Just as 4K and HDR are finally going mainstream, the ambitious folks at LG Display have also been busy pushing its OLED technology to 8K. Come CES, the Korean manufacturer will be letting attendees get up close with its new 88-inch 8K OLED display, w...
Twitter's stricter approach to verification isn't just taking checkmarks away from the leaders of racist groups. The social network has pulled the verified badge from conspiracy peddler Liz Conkin after Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend reac...
OnePlus really didn't waste any time fulfilling its promise of bringing the 5T's Face Unlock feature to the original 5. The smartphone maker has rolled out an OxygenOS beta that lets OnePlus 5 owners sign in with a quick glimpse at their phone, just...The Destiny 2 servers will be down for scheduled maintenance on January 3. The maintenance is scheduled to start at 7 AM Pacific and conclude at 12 PM Pacific. Starting at 7 AM Pacific, players will no longer be able to log in to Destiny 2. At 8 AM Pacific, all online players will be returned to the title screen. Maintenance is scheduled to end at 12 PM Pacific. Bungie is taking the Destiny 2 servers down to add hotfix 1.1.1.2. Upon logging back in, players may be prompted to download the update.
The patch notes will be available after the update goes live. This update “will address issues related to Iron Banner and Faction Rallies access,” which is directly related to Bungie previously locking content and activities behind the latest expansion of the game. This update should re-enable access to these events for all players regardless of if they have the expansion or not. More details will be available after the hotfix goes live, and Bungie will be addressing the timing of future Faction Rally and Iron Banner events in the coming weeks.
Bungie’s Community Manager, DeeJ, tweeted out a New Year’s greeting will letting players know that there will be a lot to talk about in 2018.
However you choose to usher in a new year, I hope you do it safely. We have a lot to talk about in 2018.
Peace.
— DeeJ (@DeeJ_BNG) January 1, 2018
This is supported by the acting community manager tweeting what player issues have been heard and are being discussed by the studio, including the movement against Eververse, Destiny 2’s in-game microtransaction hub.
Feedback collection continues. Eververse, Mayhem, endgame and more.
I know I sound like a broken record- but this is what I’m here to do. Collect your feedback, and represent your voices within the studio.
Keep it coming.
— dmg04 (@A_dmg04) December 28, 2017
I recently wrote about how Destiny 2 suffers from reward impermanence by taking symbols of our victories and accomplishments and shuffling them away behind the game’s convoluted microtransaction system, leaving actual in-game accomplishments to feel meaningless in comparison. Hopefully some of what they talk about in the new year will address making players feel like legends again.
Will you be affected by Bungie taking the Destiny 2 servers down? If you’ve got nothing else to do, check out our Destiny 2 Leviathan Raid guide to see how best to handle Calus’ challenges. Not ready for the Raid? Our Destiny 2 endgame guide covers how to get yourself leveled up after the campaign is over, including how to trigger every heroic public event.
[Source: Bungie]
The post Destiny 2 Servers Will Be Down on January 3, Bungie Promises “A Lot to Talk About in 2018” appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Gazing up at the orange Carrot building in Setagaya, Tokyo, you would have no idea it was the home of Game Freak, the developer behind one of the world's most popular video game franchises. The Pokémon logo isn’t displayed anywhere in the lobby, and Pokémon Go’s nearby PokéStops don’t offer any hint of the studio’s existence. Across the street at a 7-Eleven, a banner waves over the door to promote the most recent Pokémon movie, but that’s currently at every one of the convenience stores throughout Japan.
Once you make your way to Game Freak’s floor, a red sign with the company’s logo makes an appearance in the hall, but you won’t see your first Pokémon until you make it past a locked door. The waiting area is a dark room with a single chair, ominous floor lighting, a backlit Game Freak logo, and a brightly lit, slowly rotating globe.
This feature originally appeared in print issue 293.
Junichi Masuda, Game Freak’s co-founder and Pokémon’s longtime programmer, producer, director, and (perhaps most famously) composer, lets us into the studio and tells us the globe in the lobby serves as a daily reminder of Pokémon’s global reach. We take off our shoes to walk through the studio, which Masuda says is done to make the environment feel as comfortable and as close to home as possible, especially since Game Freak's first office was in someone's house.
The development floor is open with few sectioned-off offices, and Pokémon plushies are scattered everywhere. Masuda shows us the meeting rooms, each one specially designed by the staff. The Gaia room has a large fish tank and is covered with plants, which the staff takes care of themselves. Masuda says the staff tends to them as a way to remind everyone about the long-term rewards of incremental work. “It’s just like making a video game,” he says. The nearby Saturn room is filled with mirrors that draw your attention to a large television. This room is used when they need to present something on screen.
The most interesting room, however, is the Venus room, located just next to the studio’s common area. It feels like the bedroom of a young girl, with pink walls and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which Masuda does not immediately dismiss as being the inspiration for Chandelure. We take a look at the heart of the development floor, a casual meeting area filled with toys and board games neatly arranged on shelves, before moving to the Jupiter room. This extensive area serves a museum of sorts for Game Freak, with copies of all of its games in glass cases, a collection of neatly arranged Pokémon plushies, a stack of every console you can imagine in the opposite corner, and miniature figures of every single Pokémon – they think. More than 800 different Pokémon exist in the games, so you can’t blame them for being unsure.
Shigeru Ohmori (left) and Junichi Masuda hold a faux meeting in the Venus room
Game Freak's Beginnings
Before Game Freak even thought about merging "pocket" and "monster" into a single word, it was a print publication focused on covering Japan’s arcade scene. Headed by Satoshi Tajiri, credited as the creator of Pokémon, Game Freak the mini-comic (as Masuda refers to it) would interview arcade owners and get tips for playing popular arcade games. During this time, Tajiri met Masuda, and the two became fast friends.
“The Famicom system released in Japan, and video games in the home were starting to become a thing,” Masuda says. “We knew we couldn’t create an arcade game, but if it was on the Famicom, we knew we might be able to do something ourselves.” Tajiri and friends got to work on a game called Quinty, which would later release in America as Mendel Palace. Bandai Namco (called Namcot at the time) would eventually publish the game, but only after Game Freak became a formal company. Namcot representatives told Tajiri they wanted to form contracts with companies, not individuals. “When we first started making the game we didn’t really have any official development equipment, so we just sort of had to hack the Famicom and figure out how it worked so we could develop on it ourselves without the official development tools,” Masuda says.
At this stage, Tajiri was already talking to Nintendo about making games, but it wasn’t until Nintendo offered Yoshi, the 1991 puzzle game, to Game Freak that the relationship became official. Yoshi was successful, which lead to a mouse-based Super Famicom game called Mario & Wario that never released in America.
Tajiri continues to be an important part of Game Freak, but he is less hands-on with game creation. Masuda handles the creative side of development today, producing and directing the majority of Pokémon’s major releases. “[Tajiri] really serves the role of executive producer on all of the games. Depending on the project he will look at the game and be more hands-on, but a lot of his time is spent researching various media forms,” Masuda says. “When it comes to running the company and doing game development and press interviews, he just kind of leaves that up to me.”
After drawing circles for Game Freak, Nintendo, and former producer Creatures, Masuda explained. “Game Freak? We develop all the main Pokémon games. Originally, Creatures, they were the producers of the game. Nintendo was the seller of the games – the distributor. So that was the original structure of Pokémon games. In terms of who owns the rights to the games, it’s these three companies.”
These days, Creatures mostly handles the Pokémon card game, and The Pokémon Company was formed in 1998 – shortly before the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver – to manage the brand and all of its assorted merchandising. In terms of genuine ownership, Masuda says it’s one-third each for Game Freak, Creatures, and Nintendo. “It’s a little more complicated than that in certain scenarios, like for example, the producing role that Creatures originally held went to The Pokémon Company, and a percentage of the rights went with that so there are certain complications, and it depends on the project, but there is no situation where Nintendo and The Pokémon Company will put pressure on Game Freak or something like that,” Masuda says.
Masuda points specifically to Game Freak’s relationship with Nintendo as a friendship, which is why Game Freak only makes Pokémon games for Nintendo platforms, even when its other projects release with other publishers for other platforms. “Everyone really knows Nintendo; there is a familiarity with the brand, and they have that really strong brand and Pokémon being associated with that and being affiliated with that brand is very important,” Masuda says.
When asked if Pokémon would ever appear on another platform, Masuda says it is highly unlikely. “With Pokémon, at least, we really feel it is really important to be with Nintendo, specifically with the Pokémon titles, so I don’t think that would ever happen.”
Game Freak's Beginnings | How To Make Pokémon | Red, Green, And Yellow | Gold Silver, And Crystal | Ruby, Sapphire, And Emerald | FireRed And LeafGreen | Diamond, Pearl, And Platinum | HeartGold And SoulSilver | Black And White | Black 2 And White 2 | X And Y | Omega Ruby And Alpha Sapphire | Sun And Moon | The Future Of Pokémon
Few things pair better than video games and beer. Restauranteurs have taken notice, and over the past decade several impressive arcade/bar hybrids have emerged throughout the country looking to lure thirsty gamers. The Game Informer staff travels a lot over the course of the year, and when we're in new towns we often try to make time to check out these venues. We haven't crossed every barcade throughout the United States off our list of places to visit, but of the many we've visited to burn through a hefty stack of quarters, these are our favorites.
The 1Up
Location: Denver
The barcade of choice for most Denverites like our own Ben Reeves, The 1Up is so popular it spawned a second location. Both the Colfax and LoDo spots feature dozens of classic arcade cabinets and pinball machines. Hardcore players can engage in monthly tournaments or league play. To match the lo-fi vibe, the bar offers many different 40-ounce malt liquor offerings in addition to tap beer.
Barcade
Location: New York, Newark, Jersey City, Philadelphia, New Haven
Upon opening in 2004, Barcade’s Williamsburg location combination of craft beer and classic arcade cabinets proved immensely popular, with Esquire naming it one of the best bars in America in 2008. Since then, the owners have extended the brand to seven locations across four eastern states. World record holders for games like Donkey Kong, Q*bertz, and Timber call the Brooklyn location home.
Button Mash
Location: Los Angeles
Los Angeles is home to many good arcade bars, but Button Mash is our favorite thanks to its great Asian fusion food menu. The lineup of arcade cabinets boasts a murderer’s row of greatest hits spanning most game genres. While you’re waiting to challenge the person holding court in NBA Jam, you can munch on must-haves like the double-fried tamarind chicken wings and spicy Korean pork belly sandwich.
Cobra Arcade Bar
Location: Phoenix
Cobra Arcade Bar owner Ariel Bracamonte has put together what he considers to be the Holy Grail lineup of arcade machines at this popular Phoenix bar. The list includes most of the arcade classics you'd expect, as well as the holy trinity of early '90s brawlers – The Simpsons, X-Men, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time. The cocktails have names that pay homage to arcade classics like Pac-Man and Street Fighter, and constant drink specials make this an afforable hang out spot.
Coin-Op Game Room
Location: San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento
The San Francisco location was already a must-visit thanks to its eclectic game-themed craft cocktails, Neapolitan pizza, and lineup of 50 arcade machines from the ‘80s and ‘90s. But that didn’t stop Coin-Op from leveling up with a sleek speakeasy themed after Tron. Known as the Grid, this bar-within-a-bar is a great place to wind down after a tense round of Killer Queen – provided you remembered to make a reservation for this SF hotspot.
Ground Kontrol
Location: Portland
A Portland mainstay since 1999, Ground Kontrol is home to the annual Portland Pinbrawl tournament. The location boasts 90 arcade cabinets spanning back to the ‘70s, and also hosts game-centric events year-round. Our favorites include the monthly Rock Band karaoke night, occasional Hearthstone gatherings, and indie game showcases. Right now, the arcade is in the middle of a massive expansion and remodel, and it also has merch available for purchase.
Headquarters Beercade
Location: Chicago, Nashville
This well-stocked arcade haven boasts more than 60 arcade and pinball games, including some lesser seen greats like Narc and Primal Rage. Living up to its name, HQ features a fantastic selection of rotating craft beers, plus creative craft cocktails that take bold risks like combining Cinnamon Toast Crunch with bourbon. The interior design of the Chicago location in the River North neighborhood is also a must-see, with cool flourishes like a wall of cassette tapes behind the DJ booth.
Kung Fu Saloon
Location: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Nashville
The concept for this Austin staple proved so popular the owners have expanded into three other cities as well. Though the number of arcade cabinets doesn’t match those of other bar arcades, the lineup of fighting game classics like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and Kung Fu Master that let you show off your combat style. The new West Sixth location is more spacious than its predecessor, and it’s one of the few gaming-centric venues we know about that serves brunch.
Shorty’s
Location: Seattle
This undead clown lounge was almost sacrificed to the real estate gods to make room for yet another high-rise condo – the fate of too many great bars across the nation. This caused pinball and dive bar aficionados to reach out to the Landmark Preservation Board, which successfully stayed the real estate project back in 2015. The beloved Belltown bar still isn’t 100-percent clear of the wrecking ball, but for now, it’s still serving hot dogs and offering a great slate of pinball machines to its dedicated patrons. Come to drink a Rainier at the old-school dive bar, and stay to try and get that Addams Family pinball table high score.
Up-Down
Location: Minneapolis, Kansas City, Des Moines
Given our headquarters is in Minneapolis, chances are you could run into a Game Informer editor dropping quarters into one of the 50 arcade cabinets at this Uptown hotspot. Up-Down’s strong lineup of arcade and pinball favorites includes many favorites, but extends to deep cuts like Mr. Do! and Crystal Castles and modern games like Killer Queen and Black Emperor as well. Pizza slices satiate you between rounds, and the Skee-ball leagues don’t mess around. The impressive tap list includes 60 beers, with a large focus on regional breweries. Dedicating 30 taps to your neighbors is never a bad thing when the city boasts great options like Bent Paddle, Fulton, and Surly.
The tabletop gaming world has seen a year of innovation and design excellence, with dozens of stellar projects to discover. It’s challenging to narrow down to just a few standouts; this year’s selections attempt to target the most innovative, artistically rich, and elegantly designed games that rolled out to players over the last 12 months.
Many of the best releases of 2017 boasted intricate “legacy” elements, allowing groups to carry over storytelling and add new game elements from one session to the next. Other projects had abstract, single-session strategy designs that felt inventive and surprising. Still others managed to capture the spirit of existing fictional universes, and translate them into stunning game concepts.
Flip through the pages of the article to see some of the best the tabletop scene had to offer in 2017. The first half of the article includes dedicated board, card, and miniature-driven games, listed alphabetically. The second half of the article focuses on some of the most intriguing tabletop role-playing products of the year. Enjoy!
Inspired by the “weird” pulp fiction of the early 20th century, The 7th Continent is a story-driven adventure and exploration game built to be played over many interconnected sessions. You and your fellow explorers bear a mysterious curse, and only by discovering the secrets of a lost land can you hope to survive. Wildly innovative, and just as punishing to its heroes as the Lovecraftian stories it emulates.
The 7th Continent can be played solo or cooperatively, and feels like a choose-your-own-adventure, but with significant strategic decisions, skill checks, and visual elements mixed in. The game also features an elegant system for saving your game between sessions, getting you back into the action quickly the next time you play. For more, read our complete review.
This stunning yet accessible game casts players as tile-laying wall artists in service to the Portuguese king. Take turns choosing gorgeous resin tiles to fill out your wall, scoring for smart collection and placement. Abstract and beautiful, Azul’s brisk playtime is matched by high replayability.
Azul mixes a drafting mechanic (as players purchase tiles from the available supply) with an intriguing placement challenge, as your board has only limited spots for any given tile. The dynamic becomes more complex the deeper into the game one goes. Azul appeals to player groups who enjoy planning and an indirect theme, and repeated plays reveal the depth of the many paths to victory.
There’s not much to your tiny village as your first game of Charterstone begins. The real joy is watching the game board grow and secrets get revealed over many sessions. Players compete to place workers and build new structures across the charming and colorfully illustrated landscape. After a dozen games, your village is complete, and your copy of the game remains playable, but completely different from any other copy.
Charterstone is a change of pace from Stonemaier’s recent smash hit, Scythe, which was included in last year’s list. While drastically different settings, both games feature compelling strategic decisions and gorgeous (if very different) art styles. The great appeal of Charterstone is the increasingly complex board, as new spaces are getting added all the time, leading to ever harder choices about how to proceed. I also appreciate that Stonemaier is offering a “recharge pack” for the game, letting you reset your copy and play the entire campaign again, if desired.
Next Page: Visit a post-nuclear wasteland, and take on an offer you can’t refuse from the Don
Our playthrough of Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is the most successful Super Replay to date. One thing became abundantly clear: You love watching us suffer while playing broken games. From the comments I read, a good number of you expected we would play another Sonic game for the annual 12.31 Super Replay. As tempting as that idea was, we decided to flip the script again, and do something completely different. Playing a survival horror game without Tim Turi still feels wrong. Playing another Sonic game just feels wrong, period. So we decided to turn our sights on the anime crowd, a pocket of loyal fans Replay hasn't mocked enough.
The one game that bubbled to the surface was Vampire Hunter D, a little-known PlayStation relic that launched on September 25, 2000. Developed by Victor Interactive Software and published by Jaleco, Vampire Hunter D is a game about a powerful talking hand that is attached to a vampire. I don't want to give away much more than that. The only other thing I will say is, we're having a terrible good time playing it. As always, we hope you enjoy this year's pick. It's unexpected, I know, but that's how these 12.31 Super Replays should be.
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I replayed The World Ends With You for the third time this year. In part because I got a new phone and lost my save file as a result, and in part to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Long story short, I managed to lock myself out of that new phone one drunken night and had to wipe it. I never did finish this third playthrough. But, until this unfortunate accident, the game hooked me once again.
The World Ends With You is a wild, wild game. Fast-paced touchscreen combat, sharp graffiti-like artwork, nonsensical music. Beyblade ripoffs, cross-dressing, angst, shopping. It's flashy. It's loud. It's youth.
Using "acoustic shock waves" to promote healing isn't just for Overwatch, as Sanuwave has obtained FDA approval for its Dermapace System (Pulsed Acoustic Cellular Expression = PACE). Its approval is specifically to help heal foot ulcers in diabetic p...Retro-styled twin-stick shooter Enter the Gungeon has had an amazingly successful launch. Developers Dodge Roll have tweeted that the quirky action title has already accumulated over 75,000 sales in just two weeks.
Enter the Gungeon -- which features awesome music by Doseone and is published by industry bad-boys Devolver Digital -- has one or two players run 'n' gun their way through procedurally generated dungeons taking on swarms of enemies.
Despite the game originally releasing on multiple platform in the Spring of 2016, clearly the title still has legs, given its instant popularity on Nintendo's baby. Gungeon is a game that feels custom-designed for the Switch, to be fair, given teh console's portability and control layout. It also doesn't really break the bank at around $15 in price.
Enter the Gungeon is available now on Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox One and Mac.
Intermedia Labs' live trivia game HQ has launched a little earlier than expected -- and just in time to mark the end of the year, too. Anyone willing and able to download an early access app can see whether or not the formerly iOS-only title lives up...
2018 is here! A year set to bring us long awaited AAA titles and beautiful indie gems. Though... not this week.
CyberConnect2 announced that they’ll be holding an event on February 1, 2018. During this event they’ll announce the future plans for the company, rather than focusing on the past. It’s said that the announcement made will show what the Japanese developer will be doing for the next decade.
While not much is known, we did get a slight tease of what to expect. “It’s not about the past 20 years, but rather, an announcement that will show what we’ll be doing for the next 10 years,” said CyberConnect2 president Hiroshi Matsuyama. “There will be announcements of new developments and new plans for CyberConnect2.”
The developer most recently worked on .hack//G.U. Last Recode for PlayStation 4. Here”s what our review had to say about the role-playing game compilation:
Truthfully, .hack//G.U. Last Recode isn’t an example of the best kind of remaster, as it hasn’t completely addressed the issues that plagued its original versions in the first place. Somehow, though, those negatives seem lesser this time around, as .hack//G.U. Last Recode manages to assemble a series of games all in one place that, in retrospect, seem to have had a profound impact on pop culture—or, at least, were the prototypes for those that would. .Hack//G.U. Last Recode supplements this with some meaningful and enjoyable additional content and upgrades, and as an art piece—the kind of game that needs to be experienced for something outside of its technical prowess—it just works. .Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a JRPG history exhibit, and it’s well worth the price of admission.
Let us know in the comments below what you’d like to see from the upcoming CyberConnect2 announcement!
[Source: Siliconera]
The post CyberConnect2 Will Make a Huge Announcement in February appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
There were a lot of games I loved this year -- Battle Chef Brigade, Cuphead, Ghosts 'N Homunculi, GoNNER, Million Onion Hotel, Puyo Puyo Tetris, River City Ransom: Underground, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Splatoon 2, The End is Nigh, The Mummy Remastered, and TumbleSeed are just a handful. It's almost unfair to compare them to a game release that I'll remember most from 2017, as they are all "just games," where Axiom Verge Multiverse Edition is a multimedia package that's able to share interconnected information with you through totally different avenues at once. Fair or not, it's the data that goes into your brain that determines what you end up loving the most, and this is the data package that had the biggest impact on me this year.
If a spoiler is information that will make you like a game less if you gain said info beforehand, then my relationship with Axiom Verge has been rife with the opposite of that kind of information from the start. Knowing that the whole game was made by just one person led me to enjoy it far more than I would have if I went in thinking it was made by a team of hundreds. When you know a game came from one personality, hardwired into one set of synaptic connections, everything takes on a different meaning. You know that what you're playing is, for better or worse, a direct download from someone else's mind.
The making of the art book and documentary included in this retail release of the game provides even more inroads into the heart and soul of Axiom Verge creator Tom Happ, and it's not always a comfortable ride. Tom's process, his game, and his personal life are all mutually related and intertwined, bound together by a unified vision, shaded under a dark cloud of tragic irony.
The new year is proving to be a headache for some car makers in China. As of January 1st, the country has suspended production of 553 car models that didn't meet its fuel efficiency standards. Some of these come from partnerships with foreign heavy...
It lacks an integrated subwoofer, let alone a dedicated one, so this AmazonBasics sound bar wouldn’t be ideal for your main home theater, but it would be a solid upgrade over, say, your bedroom TV’s built-in speakers.
Which video game moment of 2017 had your heart aflutter? Did it make you cry? Did you scream furiously into the void? Did it leave you thinking about it hours, days, and weeks after you experienced it? Did you laugh so hard, liquids spewed out of your nose? One or all of the above? Cool. Let’s talk about it.
Bandai Namco released a nice video today wishing their fans a happy new year. The two minute video features holiday wishes from the teams of several games including Code Vein, Digimon, SoulCalibur VI, My Hero Game, One Piece World Seeker, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, Naruto to Boruto, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. With a list of titles that long, clearly 2018 will be a big year for Bandai Namco.
Check out Bandai Namco’s message below, and get a good look at the Bandai Namco 2018 games lineup:
One of Bandai Namco’s most anticipated games of 2018 is Dragon Ball FighterZ. For more on the Arc System Works developed fighting game, check out my Dragon Ball FighterZ preview. Here’s a snippet of what I had to say about it:
Since it is a Dragon Ball game, there’s also a big focus on mobility. By hitting the right trigger, players can use a special homing dash that’ll avoid Ki attacks. That’s not all, as they can also do a warp attack called Vanish that has players teleport behind their opponent and land an attack. That costs a gauge of energy, though, so it’s important that these special moves are used in moderation.
The fighting in Dragon Ball FighterZ is just as fun as it looks. The combat is instantly accessible to anyone that has played a fighting game, but there’s enough unique systems in play that competitive players will have to spend plenty of time learning the ins and outs. Going off of Arc System Works’ track record, this isn’t a game that Dragon Ball fans will want to miss out on.
Which Bandai Namco 2018 games are you most looking forward to?
The post Bandai Namco Wishes Fans a Happy New Year appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Since Riot Games reworked accounts to level infinitely in League of Legends, there has been something of a race as players climb higher and higher. The leader just passed level 300 today. His method? Destroying dozens of bots.
Unlike other territories gamers in Saudi Arabia won’t be able to play Deus Ex: Mankind Divided next month with their PlayStation Plus subscription. This is due to the title not being officially released in the region. Instead, the Saudi Arabia PlayStation Plus games will include the indie adventure game Alone With You.
تعرفوا على ألعاب شهر يناير القادم من بلايستيشن بلس ⚡️
اكتب الفصل الخاص بك في لعبة Batman The Telltale Series و صارع للنجاة في مستعمرة فضائية الهلاك فيها محتوم في Alone With You #قوي_لعبك واشترك الآن! http://pic.twitter.com/wYRa3hJp97
— بلايستيشن السعودية (@PlayStationSA) December 27, 2017
This change seems specific to Saudi Arabia, as other countries in the Middle East seem unaffected by the swap:
تصرفاتك وخياراتك ستحدد مصير باتمان 🦇 وعشّ في العالم ما بعد حادث التقدم.
نقدم لكم ألعاب بلايستيشن بلس لشهر يناير مع إمكانية وصول لمدة 14 يوماً بمناسبة العام الجديد. #قوي_لعبك وإشترك الآن!https://t.co/1lSEGlfaqM http://pic.twitter.com/12Q93sj98f— PlayStation Mid East (@PlayStation_ME) December 27, 2017
For reference, here are the games both leaving and entering the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection next week on January 2 in North America and Europe:
Leaving the Instant Game Collection
- Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (PS4)
- Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends (PS4)
- XBlaze Lost: Memories (PS3)
- Syberia Collection (PS3)
- Forma 8 (PS Vita & PS4)
- Wanted Corp (PS Vita)
- Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (PSVR)
Entering the Instant Game Collection in North America and Europe
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)
- Batman: The Telltale Series (PS4)
- Starblood Arena (PSVR)
- Sacred 3 (PS3)
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PS3)
- Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness (Vita, PS4)
- Uncanny Valley (PS Vita, PS4)
For more on the indie release, check out my Alone With You review. Here’s what I had to say about the emotional title:
One other thing that became apparent upon replaying the game a second time was that Alone With You is filled with technical issues. Several times I was able to walk outside of an area I was supposed to be in, and was basically locked out from an area until I managed to wiggle myself back in. I never ran into a glitch that caused me to restart the application, but I did waste several minutes due to the collision detection being poorly done. There is also an issue where the game will repeat lines of dialogue twice when I was quickly skipping through it. This happened very often and defeated my entire purpose of trying to speed through scenes I had already seen.
Alone With You provides an interesting ride for players, but doesn’t manage to fulfill its potential. The romantic side of the game feels underdeveloped, and I ran into bugs often enough to hamper my enjoyment. That said, it has an interesting enough story that is worth checking out and its shortcomings can’t undo a solid story that is told well.
The January 2018 PlayStation Plus titles go live on January 2, 2018.
[Source: GearNuke]
The post January Saudi Arabia PlayStation Plus Games Don’t Include Deus Ex: Mankind Divided appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Telegram has been busy parrying government attempts to collect user data over the past year, but it hasn't forgotten its users. It's ushering in 2018 with a handful of offerings you'll likely find helpful if it's your chat app of choice, starting wit...
One moment, you’re on top of the world, the next, completely helpless. Weaponless, defenseless, and pretty much helpless. Last time, we talked about nine games that took away all our weapons. This time, we talk about nine more games that stripped us of all resistance.
So... 2017 huh? Goddamn, have the last 12 months felt like they lasted six years to anyone else? So much has happened in 2017, too much to bother talking about here, but one of the good things to come out of it for me is I kept my gaming resolution. Last year I said I would pay more attention to mobile games and by God I did it. It wasn't always fun but at times it provided me with some absolutely awesome experiences.
I plan to keep that going in 2018 but there is so much more I can do in the next year and that's why I'm making a brand new gaming resolution. I'm ending 2018 with a new Switch, a backlog of Wii U games I still have to get to, a stack of PlayStation 4 titles that's growing by the week and a 3DS catalog that's too legit to quit. I could resolve to whittle down my backlog in 2018 but HAHAHAHAHA that's not going to happen. Instead of beating games... I want to make one.
That's right. My gaming resolution for 2018 is to begin development of my own game using SmileBASIC. If you haven't heard of SmileBASIC, it is a game development program for the Nintendo 3DS that is a more advanced version of Petit Computer for the Nintendo DS. A couple weeks ago, I watched this short video on Yoshiro Kimura who I am officially naming my favorite developer of 2017. He created Dandy Dungeon and Million Onion Hotel and in this video, he talks about rediscovering his love for game development while dicking around with Petit Computer. After watching that clip I immediately downloaded SmileBASIC to my spanking new New Nintendo 2DS XL Pokéball edition.
I don't know if what I make will be any good or if I have to talent to make anything worthwhile, but 2018 will be the year I do what I always say I've wanted to and make a game. That's my resolution, what's yours?
The PlayStation Blog ran a great feature where they had developers talk about what games they liked the most this year. Many developers, including Yoko Taro, included Horizon Zero Dawn as one of their favorite games of the year. There was a lot of praise for Guerrilla’s latest title from both Japanese and western developers.
Team Ninja’s Fumihiko Yasuda had particularly high praise for the game. “I was amazed by the quality of the graphics and the art style, deep story, stealth tactics, and combat were all top notch,” said the Nioh director. “[It all came together in] making everything run in perfect unison.”
Additional praise came from Rebellion Senior Producer James Valls. “I’m a huge fan of the Killzone games so I’m always looking forward to anything they make but this game still surprised me on many levels,” revealed Valls. “Great narrative, gorgeous visuals and animation, and really really tight combat mechanics. Absolutely outstanding.”
“There’s definitely something under the skin of Horizon Zero Dawn that stays with you long after the credits have rolled,” said Sumo Digital’s Brad Davey, the lead designer of Snake Pass. “While, at its core, it’s a game about tearing through giant robot animals and dinosaurs, the world building (and previous destruction!) give the game a sense of believability and humanity that you can’t really help but fall in love with and want to return to. I’m very excited about what the future holds for Horizon and, of course Aloy.”
For more on Guerrilla Games’ latest title, check out our Horizon Zero Dawn review. Here’s a snippet of what Paulmichael Contreras had to say about the open-world role-playing game:
Horizon Zero Dawn is an early contender for game of the year. Guerrilla Games has outdone themselves, in astounding fashion. This is a glorious game, the result of a team of masterful artisans who not only had a story that they wished to tell, but a world that was living inside of them which they wanted to share with us all. Now, we get to play inside their creation, and it is a breathtaking experience to behold. A massive, open world filled with equally massive, terrifying robots, juxtaposed against the beauty of the Earth, nature fighting back the darkness as it tends to do. Horizon Zero Dawn is the kind of game you play to get lost in, and can be enjoyed by players of all types. This could be the beginning of a stellar franchise, and there is something for everyone here. If you own a PS4, you owe it to yourself to give Horizon Zero Dawn a go.
Horizon Zero Dawn is available now exclusively for PlayStation 4.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
The post Horizon Zero Dawn Gets High Praise From Other Developers appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
One of Final Fantasy’s most iconic songs doesn’t even make my top 10 favorite list. That said, it’s also one of my most cherished. What makes it special is that it’s tied to one of my fondest memories—but not in as sweet a way as you may think.
The UK still isn't convinced that internet giants are doing enough to curb online extremism, and it's now considering hitting those companies where it really hurts: their bank accounts. In an interview with the Sunday Times, security minister Ben Wa...
The upcoming Twelve Titans Rocket League tournament will pit 12 players against each other in a winner-take-all one-on-one brawl. Isaiah Sharrieff was set to be one of those players who would play in the tournament in Scotland—until he revealed on Twitter that he had already played his first round and won’t fly to…
The Los Angeles Police Department has announced the arrest of 25-year-old Tyler Barriss following a Call of Duty swatting incident that claimed the life of an innocent father-of-two.
For those who haven’t been following the situation, 28-year-old Andrew Finch was shot dead by the police after they were given his address in a prank phone call (believed to have been made by Barriss) regarding a hostage situation. The suspect was embroiled in a dispute with another man over a Call of Duty wager. Finch was neither involved in the dispute nor did he know the two individuals. His address was given out randomly.
Now, the officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation, and Barriss has been arrested.
Finch’s family is unhappy with the statements made by the police, however. Like many others, they’re also questioning the fatal shooting, arguing that there was no reason for the cop to fire. According to KWCH12, the family released the following statement via their attorney:
While the family is pleased an alleged swatter was detained, the swatter did not shoot an unarmed man stepping out onto his porch. That was a WPD Officer. While the WPD has attempted to deflect the cause of death to a phone call, Andrew was killed by a bullet fired by an officer who clearly had no cause to fire.
Prank or no prank- no officer claimed to have seen a weapon before firing, and that fact alone makes this shooting reckless at best.
The family remains hopeful that all responsible are brought to justice including the shooter.
This is an extremely unfortunate and tragic situation. Finch’s family has set up a fundraiser to help cover his funeral expenses. If you would like to help them out, please consider donating by visiting their GoFundMe page.
Our thoughts go out to Finch’s loved ones.
The post Arrest Made in Call of Duty Swatting Incident That Led to Innocent Man’s Death appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
By balancing scarcity and value, Mario’s newest platforming hit finally brings second-tier collectibles into the limelight.
Amazon hasn’t been shy about offering up discounted Kindle books over the past week, but I suspect that the New Year will see a significant slowdown in sales, back to a more typical ~once per week schedule. Today’s sale has some great options though, a few of which we highlighted below. But be sure to head over to…
When giving gifts at Christmas, it is the thought that counts. Especially in the time of trophies and achievements, unwrapping a mediocre game from a well-meaning great-aunt who asked the nice shop assistant for recommendations is not a big deal at all. However, it's still possible for a gift to be such a misfire that you wonder why your poor relative didn't just make life easier for themselves and get you a voucher. Or nothing at all.
When it comes to my Christmas duds, I cannot palm the responsibility for past Christmas disappointments off onto anyone else. All of the games that left a bitterer taste in my mouth than mushy Brussel sprouts did so because I did poor research when putting together my Christmas list, and Santa dutifully complied with what I had scribbled down. Now I (mostly) know better than to buy licensed games just because of the franchise they are attached to, or to buy a game because the cover is pretty. But that has been a tough lesson to learn.
So, which shoddy games did I struggle through with a sour face, one childhood Christmas Day? Keep reading, and contribute yours in the comments!
