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'Pokemon GO' Patch Gets Rid Of Footprint Tracking System, Allows Edits To Avatar[teaser]Not that the footprints were ever any help.[/teaser] Developer Niantic has rolled out a new 'Pokemon GO' update for iOS and Android that takes out a prominent feature while adding a smaller one in. This weekend's update has removed the game's footprint mechanic that was meant to show how close a player was to certain Pokemon while they were out and about. Though the feature was never consistently helpful, players will now be even more in the dark about what kind of Pokemon follow them around. The patch also added the ability to change the player's trainer avatar from their profile screen, meaning players are no longer bound to the aesthetic choices they made when first booting up the app. The last bit of the patch notes notes that Gym battles have been better polished, along with a small pile of bug fixes. Source: Niantic (via Game Informer)Posted Sun Jul 31, 2016 at 10:09 AM PDT by: -
'Persona 5' Gameplay Video Shows Off Summons[teaser]Multiple personalities.[/teaser] Developer Atlus has released a short gameplay video for 'Persona 5' that shows off Persona summons for several of the game's characters. Morgana, Anne, the Protagonist, Ryuji, Haru, Makoto, and Yusuke are all featured in the video performing their Persona summons in the next installment of the 'Persona' RPG series. The video, not even two minutes long, also gives fans a look at the game's off-kilter presentation of the combat menu. 'Persona 5' is set to launch in Japan for the PS3 and PS4 on September 15, with North American players having to wait until February. You can check out the summons video below. Source: Atlus (via Gematsu)Posted Sun Jul 31, 2016 at 09:59 AM PDT by: -
Ubisoft Previews This Week's 'Operation Skull Rain' Expansion For 'Rainbow Six Siege'[teaser]Order and progress.[/teaser] This week, 'Rainbow Six Siege' will be following the Olympics and heading down to Brazil in the 'Operation Skull Rain' expansion releasing Tuesday, August 2. Publisher Ubisoft has released a short video showing all of the expansion's new changes in action. The most prominent additions are the two player characters from the Brazilian special ops team. Caveira is a defensive operator focused on stealth. Using her "silent step," she can get the jump on enemies and interrogate them to learn the locations of the other enemy players. The other new character, Capitao, wields a crossbow that can shoot bolts that can either obscure vision or suffocate enemies with increased accuracy. The update also comes with a new map that will be available for free to all players. The new Favela map, according to the developers, is the game's "most destructible map to date," allowing cunning players to create their own lines of sight from across an entire map. The last big addition in 'Operation Skull Rain' is the Tactical Realism game mode. This hardcore mod strips all but the essentials from the player's HUD, forcing them to keep track of their ammo usage, their teammates' positions, and the number of hostiles still on the field manually. 'Operation Skull Rain' is set to release August 2. Season Pass holders will have a seven-day exclusivity period for the two new operators. You can see all of the new additions in action in the video below. Source: UbisoftPosted Sun Jul 31, 2016 at 09:44 AM PDT by: -
Infinite Jest: 'Disney Infinity's Got Some Bewildering Shutdown Plans[teaser]Good luck.[/teaser] Disney announced out of the blue a few weeks back that 'Disney Infinity', their attempt at a 'Skylanders'-type game/action figure cash cow, was going the way of the dodo, and today there's a schedule on how the game would be fading to black. Take a deep breath, take your time, we're gonna try and clean this up best as we can. For console players, it's at least relatively straightforward: Everything will continue to function as normal on consoles until March 3rd, 2017. At that point, all online functionality for the game goes away forever on all platforms. The only exception to that is the Toy Box feature, where the ability to submit new content goes away for all platforms on September 30th of this year. Even then, on consoles, you can still download any content already approved and online until March 3rd. Pretty simple. It's on every other platform the game came out for--that'd be PC, iOS, Google Play, Amazon, and Apple TV--that things get dicey as hell. So, as of right this second, in-game purchases are officially disabled for all those platforms, with the exception of the Windows Store ports, and the Steam version of 'Disney Infinity 3.0'. On September 30th, the game will be pulled from Disney's website, Google Play, iOS, and the Amazon App Store, and the game won't even be playable on these platforms anymore. The Steam versions of 'Infinity 2.0' and '3.0' stay up and running, sans ANY online capabilities, including the ability to download Toy Box content. The Apple TV and Windows Store versions will remain playable--minus the ability to upload new Toy Box content--however, the Apple TV version will no longer be available to buy from the App Store on that day, and on January 3rd, the Windows Store versions lose the ability to make in-game purchases. Then on March 3rd, the Apple TV and Windows Store ports are no longer playable altogether, leaving only the consoles and Steam still playable, albeit offline. Quite the mess, eh? Well, because we love you, and Lord knows the poor folks who dropped $100+ on this thing deserve all the clarity they can get, here's the rundown another way: Consoles (PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, WiiU, 3DS)September 30th--Community sharing support ends; Toy Box content can be downloaded, but not uploadedMarch 3rd, 2017--All online functionality shuts down. Game can still be played offline. SteamJuly 29th--In-game purchasing is disabled, except in '3.0'September 30th--All online functionality shuts down. Game can still be played offline. Windows StoreSeptember 30th--Community sharing support ends; Toy Box content can be downloaded, but not uploadedJanuary 3rd, 2017--In-game purchasing is disabled.March 3rd, 2017--Game will no longer be available for download, will cease to be playable. Apple TVJuly 29th--In-game purchasing is disabled.September 30th--Community sharing support ends; Toy Box content can be downloaded, but not uploaded. Game will be pulled from App Store.March 3rd, 2017--Game will cease to be playable. Mobile (iOS, Google Play, Amazon App Store) and Disney.com DownloadJuly 29th--In-game purchasing is disabled.September 30th--Game will no longer be available for download, will cease to be playable. And so, this is the way 'Disney Infinity' ends. Not with a bang, but with one of those 'Home Improvement' confused grunt noises. Source: DisneyPosted Sat Jul 30, 2016 at 07:17 AM PDT by: -
Very Strange, Very British: 'We Happy Few' Impressions[teaser]But does it make us happy?[/teaser] Editor's Note: Preview based off of the Steam Early Access version of 'We Happy Few.' The author of these impressions is a Kickstarter backer of 'We Happy Few.' 'We Happy Few' is in development by Compulsion Games, whose only release to date is 2013's 'Contrast.' It is a first-person survival game set in a retrofuturistic, dystopian Britain that has committed an unspeakable atrocity against Russian invaders. They successfully repelled the attack, but in return they cannot live with the guilt of their actions, and the entire population is required to take a disturbing drug called Joy. Joy suppresses their memories and alters their perspective of reality, resulting in a society that is slowly degrading into narcotic anarchy. Arthur is one of these delusional "Wellies", at least at first. During his duties as a government censor, Arthur comes across an old newspaper article about his brother. He savors the bittersweet memory and decides to stop taking his prescription of Joy. This leads to an unpleasant situation for him, as other Wellies quickly condemn any "downers" they come across, becoming suspicious and violent. Arthur escapes from city hall into the sewers, where he sets up a home base. He ventures out into Wellington to look for any way out of the situation, and along the way he has to deal with Wellies in various stages of opiate-laden rage. Not everyone Arthur meets is immediately hostile. If I kept to myself, avoided burglary and assault, and tried to blend in as a Joy-taking, government-loving citizen, most Wellies would leave me alone. They are a suspicious lot though, and even small errors in etiquette can lead to increasing levels of paranoia and distrust. There is a 'Resident Evil'-like inventory that must be managed carefully to avoid overburdening, and the many bits of garbage that Arthur picks up on his journey can be crafted into weapons, healing items, and disguises. Of course, the best bits of garbage are tucked away into guarded, trapped houses, so I would sneak in and avoid or knock out the itinerant Wellies to get at their prized metal scraps and string. 'We Happy Few' also has a somewhat uncharacteristic survival streak. Arthur must eat, drink, and sleep to stay alive, forcing detours from his exploration to find safe beds and clean water. It doesn't really need the survival mechanic to embed a sense of urgency. It basically amounts to a timer or tax on the emergent gameplay inherent in Wellington, with frequent stops necessary to do things like collect rotten food or fill up canteens of water. In many survival games this turns out to be a relatively fun (or at least not tedious) mechanic, especially when the character is capable of making their own food supply. In 'We Happy Few' it feels out of place. Furthermore, the bars drain at a rapid pace, so I'm never more than a couple of minutes away from having to find another snack or take a nap. In one hour of play, for instance, Arthur had to sleep for approximately 18 hours of in-game time, eat 8-10 pieces of food, and drink 4-5 helpings of water. The game's setting is one of its most entertaining accomplishments. Wellington Wells is a mishmash of old-fashioned dystopian film and literature like '1984', 'Brazil', and 'V For Vendetta' (not to mention a fair dose of 'Equilibrium'), but mixes in its own brand of cutesy yet horrific imagery. Joy starkly changes the way that people look at the world, turning gore into candy and such. Without it, Arthur is subjected to the grim realities of life in Wellington and the steady decline of the society into insanity and death. There have been many comparisons between 'We Happy Few' and 'BioShock', but this is only skin deep. There is a 1960s dystopia going on, and the Wellies are somewhat similar to splicers in their horror and tragedy, but this is a much different gameplay experience. Guns and supernatural powers have been replaced with pointy sticks and rocks, roguelike elements of permadeath and procedural generation are on full display, and a wary version of stealth/camouflage is possible. The alpha is of course missing a lot of content planned for the final release, most notably the inclusion of two other playable characters, each with their own motives and storylines. One issue I've noticed in the sandbox is that content is relatively light. There isn't a lot to do outside of pursuing the main questlines. Most houses are closed off and most NPCs have little in the way of quests or interactivity, so exploration is limited to a few small apartments and makeshift dwellings. The nagging survival mechanic cuts into this as well - there's only so much exploring I can do when I will eventually run out of things to eat. This is juxtaposed by a very respectable level of polish in the world. Voice acting is incredible, as is the writing and the ambient culture of fear and paranoia. Uncle Jack is the clown-faced TV show host/government announcer, and his smiling mug and inviting-yet-judgmental voice lends an air of dark, campy ambiance, not unlike the creepy TV shows in 'Alan Wake' and the Art Bell radio broadcasts in 'Prey'. Compulsion has the setting down pat - they make it look easy to develop a living, eerie world of lies and simmering terror, something that so many games have difficulty expressing. On the other hand, 'We Happy Few' needs some work yet in what it can offer to players. If they can flesh out the content and perhaps offer some more variety in the settings, this could be something really special.Posted Fri Jul 29, 2016 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Never Turn Your Back On Mother Virtus VI: 'No Man's Sky's Final Video Focuses On Survival[teaser]Spoilers: The galaxy hates you.[/teaser] The fourth and final 'No Man's Sky' preview video has been posted, this time focusing on the harsh environments players will encounter on their travels through the galaxy. While it doesn't look like players will have the ability to pick up and deal with an 'Andromeda Strain' situation, per se, it definitely has no qualms with below-zero temperatures, toxic environments, extreme heat, and just plain old wildlife trying to eat your delicious organs. It's a rough galaxy out there. Wear protection. With this, it's officially a 12 day wait for the real deal, and the four preview definitely paint a vision of a sort of galactic manifest destiny that, if anything, I worry about just how much diversity of environments and species we're talking, but seems otherwise breathtakingly ambitious. Here's hoping, anyway. You can find the latest info on 'No Man's Sky' linked from our Video Game Release Schedule. Order from Amazon Order Digital from Amazon Source: Hello GamesPosted Thu Jul 28, 2016 at 03:36 PM PDT by: -
Just What Exactly The Heck *IS* The New 'Prey' Supposed To Be, Anyway?[teaser]New video from Bethesda provides answers....sorta?[/teaser] The new 'Prey' is a strange duck. It's a sequel to a game that sold like dirt, but (rightfully) garnered a cult following in subsequent years, a cult following whose dreams of a sequel were dashed twice over, once when finding out the follow-up would be a weird space bounty hunter scenario of some kind, and then twice when said weird space bounty-hunter title got canned. Well, a new 'Prey' made its debut at Bethesda's E3 event. And yes, it looks interesting, albeit in a way that invites comparisons to 'SOMA' (not unkind ones, to be fair). But the teaser was exactly that, a clear WTF that answered no questions as to how, exactly, this tied to the adventures of American Indian alien killer Tommy and his trek through the afterlife. Today, we get a three minute video from one Rafael Colantonio, President at Arkane Studios, on what to expect. And what we expect is....having no idea what to expect. There's a lot of talk, for sure, about the broad strokes. The irksome thing is hearing him say as a definite this has absolutely nothing to do with the previous game, which makes one wonder why they even bothered, but, hey, the folks who made 'Dishonored' do get benefit of the doubt. And, to be fair, there's a fairly creepy factor to what he's talking about here in terms of the horror/thriller/whathaveyou. Keep an open mind as you listen. Maybe there is hope, even as we mourn to shooting aliens in a upside-down bar while a Clutch song is on the jukebox. Source: BethesdaPosted Thu Jul 28, 2016 at 10:41 AM PDT by: -
(Re)Master Of War: Details On The 'Darksiders' Re-Release[teaser]War is, in fact, pretty.[/teaser] Not content to let his brother Death be the belle of the current gen ball, with the "Deathinitive Edition" of 'Darksiders II', as announced earlier this week, Nordic Games will be giving the original 'Darksiders' a dazzling once-over on PC, PS4, Xbox One, even WiiU. Today they're offering the hard and fast details on the new edition. The new release, dubbed "Warmastered Edition", will be getting the expected slate of visual upgrades, with the Xbox/PS4/WiiU versions getting a bump up 1080p, and the PC version getting boosted up to 4K. The WiiU port, however, doesn't get to join the big boys in the 60fps club. Regardless, all versions will be getting double the resolution on all its textures, and better rendering on wide swaths of its visual effects. According to Gamespot, a press release has been sent stating the game will be hitting October 25th for a cool $20. Source: Nordic Games, GamespotPosted Thu Jul 28, 2016 at 10:08 AM PDT by: -
'The Longest 5 Minutes' Hits Steam and PS Vita in 2017[teaser]A lot can happen in 5 minutes.[/teaser] Today, NIS America has confirmed that they will be bringing over Nippon Ichi Software and Syupro-DX's adventure RPG to the West on PS Vita and Steam in 2017. The game is set entirely during its final boss battle, with your hero having lost his memory just before a fight with an evil overlord. Conversations between party members and the overlord himself triggers the hero's memories, sending him into flashbacks that will allow him to regain his abilities. NIS describes the game as follows: Originally developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Syupro-DX and releasing today for the PS Vita in Japan, The Longest Five Minutes will take you inside the mind of a hero during his final encounter with an epic and evil Overlord. As the story unfolds, the conversations you have with your party and the Overlord will unlock memories of the hero’s journey. Each memory plays out in classic 8-bit RPG style, and the outcome of those memories affect your party in their final battle. Story Our hero faces the origin of all evil, the Overlord himself, but suddenly loses all memories of his adventure. His finishing moves, the name of his hometown, and even the reason he’s trying to defeat the Overlord in the first place, all gone. Our hero feels as though he’s letting his allies down… In the midst of battle, his allies’ words and the Overlord’s taunting triggers flashbacks, bringing his memories back piece by piece. Our hero tries to regain his priceless memories before it’s too late, but the Overlord stands before him, his power unyielding! What can happen in The Longest Five Minutes!? You can catch a teaser trailer for the game below: This is a really charming idea for an RPG, and I think NIS games work best when they toy with RPG conventions like this (the whole thing brings to mind a personal favorite of mine: 'ZHP', and if this is even half as good as that, this is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Source: NIS AmericaPosted Thu Jul 28, 2016 at 06:41 AM PDT by: -
'Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide' Hits PS4 and Xbox One This October[teaser]Includes all previously released DLC.[/teaser] Today, Nordic Games and Fatshark have confirmed that their upcoming PS4 and Xbox One port of the PC co-op action game 'Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide' will be released on October 4th. Additionally, it has been confirmed that the port will contain all DLC released for the PC version so far. You can catch the announcement trailer for the game below: Nordic Games describes the title as follows: Cooperative Survival For up to 4 Players Huge Hero Arsenal Of Weapons, Trinkets and More Embark on an Epic Quest Across 18 Diverse Levels: Including all DLC Levels Currently Released for the PC Version Experience the Skaven Like Never Before Gather Shiny Loot Experience an Immersive Story Set In The Cataclysmic Events of The End Times Stand Together or Die Alone - Challenging Co-op at it's Finest Source: Nordic GamesPosted Thu Jul 28, 2016 at 06:29 AM PDT by:
