A few levels of Spyro’s remade adventures tease a wonderful blast from the past with a gorgeous new coat of paint.
Month: September 2018
Marvel’s Nova Movie Explained
We tell you everything you need to know about the cosmic hero Nova, who might be getting his own Marvel movie.
Bloodroots Plays Like Hotline Miami Meets Samurai Jack in the Woods
Bloodroots offers fast, furious, and fun combat where just about anything, from carrots to axes, can be deadly.
GTA Online Gets Another Updated Adversary Mode
Grand Theft Auto Online revives another Year 2 Adversary Mode this week, in the form of the Trading Places Remix. Another follow up to the After Hours expansion for GTA Online similar to last month’s Hunting Pack Remix, Trading Places takes the basic formula of the original mode and makes some big, hairy changes to it.
Just like in the original Trading Places (the Adversary Mode, not the classic Akroyd-Murphy comedy for which it’s named), each match starts with one team being deemed the “Winners” and the other team the “Losers.” The objective of the Winners is simple: stay a Winner. The Losers objective is to eliminate a Winner and thus become a Winner themselves. If a Winner is killed by a Loser, they then become a Loser (and trade places, see what they did there?) and have to fight their way back to the top.
The Conjuring Universe Explained: How Does The Nun Fit In?
We break down the shared horror universe that is The Conjuring, Annabelle, and The Nun, and how these movies all fit together.
Xbox Boss Responds To Sony’s New Statement On Cross-Play
Sony’s new overall CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, recently made controversial comments about cross-play, and now an Xbox executive has responded. Xbox engineering lead Mike Ybarra said on Twitter that Sony “still isn’t listening to gamers” about the cross-play situation.
“[Sony still] isn’t listening to gamers,” Ybarra said. “All games should be cross-play and progression with the right input flexibility and gamer options.”
After someone pointed out to Ybarra said Sony’s PS4 has been outselling the Xbox One for a long time, Ybarra himself pointed out that Microsoft operates in the console and Windows PC space which expands its gaming footprint significantly. He also suggested that Sony is doing a disservice to its users by not supporting cross-play.
“We run Windows and Console,” Ybarra said. “Larger gaming audience who wants to play together. Gaming is diverse, if you only serve to bring joy to part of an audience then you are behind in many, many ways.”
Going back with what Yoshida said, he spoke at the IFA conference in Berlin recently and suggested that Sony doesn’t allow cross-play because PS4 is the “best place to play.”
“On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that’s our belief,” Yoshida said, according to The Independent.
Yoshida pointed out that Sony supports cross-play between PS4 and PC, and that going forward the company will “decide based on what is the best user experience.”
He added that he believes competition with Xbox and Nintendo is “always good.” Yoshida became Sony’s CEO earlier this year after longtime CEO Kazuo Hirai stepped down.
Going back to Ybarra and Xbox, someone asked for Ybarra to explain why Microsoft requires a paid Xbox Live Gold membership for some free-to-play games and betas while Sony does not. He did not respond.
Games like Rocket League, Fortnite, and Minecraft support cross-play between Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, but not PlayStation 4. Sony said a while back that it’s confident it will find a solution about cross-play that satisfies gamers and meets businesses considerations at the same time. As of yet, Sony has yet to say anything more.
For more on the cross-play situation, check out GameSpot’s feature video embedded above.
Better Call Saul Showed Us Jimmy…as Saul Goodman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow…
“And then, one day – bam – they bring the hammer down to Chinatown.”
“Quite a Ride” was a big episode for the impending Saul of Better Call Saul, as not only did it feature, in the first five minutes, Saul Goodman himself – meaning Jimmy as Saul right at the end of Breaking Bad’s run – but it showcased, quite gloriously, Jimmy’s first big, and perhaps last needed, step into Saul’s shoes.
We’ve certainly seen “years later” on this show, but it’s been post-Breaking Bad Cinnabon “Gene,” in hiding, that we’ve caught a few glimpses of each season. The first scene here dove deep into the heart of Saul’s panicked exodus, as Jimmy-turned-Saul’s secretary Francesca basked in her favorite Breaking Bad activity – glowering and shredding – while Saul prepped his Go-Bag and made the call to Robert Forster’s vacuum repair shop.
Battlefield 5 Open Beta Pre-Load Available Now On PS4, Xbox One, And PC
It’s a big week for Battlefield, as the long-awaited Battlefield 5 open beta begins later this week on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Ahead of its start on September 6, you can now pre-load the beta client on whatever platform you’re eager to play on.
It’s very simple; you can add the Battlefield V open beta to your download queue by picking it up here for Xbox One and here on PlayStation 4. Meanwhile, Origin users can visit Battlefield V’s store page and click the Try it First button and then add the beta client to your library.
While the beta officially starts on September 6, people who pre-ordered get to start two days early, beginning on September 4. Additionally, EA Access members on Xbox One can start playing 48 hours early, as can Origin Access members on PC (for Premier and Basic).
The Battlefield V open beta includes two maps–Arctic Fjord and Rotterdam–and the fan-favourite Conquest mode. Also included in the beta is the brand-new Grand Operations mode, along with a series of weapons, vehicles, and gadgets to try out. Be sure to click through the images in the gallery above to see a full rundown of what’s in the beta.
Additionally, the open beta gives players a first look at the new “Tides of War,” system, which is Battlefield V’s ongoing events program. Each chapter will give players new challenges to complete to earn cosmetic gear; it sounds similar to Fortnite‘s seasons. In the beta, you’ll get to try the Shock Troops Chapter event; successfully completing it gets you a Tides of War Beta dog tag to use in Battlefield when it launches.
On Xbox One, the open beta file size is 10.95 GB. Xbox Live Gold is required on Xbox One while PlayStation Plus is not needed for PS4. The minimum and recommended specs for Battlefield V’s open beta on PC are available below; they do not necessarily represent the specs for the final version of the game.
The Battlefield V open beta ends on September 11. Also note that none of your progress from the beta will carry forward to the full game.
Battlefield V Open Beta Specs:
MINIMUM SPECS
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): AMD FX-6350
- Processor (Intel): Core i5 6600K
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): nVidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB
- DirectX: 11.0 Compatible video card or equivalent
- Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard-drive space: 50GB
RECOMMENDED SPECS
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or later
- Processor (AMD): AMD FX 8350 Wraith
- Processor (Intel): Intel Core i7 4790 or equivalent
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
- DirectX: 11.1 Compatible video card or equivalent
- Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Available Disk Space: 50GB
For more on the Battlefield V open beta and how to get in, you can visit EA’s detailed FAQ page here.
How Deep Space Nine Changed Star Trek for the Better
Opinion: 25 years on, here’s what makes the black sheep of the Star Trek family, Deep Space Nine, the best Trek.
We Visited a Pokemon Center at the Tallest Tower in the World
While in Japan for the Pokemon Go Safari Zone event in Yokosuka last week, we stopped by Tokyo’s Skytree Town for a look at one of Japan’s Pokemon Center stores.
The Skytree Town store opened in 2016 and is located in the East Yard of the plaza that holds Tokyo Skytree, Japan’s biggest structure and the tallest tower in the world.
While Skytree stretches 634 meters tall and attendees can climb all the way to the 450th floor, the Pokemon Center is located on the fourth story of the East Yard, right near a mall full of other stores including Hello Kitty and Studio Ghibli shops.