Sometimes UFC fight cards amount to just that: a series of fights organized according to significance, with maximum room for approximately 20,000 tedious ads in between. Every once in a while, though, it all unravels, and the ensuing chaos is absolutely beautiful.
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Blizzard’s lord of lore (and sunglasses), Chris Metzen, is retiring from video games.
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Do you remember Myst? That mysterious 3D computer game from the 1990s where you walked around solving puzzles? Well, believe it or not, the folks over at Disney were in talks with the creators of Myst to turn it into a theme park down in Florida. No joke.
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The process of engaging in some BDSM in the seemingly squeaky-clean video game Overwatch is simple. Equip the angelic healer Mercy with her Imp skin, spray-paint an arrow on the wall, and crouch beneath it. If you’re lucky, a tank will walk up to you and emote “understood.” You’ll serve them dutifully and wait for the private message after the match.
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Deadspin Chris Sale Is Wasting His Talent On The South Side
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The energy was palpable at the midnight world premiere of Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire last Thursday night. The famous Midnight Madness screenings at the Toronto Film Festival are known to be a fun event, with an enthusiastic crowd soaking up the energy of the late night festivities. No one could expect that the film that we were about to see would not only match the energy of the theater, but crank it all the way to 11. Dripping in 70’s camp, Free Fire tells a story of a costly gun transaction that goes south very quickly. For 90 minutes you are stuck in a filthy Boston warehouse with these characters who have one thing in mind – take the money used to purchase the guns and get the hell out of dodge. As guns are drawn, bullets start to fly, and lines get drawn, the absurdity of the situation sinks in and the film become disturbingly dark and hilarious. ›››
Continue reading TIFF 2016: Bullets Non-Stop in Ben Wheatley’s Action Film ‘Free Fire’
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Network speed and reliability are two important factors for any online service, including Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Now, Microsoft has released the results of an independent study that claims Xbox Live is generally faster and more reliable than PlayStation Network.
This means “you’re getting the fastest, most dependable multiplayer experience possible,” Xbox’s head of operations Dave McCarthy said in an Xbox Wire post.
Xbox Live and PSN, as well as other online gaming networks, go down from time to time whether that be the result of an attack, maintenance, or something else entirely. McCarthy said it’s great to see the new report, from IHS Markit, speak positively about Xbox Live. He also spoke briefly about how Microsoft remains committed to further improving its network and online services to benefit gamers.
“We recognize it is an ongoing journey that requires considerable investment, feedback, and improvement,” he said. “Managing and maintaining a network is complex and there is an army of individuals who work tirelessly on Xbox Live, because at the heart of it, they are gamers just like you. Our goal is to try and see bumps in the road before they start, or get through them as smoothly as possible. Just know that we have a team who works 24×7 to optimize your gaming experience.”
According to the IHS Markit study (read the full thing here; PDF), Xbox Live was faster than PSN when looking at the time it took to log into the network service and game servers, as well as the speed at which uses could join friends in a party and upload images.
As for multiplayer itself, the study gave the edge to Xbox Live when it came to how often the service was successful in allowing players to log in to game servers and stay in a match to completion without an interruption. Overall, Xbox Live ranked higher than PSN for the “overall experience” category; this measured things like the speed at which you can invite friends to a party and voice chat quality.
“We’re always looking for ways to make sure your experience is the very best, and this is just a small milestone in the journey to delivering the best possible gaming experience this year and beyond,” McCarthy said. “In fact, right now, we’re working hard to bring new features like Clubs, Looking for Group and Arena on Xbox Live as well as cross-play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC to make it easier than ever to connect with people who have shared interests over Xbox Live. We look forward to sharing more as these features roll out worldwide.”
The IHS Markit study was conducted in June and July of 2016; it got its results from tests that used top-selling games that features matchmaking support. You can read the full report here, while some of the slides can be seen in the gallery above.
Apparently not tracked in this survey were download speeds; Xbox One and PS4 users alike might agree that speeds could be better, especially given how big some games have become.
What do you make of the survey’s findings? Let us know in the comments below.
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With Forza Horizon 3‘s release coming up soon, Microsoft has now announced the racing game’s soundtrack and detailed its background music support.
In an Xbox Wire post, Microsoft confirmed the game has almost 150 songs that span eight in-game radio stations. Returning from Forza Horizon 2 are the Horizon Pulse and Horizon Bass Arena stations, as well as new ones that play music from genres like hip-hop, indie rock, punk/metal, and classical. According to Microsoft, Forza Horizon 3 offers a “broader musical selection than any Horizon game.” The soundtrack certainly seems varied and diverse, as it features songs from Blink 182, Skrillex, and….Beethoven.
Forza Horizon 3 also makes use of background music support, so if want to listen to something else, you have that option as well.
Below is Forza Horizon 3’s soundtrack, divided by label/genre. The game launches on September 27, but it sounds like you’ll be able to play early through a demo.
Vagrant Records
Epitaph Records
Hospital Records
Future Classic Radio
Horizon Pulse
Horizon Bass Arena
Horizon Block Party
Timeless FM
Forza Horizon 3, which continues to look excellent in pre-release videos, comes to Xbox One and PC on September 27 as an Xbox Play Anywhere title. This means you can buy the game digitally on Xbox One and get the PC edition free or vice versa. The Xbox One version supports high dynamic range on Xbox One S, while the PC edition can reach resolutions up to 4K with a capable rig.
In other news about Forza Horizon 3, Microsoft has confirmed that Halo’s iconic Warthog truck will be featured in the game.
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Following the disappointing box office take for this year’s Allegiant, it was reported that the next film in the Divergent film series would be heading to TV. Shailene Woodley is the latest member of the cast to express apparent disinterest in finishing the story on the small screen.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Woodley revealed that she wasn’t keen on Lionsgate’s plans for the series. “Last I heard they were trying to make it into a television show. I didn’t sign up to be in a television show,” she said. “Out of respect to the studio and everyone involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different. But I’m not necessarily interested in doing a television show.”
Woodley’s comments follow those of her co-star, Whiplash‘s Miles Teller. In August, Teller admitted he didn’t know what would happen to the series, or if he would be involved. “I honestly haven’t talked to anybody,” he told THR. “It caught us all by surprise.”
“Things do change anytime they’re messing with something that was not the original intention. We all signed on for it in hopes that it’d be released in theaters, and we all had every intention of finishing [the franchise].”
Allegiant‘s box office debut brought in $29.1 million, which was a more than 40 percent drop from both Divergent and the second film Insurgent‘s opening weekend earnings. Allegiant went on to make $179.2 million with a budget of $110 million, not including marketing.
The series also stars Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), Ansel Elgort (Carrie), and Zoe Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road), and is is based on a post-apocalyptic book series by author Veronica Roth.
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The Last Guardian, Sony and genDESIGN’s follow-up to Shadow of the Colossus, has been delayed. It was previously given an October 25 release date but will now launch on December 6, 2016.
In an update on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida explained that extra time was needed to fix bugs.
“The Last Guardian development team is fast approaching major milestones in production and has made the tough decision to delay the release of The Last Guardian a few weeks,” he said.
“A delay is a difficult decision, particularly with this game, but we have encountered more bugs than anticipated while in the final stages of development. To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues.”
He added: “Fumito Ueda (gen Design) and Japan Studio have a wonderful vision for The Last Guardian’s touching, emotional journey of friendship and trust, and we want to deliver the most polished experience possible for our fans who have supported us for so long.”
Following years of silence from its developers and speculation that the project had been quietly cancelled, Sony announced development of The Last Guardian had shifted to PS4 at E3 2015. The game was originally revealed in 2009 as a PS3 title.
In November 2015, Sony said it was purposefully holding back what it shows of The Last Guardian because it is a story-heavy game. GameSpot played The Last Guardian at E3 2015, you can read Scott Butterworth’s impressions here.
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