Don't Starve Together Heads to PS4 September 13
Don’t Starve Together is heading to the PlayStation 4 on September 13, Klei Entertainment has announced. To celebrate the launch of Don’t Starve Together on the PS4, the developer will offer a new Don’t Starve Mega Pack and it will be 60 percent off for players who already own the original Don’t Starve. The Don’t Starve Megapack will include Don’t Starve Together: Console Edition, Don’t Starve: Console Edition, Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked, Don’t Starve: Reign of Giants, Don’t Starve: Console Edition: Shipwrecked Theme and Don’t Starve: Console Edition: Autumn Theme. The standard price for the Mega Pack starting September 13 will be $26.99. That means those that currently own Don’t Starve can purchase the Mega Pack for $10.79.
As for Don’t Starve Together, it will support up to six players online and will offer split-screen couch co-op for the first time, both locally and online.
It’s worth mentioning that Don’t Starve‘s initial launch on PS4 in January 2014 was available free to PlayStation Plus members, so if you grabbed it then, you can take advantage of the Mega Pack discount.
Cities: Skylines Adding Natural Disasters Expansion
The next Cities: Skylines expansion has been announced, titled Natural Disasters. As its name suggests, the expansion will feature a catalog of catastrophes to challenge virtual mayors everywhere. Players will have the ability to plan early warning systems and emergency routes as they face devastating and destructive disaster effects. They will of course, also have to care for the populace as they struggle to rebuild following the disasters.
Natural Disasters will also update Cities: Skylines with a new scenario editor and gameplay mode so that players will finally win or lose on their own terms. Other features heading to the expansion include a new broadcast network that citizens can use so that players can rapidly spread evacuation warnings and emergency alerts. There will also be new hats for Chirper, because who doesn’t want new hats?
Although Paradox Interactive didn’t go into great detail on what disasters will be naturally occurring in the expansion, it did say there will be several possible doomsday scenarios, from towering infernos to the day the sky exploded. It appears Natural Disasters will be a lot more in depth and varied compared to the disasters you may be used to from the SimCity series.
The expansion will be available sometime this winter.
'The Last Bastion' Focuses on Overwatch's Favorite Robot
A new Overwatch animated short has been released, titled “The Last Bastion.” As its name suggests, the latest animated short focuses on Bastion and follows its story after it is unexpectedly reactivated after lying dormant in the wilderness for over a decade. In the video’s description, it says that Bastion awakens fascinated by its unfamiliar surroundings, causing the curious omnic to investigate, quickly discovering its core combat programming may have a different directive.
The video also ties into Overwatch‘s new map that is being added to the game come September. Called Eichenwalde, it will be a new payload/assault hybrid map that is set in an abandoned village and castle in Germany. It is also the place where an epic battle between omnics and the German defense force took place and is home to Bastion’s reawakening.
This is the fifth animated short from Overwatch, with previous videos focusing on Winston, Windowmaker and Tracer, Hanzo and Genji and Soldier: 76. It’s simply brilliant that the short has no dialogue and yet, tells such a great story. And if you’ve ever played Overwatch, it’s perfectly acceptable if you become terribly frightened at the scene of a horde of Bastion units, considering one is scary enough.
Expect more animated shorts from Blizzard in the future, as there’s still plenty more characters from the game to showcase.
NieR: Automata Heading to PC Early Next Year
NieR: Automata is heading to Steam for PC in early 2017, Square Enix and PlatinumGames have announced. The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2010 cult classic NIER, NieR: Automata follows the tale of androids 2B, 9S and A2 as they battle to reclaim a machine-driven dystopia that has been taken over by powerful weapons known as machine lifeforms. The game is developed by an all-star team that includes producer Yosuke Saito from Dragon Quest X and NIER, director Yoko Taro from Drakengard and NIER, character designer Akihiko Yoshida from CyDesignation, Inc. who worked on Final Fantasy XIV and Bravely Default, game designer Takahisa Taura from PlatinumGames Inc. who contributed to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and composer Keiichi Okabe from MONACA, Inc. who has worked on Tekken, Drakengard 3 and NIER.
In NieR: Automata, invaders from another world attack without warning, using machines as their secret weapon. Faced with an insurmountable threat, the human race is forced from the earth and takes refuge on the moon. There, they develop an army of android soldiers designed to fight back against the mechanical horde, but only succeed in slowing its advance. In hopes of breaking the deadlock, the humans send a new breed of infantry called the YoRHa squad into the fray.
NieR: Automata will also be available on the PlayStation 4 in early 2017. View a gallery of screenshots below.
Watch Over 50 Minutes of Final Fantasy XV Gameplay
Following the announcement that Final Fantasy XV has been delayed until November 29, Square Enix has released a Final Fantasy XV gameplay video showcasing the first 50 minutes from the master version of the game. The new video features extensive new footage of Chocobo racing, new monsters, side quests, equipment, ability, magic synthesis systems and the Wait Mode. It also appears that Final Fantasy XV will have a difficulty mode setting, allowing newcomers to the series to enjoy an easier experience through the game.
An interesting tidbit we found by watching the video is that players will be able to wear different outfits, even if it’s a little silly to see our heroes fighting giant monsters while wearing a t-shirt and jeans. It also appears that the graphics have been toned down a bit compared to the original Duscae demo, most likely so the game runs smoother and maintains a consistent frames per second. Then again, it could just be YouTube’s compression that makes the game not look as sharp as it did in the demo. It’s worth noting that the video isn’t the first actual 50 minutes of gameplay the game offers, it seems to jump around to avoid any major spoilers. Still, if you want to keep everything a secret until the game’s launch, you might not want to watch the video.
It was announced yesterday that Final Fantasy XV will be delayed from its original release date in September so that the team can work on optimizing the game. Square Enix felt that it would be unfair to release a massive day one patch in order to address issues, so instead the game will be delayed two months. The company also released a trailer for the fourth episode of Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV, with the full episode releasing tomorrow. Lastly, the opening to Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV has also been shared, narrated by Lena Headey who plays Princess Luna in the upcoming movie. Select theaters will be showing it starting August 19 and you can get it digitally starting August 30. Watch the other two trailers below.
Overwatch Debuts First New Map: Eichenwalde
Overwatch has unveiled its first new map called Eichenwalde, a German castle, at Gamescom 2016. During a livestream event, Blizzard told viewers Eichenwalde is the birthplace of Bastion and a fly-through video of the new map shows a handful of destroyed robots that look similar to Bastion. “The site of one of the most famous battles during the Omnic Crisis, it was here that the leader of the Crusaders, Balderich von Alder, and a handful of his best soldiers made a last stand against an advancing automaton army,” says the map’s official description. “Outnumbered and outgunned, they were ultimately slain during the resulting combat. However, thanks to their valiant efforts, the German military was able to push back the omnic offensive and win the fight.”
Eichenwalde will be a hybrid assault/escort map where players will have to escort a battering ram to Eichenwalde Castle. Of course if they’re on the opposing team, they will have to prevent the battering ram from reaching the castle. The map is scheduled to be added to Overwatch this September.
Later this week, Blizzard will also release its next Overwatch animated short called “The Last Bastion.” Gamers are hopeful that we will finally find out the real truth behind the mysterious character named Sombra. For now, view a detailed gallery of Eichenwalde below.
Final Fantasy XV Officially Delayed to November 29, 2016
Final Fantasy XV has been officially delayed to November 29, 2016. According to Square Enix, the new release date will allow the development teams to “further polish and conduct quality testing so that the reality of the game can match the expectations of both the fans and the creative teams.” The company did confirm that the new release date is a global one.
Square Enix released a video featuring game director Hajime Tabata to explain the cause of the delay: “From the moment we joined this project, our vision was to create a level of freedom and realism previously unseen in the series. Regrettably, we need a little bit more time to deliver on this vision and are confident that this new release date will help us achieve this,” he said. “As the director and lead of this project, I wish to personally apologize for the additional wait. As a team, we want Final Fantasy XV to achieve a level of perfection that our fans deserve. We kindly ask for your understanding.”
Essentially the team believes it has a version of the game that could ship, but it would have to release a substantial day-one patch. As a result, the developers felt that would be unfair to those that can’t connect online, don’t have fast Internet connections, or even worse, data caps, so the two-month delay is in place so that they can continue optimizing the game. Considering it has been over 10 years since the game was first announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, two more months doesn’t seem all that bad.
Recently, No Man’s Sky launched with lukewarm reception by the media and gamers, with numerous reports that the game performs poorly on the PC. No Man’s Sky also had a substantial day-one patch that changed many of the game’s core features, essentially creating two different versions of the game for those with an Internet connection and those without.
Sometimes game delays can cause concern, but in other times, developers have used the time to properly optimize their games. Uncharted 4 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt were both delayed, for example, and both games turned out just fine. Hopefully Final Fantasy XV follows in those footsteps, and it’s becoming more obvious that Square Enix really wants the game to be the best Final Fantasy yet.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Wants You to Smell Farts
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is the sequel to South Park: The Stick of Truth, and it may be bringing something no one ever knew they wanted. Ubisoft has introduced the Nosulus Rift experience, which is clearly playing off the Oculus Rift. But instead of a virtual reality headset designed to transport you to another world, the Nosulus Rift wants to offer a different immersive experience. “In South Park: The Fractured But Whole you are playing the new kid in town, the hero, and one of your special abilities is really the power of your ass,” said Ubisoft San Francisco senior producer Jason Schroeder in the video. “The only way to really help people experience that strength, is to really make sure that they can feel it and that means getting really close.”
Yes, the Nosulus Rift is essentially a device that goes over your nose in order to offer the most accurate-smelling farts you can imagine. According to Ubisoft, those attending Gamescom and PAX West will be able to check out the experience of the Nosulus Rift, although we’re not really sure you’d want to.
In the new South Park game, the kids take on the roles of superheroes, with Cartman determined to turn Coon and Friends into the biggest superhero franchise of all time. Players will once again assume the role of the New Kid, and will get to create their own superhero, build up their notoriety and user their superpowers to save South Park.
Learn more about the Nosulus Rift by watching the video above, but be warned, there’s language and content if you’re at work.
The Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition Releases August 30
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition will be released on August 30, 2016 and will include the base game, both expansion packs – Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine – and every piece of downloadable content ever released. It will be released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The Game of the Year Edition offers over 150 hours of open world adventures, as players take on the role of professional monster slayer Geralt of Rivia, who is seeking out the child of prophecy in Wild Hunt. Players can then enjoy the two expansions release for the title, facing off against a ruthless bandit captain in Hearts of Stone and unraveling the secret of the beautiful region of Toussaint in Blood and Wine.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was first released on May 19, 2015 and went on to gather up over 800 awards, including over 250 Game of the Year awards. Its first expansion, Hearts of Stone, was released on October 13, 2015 while the second expansion, Blood and Wine, arrived on May 31, 2016.
In related Witcher news, CD Projekt Red also announced that GWENT: The Witcher Card Game will be delayed a month. Originally at E3, the developer announced that the closed beta would launch in September, but now closed beta will begin on October 25. GWENT will be a free-to-play game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
How EA's Customer Service Called Me a Liar
I was awfully hesitant to report about my experience with EA’s customer service, but I was so disgusted by today’s events that I felt I had to share my story. As an avid gamer, I love to check out all segments within the market, including mobile gaming. Several of my friends began playing Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes when it first launched, but I was never interested in mobile games where the focus is on microtransactions. Having worked within the industry at a game developer where its main source of revenue was microtransactions, I knew just how predatory the industry gets. Nonetheless, I succumbed one day and I found that the gaming experience was actually quite pleasant. It doesn’t have a ton of depth, but it did a great job at keeping you entertained without being overly complex. In other words, it’s a nice mobile game that offers a relaxing experience that feels like you’re doing something beyond just pushing a couple of buttons.