behind this is to give players another way to gain the advantage over their opponents,” DelHoyo said. “Savvy players will go out of their way to locate grenade caches on certain maps to stock up on a handful of grenades to use at their disposal. Note, players will still spawn with one frag grenade–that aspect remains unchanged.”
Another major change is the flag-capture objective setup. Before, you had to capture the flag and bring it to the opposing team’s side to win (or kill all enemy combatants), but now, teams have to take the flag to their own side of the map to win.
“This now forces teams to be mindful of the flag and push out for position early,” DelHoyo said. “We’ve found that opening rushes are more exciting and offer more viable strategies. Does a team put all their focus on grabbing then protecting their flag carrier? Or do they setup and bait the flag? Which power weapon do they rush for? It’s been fun to see all of these possibilities–and more–play out in our internal playtests.”
As for the map design overhaul, 343’s Alex Bean explained that the idea was to support the new starting weapons and full-shields experience. “It was our goal to give each map a design that facilitated a different kind of gameplay, while bringing increased verticality and a more classic Halo map feel to each one,” he said.
You can see all of the redesigned Halo 5 Breakout maps, along with the new one, Knell, in the gallery above. After you’ve played the new Breakout mode, you can leave feedback for 343 here.
Also in the blog post, 343 teased Halo 5’s future DLC. The developer said some “particularly interesting things [are] in the works in the sandbox and Forge departments, just to name a few.” This follows a tease from last week, when 343 suggested that September’s Anvil’s Legacy expansion may not be the Xbox One game’s final piece of add-on content.
“We’re not done just yet,” the developer said at the time. “Various teams here at the studio are hard at work finishing up a few different flavors of goodness, and we’ll be talking about all of that and more in the near future. I am particularly excited about that part.”
Given that Halo 5’s playerbase is still reportedly very strong, it makes sense that 343 would want to keep the ball rolling with more content.
Anvil’s Legacy was Halo 5’s ninth free expansion. Halo 5’s other expansions included The Battle of Shadow and Light (November), Cartographer’s Gift (December), Infinity’s Armor (January), Hammer Storm (February), Ghosts of Meridian (April), Memories of Reach (May), Hog Wild (May), and Warzone Firefight (June).
It’s the weekend again…here’s a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some you might have missed.
THE BIG STUFF:
The Xbox One is on a roll, especially in the UK, it seems. The latest weekly numbers came in, and Xbox One sales rose by nearly 1000 percent week-over-week. The launch of the FIFA 17 Xbox One bundle might have had something to do with it. PS4 sales were up as well, but only by 22 percent. When comparing the launch weeks for the Xbox One S and PS4 Slim, Microsoft’s console enjoyed sales that were more than 300 percent stronger than Sony’s. [Full story]
Kotaku published a big report on Destiny 2 this week. Among other things, it’s reported that the sequel, which has been confirmed for 2017 but is not yet officially announced, will come to PC in addition to Xbox One and PS4. It’s also claimed that the game may not support your existing characters, since Bungie apparently wants it to feel like a completely new game. [Full story]
Ubisoft may not release new Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games in 2017. VP Tommy Francois said this week that both Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games are in development but the company is not committed to releasing them in 2017.
“We believe Alpha for these games needs to be one year before release,” he explained. “We’re trying to achieve that. That’s super f***ing blunt, I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say this. This is the goal we’re going for: Alpha one year before, more quality, more polish. So if this means biting the [bullet] and not having an Assassin’s game or a Far Cry [in 2017], f*** it.” [Full story]
THE OTHER STUFF:
League of Legends is finally on console…sort of. The game came out for Tencent’s new console in China recently. Get all the details here at Rift Herald.
ESPN FC has a wicked cool feature up now that dives deep into the science (and subjectivity) of how EA’s FIFA’s ratings are decided. Read it here.
Curious about WWE 2K17’s Universe mode? This in-depth blog post covers just about everything you might want to know.
New crowdfunding site Fig announced its newest campaigns this week. Make Sail, a physics-based boat construction and sailing game, is live now with a $50,000 target. The other game is called Trackless. It’s a “mysterious text-based adventure” title. The campaign will begin on Fig on October 11, but for now, you can learn more at the title’s website.
In other news about Fig, the site finally has been granted qualification by the SEC to allow people to buy “game shares.” Now, non-accredited investors can back a project and enjoy a share of the profits if the game is successful.
We don’t often get too excited about ESRB rating descriptions, but the organization has now posted its description for The Last Guardian. You can read it here.
It’s always a mixture of sadness and intrigue when we hear about cancelled games. We learned this week that EA was working on, or at least planning, The Saboteur 2. Get all the details here.
Microsoft’s news site has put out a great feature that talks all about how Gears of War 4’s IT services work. If that sounds dull, don’t believe it–it’s actually a pretty good read.
In the run-up to BioShock: The Collection’s launch last month, 2K asked fans to send in their ideas for Vigors. Ernesto Moreno’s “Parasite” idea was so good that 2K actually produced it. Get all the details on the story at the 2K blog.
Maybe it’s not so big a surprise, but scientists have now confirmed that if what happened in The Last of Us actually happened in real life, we’d be dooooomed. Get all the details here at IGN.
Bethesda has announced a $5 Starter Pack for The Elder Scrolls Legends to help you get…started faster. Here’s everything it comes with:
10 packs of cards at a special price, including one guaranteed Legendary card
Standard pricing for card packs is $2.99 for two packs and $7.99 for seven packs
Each week we search and gather up the coolest comic book art you won’t see in actual comics. The reason you won’t is because professional artists often draw sketches for fun or commissions and post them on their websites, blogs, and Tumblrs. Some artists even arrange commissions through their sites so be sure to check them out. This is a way to see the artists working on one book draw characters from other comics or publishers.
The Stranger Things art continues. Franco posted a piece on his Instagram along with a jam piece with Art Baltazar, Scoot McMahon, Kurt Wood, and Ale Rosado. Both are up for sale here.
Todd Nauck posted a bunch of commissions from Cincinnati Comic Expo on his Tumblr.
Sara Pichelli posted a Scarlet Witch piece on her Tumblr for a charity auction.
Skottie Young posted more Daily Sketches on his Tumblr. Original art goes up for sale here.
Paolo Rivera posted a couple recent commissions on his blog. He’ll be at New York Comic Con next week.
Kevin Wada posted a couple commissions from earlier this year on his Tumblr.
Chrissie Zullo posted new art on her Facebook page. She donated the Harley Quinn piece to the NYCC charity auction.
Marcus To posted some commissions on his Instagram.
Amazon Prime now offers a bunch of benefits for Twitch users through a new slate of features called Twitch Prime. Announced at TwitchCon, Prime subscribers get ad-free streaming, free game loot, and discounts on physical games, among other things.
The free game loot for October includes Tyrande Whisperwind, the newest Hearthstone hero, and new stream-based indie game Streamline. Prime subscribers also get the exclusive Boss Ymir skin for Smite and the exclusive Bomb King weapon skin for Paladins, though these items are only available until October 2.
Introducing Twitch Prime! Free game loot, free channel sub every 30 days, the best of Turbo and the best of Amazon Prime, and more! pic.twitter.com/Mequi11BZQ
Additionally, the aforementioned game discounts work in the same way they currently do with Amazon Prime: physical games preordered or bought from Amazon within the first two weeks after launch are discounted.
Twitch Prime also grants players exclusive emotes and a chat badge, as well as one free channel subscription every 30 days. Subscribing to a specific channel is a monthly affair, so it sounds like you’ll be able to stay subscribed to your favourite channel for free as long as you keep up with your Prime subscription. Twitch noted that streamers get paid the same as they would if you subscribed to them normally.
Since it’s bundled with Amazon Prime, Twitch’s new subscription services offers the same bonuses. All you have to do is link your accounts, and you’ll get things like free two-day shipping, unlimited movie and TV streaming, and ad-free music streaming. You can check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits here.
You can try the new subscription service free for 30 days at the official website. Check out the available countries and subscription costs in the list below.
US: $11/month or $100/year
Canada: CAD $79/year
UK: £8/month.
Germany: EUR 49/year
France: EUR 49/year
Italy: EUR 20/year
Spain: EUR 20/year
Twitch Turbo will continue to exist for users already subscribed and regions where Twitch Prime is unavailable. In the countries where it is available, Turbo subscriptions will no longer be taken, instead rolling its benefits into Twitch Prime.
From now until October 5, Twitch is hosting an event that benefits GameChanger Charity, which helps raise money and awareness for children with cancer. Twitch Prime will donate $100,000 for every 100,000 new subscriptions to any channel on Twitch. It can be to any channel, so using your free subscription will help with the cause no matter who you choose. You can get more information on Twitch.
Earlier today, a live orchestral concert featuring the music of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was announced. Now, the composer of Skyrim’s soundtrack, Jeremy Soule, has spoken out, and he’s not particularly pleased with the news.
“Concert? What concert???” he said in a post on his official Facebook page. “Anyone that knows me also knows that I care passionately about the integrity of my music. Skyrim took years for me to compose and it was constructed very carefully. Today, I’m seeing reports of a concert of Skyrim. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
The event, called Skyrim in Concert, was announced today by UK music promoter Senbla, which partnered with Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda to make it happen. According to Soule, he was never asked to be involved.
“For the record, this concert has nothing to do with me, nor are they using any of my original scores,” he said. “They had to transcribe whatever notation they are performing by ear from the recordings. This is a flawed process as transcriptions are always fraught with errors.”
A careful look at today’s press release reveals that the concert is only “[b]ased on the award winning score by Jeremy Soule.” His lack of involvement isn’t exactly highly touted.
“To be sure, I don’t know who these people are and I don’t endorse a concert that is trading on my name and music that has absolutely no oversight or involvement on my part,” Soule continued. “For my fans, I just want you to know what you’re getting if you pay to attend this concert. Be wary.”
We’ve contacted Bethesda to verify Soule’s claims and will report back with anything we learn. Tickets don’t go on sale until October 4.
Skyrim in Concert is scheduled to take place in London on November 16. This is just a couple weeks after the enhanced version of Skyrim, Skyrim Special Edition, is released on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
