Microsoft has said again that it has no plans to bring the full version of Halo 5: Guardians to PC. Community manager John Junyszek confirmed this during a fifth anniversary livestream event for Halo 5, where he also reminded fans that Halo 5 is already sort-of on PC through the free Halo 5: Forge client.
This lets players create their own maps and modes, while it also supports Custom Games with friends. There is also a Custom Games browser, but full matchmaking support and the campaign, of course, are not included in the package.
“In case you did not know, Halo 5: Forge is on PC. It comes with Forge and Custom Games, with a Custom Games browser for free on PC right now. We don’t have matchmaking or campaign,” Junyszek said. “There is a desire for Halo 5 to join … The Master Chief Collection, but that is not currently in our plans for MCC right now.”
IGN serves a global audience, so with The Craft: Legacy coming to VOD in the U.S. and in theaters internationally this week, we are publishing our review from Kristy Puchko who watched the movie via a digital screener. Read more on IGN’s policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. IGN strongly encourages anyone considering going to a movie theater during the COVID-19 pandemic to check their local public health and safety guidelines before buying a ticket.
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24 years ago, The Craft gave teen girls a coven to call their own. Through witchcraft, four female friends sought self-confidence, love, power, and vengeance. But magical makeovers swiftly led to betrayal, murder, and madness. The Craft: Legacy is not a remake retreading the beloved ’90s sleeper hit for a new audience. Instead, this sequel strides from the footsteps of its predecessor to strike a path of its own, for better and for worse.
Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, The Craft: Legacy’s first act is very familiar. It begins with three would-be witches lamenting their need for a fourth member so that they might harness the magic of the elements. Cut to: the soon-to-be fourth, a timid new girl rolling into town. She will face torment from cruel boys before finding her tribe among these spell-casting outcasts. Such plot points might lull fans of the original into thinking they know what’s next. However, Lister-Jones lays in some early distinctions to suggest this sequel is not taking the witch-gone-wild route.
For one, the teen witches, Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone), and Lourdes (Zoey Luna), don’t embrace new girl Lily (Cailee Spaeny) because they’ve witnessed her aptitude for magic. They approach her out of kindness, not coveting. Once she’s humiliated in class by a body-shaming jock Timmy (Nicholas Galitzine), they offer a helping hand, a kind word, and some fresh gym shorts. It’s after this they realize that she’s destined to be their fourth. These aren’t the shoplifting, selfish bad girls of the original. This small but pivotal difference in motivation signals these girls care more about each other than they do the craft. Coming from this place of compassion, they create a hex to transform the bully into a “less of a garbage person.”
Rather than a dull-eyed lapdog (Skeet Ulrich in the original), the dream boy here is “woke,” calling out in-class bullying, condemning heteronormativity, and jamming to Princess Nokia, after declaring, “More than anything, tonight I really just want to dance!” It’s a surprising transformation that makes Timmy more than a mark; it makes him one of the gang. The second act digs into who he is beyond that agro-bro front, resulting in a poignant revelation, which is met with support, not scorn. However, this tender scene pivots to a plot twist that ultimately takes away from the rest of the coven.
The original Craft’s story centered on the perspective of straight cis-girls, most of whom were white. The Craft: Legacy proves more inclusive, involving main characters who are people of color and LGBTQA+. On top of that, it explores the hurt and humanity in its bullying boy. However, Lister-Jones spends more time developing Lily and Timmy than she does the rest of the coven. There’s a jubilant montage of the girls blossoming friendship, which includes magical make-up application, movie nights, and spell-casting to battle back non-violently against jerks. Yet the individual girls get little definition. Adlon is the spunky one, who has the heart of a hippie and tends to let her mouth run away with her before her brain can catch up. Simone is the rational one, who takes stock with clear eyes. Luna is the glamorous one, who carries with her a cool confidence. They are charismatic. Yet their backstories, trials, and desires are unexplored. After the midpoint, the story veers away from all of these characters to focus on Lily…and a bunch of stuff to set up another sequel.
Mining the culture war for an antagonist bigger and badder than traumatized Nancy Downs (Fairuza Balk), Lister-Jones brews up a not-so-secret society that would do these young witches harm. It’s an intriguing way to make this story higher stakes and politically urgent. However, the execution here is frustratingly slipshod. The Craft: Legacy throws in a quartet of characters who are thinly sketched, yet have a dominating role on Lily’s journey. Thus, Spaeny’s part switches from discovery to defensive, which gives her little play beyond fear. In the requisite villain monologue, more questions are raised than answered. Thankfully, this bumbling barrels into an exhilarating face-off that weaves together the girls’ powers, not only of magic but also in their unity. Regretfully, the final moment of this ferocious finale feels bizarrely truncated, as if the PG-13 rating pushed producers to cut a gruesome send-off for the sinister foe.
The mid ’90s were a renaissance period for cult classic horror, supplying us with unforgettable pieces of film history like The Faculty, Silence of the Lambs, Scream, and, of course, The Craft. The 1996 witch movie was an easy sell at the time: a high school drama about misfits who get in over their heads as their powers spiral out of control, starring big names like Neve Campbell, just before her breakout performance as Sidney Prescott in Scream. It combined a catchy alt-rock soundtrack with all the ’90s horror staples, like long black duster jackets, embarrassing hair, and plenty of jocks-vs-nerds drama.
It’s easy to see why The Craft is such a fan favorite, despite being an obvious product of its time. So naturally, when a sequel was announced 24 years after the fact, there was some justifiable anxiety. After all, what is The Craft if stripped of its ’90s nostalgia? And what would a movie so deeply married to the tropes of a bygone era even look like if updated for a modern audience?
The unfortunate answer is: probably about how and what you’d expect. The Craft: Legacy has all the best intentions, but it overcorrects and overcompensates for its predecessor in ways that lack both charm and subtlety.
Focusing on a new generation of amateur witches, Legacy’s setup is very familiar at first. Teenager Lily (Cailee Spaeny) is moving to a new town with her recently remarried mom (Michelle Monaghan). Her new step-dad (David Duchovny) has three sons and an extremely specific career as a motivational speaker-slash-guru for men. At school, Lily meets Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone), and Lourdes (Zoey Luna), three would-be witches who are in need of a fourth for their group to “call the corners,” a conceit lifted wholesale from the first movie.
Naturally, Lily learns that she’s an incredibly gifted witch and the girls quickly form their very own coven where they use their newfound powers for mostly harmless gain–so harmless, in fact, it’s actually a little confusing. Instead of pulling off any meaningful transformations that would require magic, or even using their abilities for thrill-seeking (think the close call in the car from the original), there’s a montage of the girls performing “spells” on each other that seemingly just amount to glitter effects being added to their skin like makeup and Lily taking some sort of ritualistic bath with flowers and milk for some reason. But in the midst of all their hashtag-aesthetic fun, they also cast a spell on local bully, Timmy (Nicholas Galitzine), this version’s stand-in for Skeet Ulrich’s character. Except unlike Ulrich’s Chris Hooker, who falls victim to a love spell that makes him dysfunctionally obsessive and terrifying, Timmy gets hit with a supernatural whammy designed to make him less of a jerk.
Without getting into spoiler territory, the spell put on Timmy epitomizes the way Legacy’s good intentions get away from it. It wants, very badly, to update some of The Craft’s more unfortunate and dated ideas, like Chris Hooker’s near brush with sexual assault, or the movie’s third act twist that pits the girls against each other. It’s a noble goal, but instead of allowing Legacy’s characters and story to reach it organically, every step of the way feels mired in weirdly stilted winks at the camera about its own “woke” take.
None of the characters actually speak or behave like authentic high school students. At one point, the girls have a somewhat protracted conversation about how one of them is a “Twilight stan” and compare another to Edward Cullen. It feels artificial and weirdly dated–not to mention the comparison to Robert Pattinson’s character makes next to no sense, even in context. At another point, everyone sits down to play “two truths and a lie,” the patented get-to-know-you icebreaker generally forced upon anyone who’s ever sat through a business meeting or an introductory college course, as if it’s some sort of salacious party game for tipsy teenagers. It doesn’t work at all.
This problem persists so blatantly through the movie that at times it becomes genuinely hard to watch. At another point, the dialogue gets so mired in its own attempts to sound hip that it actually starts to loop back around and come off as mocking and condescending, as if topics like gender politics and representation are punchlines rather than conversations that are genuinely worth having. The overall effect is confusing and cringe-worthy.
It’s unfortunate, and the other conscious steps Legacy takes to try and update The Craft’s formula are similarly well-intentioned but poorly executed. The movie’s villain reveal is a great effort to pivot away from the original’s girls-fighting-girls conclusion, but the exposition is paced so slowly and delivered so carelessly that it somehow feels hours too long, despite the movie’s 90-minute runtime.
There’s also a distinct lack of genuine scares. The original Craft skewed light on traditional horror in favor of things like the occasional gross-out involving snakes or scars or supernatural hair loss, but Legacy stops short of just about everything. There are a handful of bodily fluid gags–and credit where credit is due, one of them is very realistic–but they’re not actually scary or all that gross. To top it off, the villain’s small collection of menacing moments are so obviously telegraphed you’ll be wondering how and why no one’s noticed what’s really going on.
It’s not all bad, however. The core cast does their best performing what they can from the stilted script, and there’s even a handful of brutally honest interactions between Lily and her mom or Lily and her classmates that do feel genuine. They’re just, unfortunately, overshadowed by the awkwardness of the rest of the movie.
If you’re feeling nostalgic this halloween season and looking for a good witch movie to get into the spooky spirit, you’ll be better off just revisiting the original.
While Genshin Impact impressed fans early on with its Breath Of The Wild-like open world, those who have reached endgame are now expressing frustration with its more gacha-heavy features. One of these, the time-limiting “Original Resin” counter, is getting a rework, but some still aren’t happy.
Genshin Impact’s resin functions as a timer, as is typical for gacha games, forcing players to either wait to resume play or spend money to continue straight away. With its release on PC and consoles, however, resin feels like more of an imposition on Genshin Impact players who often aren’t used to this kind of function.
As it currently works, players can hold a maximum of 120 resin, which can be spent on collecting loot from boss battles, domains, and ley line battles. Once spent, the resin slowly re-accumulates at a rate of one every eight minutes, for a total of 180 per day. Resin stops accumulating once it hits the 120 cap, however, so players who only log in once per day won’t be able to use the full 180.
With the game’s current battle pass, players can unlock rewards when they use 150 resin daily, and 1600 weekly–which is quite a lot more than the 1260 maximum that players can accumulate. This means players have to use extra (often paid) items to replenish their resin to unlock further battle pass rewards.
In the upcoming 1.1 patch arriving on November 11, some of these features are due for a change. First up, the developer is changing the weekly battle pass requirement from 1600 to 1200, meaning players who use most of their resin will be able to regularly claim these rewards. The devs are also changing the maximum amount of resin that can be held from 120 to 160.
While the changes will make a big difference to players who can’t log in multiple times a day to use their resin reserves, it won’t change much at all for the more invested players who are already using their maximum amount of daily resin–and often blowing through it in a matter of minutes, dramatically restricting the amount of time they can play daily.
A patch 1.1 leak posted to Reddit has also alleged that the game will include a new type of resin called Condensed Resin, where players who can’t use up their resin for a day can instead log in briefly and save it for another day–though this still doesn’t address the concerns of players who are looking for a way to accumulate more resin without spending ridiculous amounts of money, or those who want to see the resin system done away with entirely.
Big updates are planned for Genshin Impact every six weeks, with the next one coming with patch 1.1 on November 11. Other changes coming with the next update include a new fast travel item, new characters, and new weapons.
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With the RTX 3080 as the introduction to Nvidia’s new generation of video cards, we saw what the next wave of high-end cards is capable of. Relatively speaking, the RTX 3080 offers an intriguing value proposition for enthusiast-level performance at $700 USD MSRP (if you can even find one), outclassing any video card that came before it. But not everyone needs or wants to go for the high-end and, as is tradition, Nvidia likes to roll out lower-spec SKUs over time–so now, we have the RTX 3070, which is a truly impressive card in its own right.
Nvidia has touted the RTX 3070 as performing around the same as the RTX 2080 Ti, which was last generation’s top-tier consumer-level video card. And that’s largely true based on our results. The RTX 3070 carries a $500 MSRP, which is less than half of what a 2080 Ti goes for, so to get that type of performance at a much more approachable price makes high-end PC gaming less of a pipe dream. Especially when factoring in the growing popularity of RTX ray tracing capabilities and the increasing usage of DLSS as a great alternative to antialiasing, the RTX 3070 makes a strong case for those who are still holding out with GTX 10-series (or older) cards.
For the purposes of this review, Nvidia provided the Founder’s Edition of the RTX 3070–keep in mind that board partners’ performance and pricing can vary. We followed a similar structure to our RTX 3080 review to keep a consistent comparison between the other Nvidia cards included in our tests, but focused our analysis on how the 3070 fares against the 2080 Ti, given Nvidia’s claims of how the 3070 stacks against it.
All the new RTX 30-series video cards fall under the Ampere architecture, which shares a lot in common with the RTX 20-series generation’s Turing architecture. It’s essentially a beefed-up version of Nvidia’s three-pronged approach for graphics processing: streaming multiprocessor (SM), the Tensor core for deep learning and AI-based tech like DLSS, and the RT core dedicated to ray tracing tasks.
Compared to their previous-gen counterparts, Ampere cards pack a higher CUDA core count, GDDR6X memory, higher transistor count, and rate for much higher TFLOPs–though peak power consumption is higher now. At least for the RTX 3070, power requirements aren’t as steep as the RTX 3080–Nvidia says you’ll need a 650-watt power supply for the 3070, which peaks at 220 watts under load.
The RTX 3070 is a bit more compact, sports both fans on the underside, and has a mini 12-pin power connector.
Like the RTX 3080, the RTX 3070 sports a new power pin design; the packaging comes with an adapter so all you really need to power it is one standard 8-pin PCIe power connector. The RTX 3070 Founder’s Edition has both cooling fans on the underside of the card; however, you still get the same airflow design with one fan for back-end exhaust and the other to pull air from below and push it upward through the card itself.
You’ll get the same ports as the higher-end Ampere cards, too: one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. One difference in design is that the RTX 3070 is a bit more compact–while it’s still a dual-slot card, it’s quite a bit shorter at 9.5 inches as opposed to the 3080’s 11.2 inches. Any standard mid-tower case can fit an RTX 3080, but it can be a tight fit regardless.
While Nvidia has changed the way it lays out the specs for its video cards from generation to generation, below you’ll find the more pertinent technical details to see how these cards stack up on paper.
RTX 3080
RTX 3070
RTX 2080 Ti
RTX 2080
CUDA Cores
8704
5888
4352
2944
Clock Speed (Boost)
1710 MHz
1730 MHz
1635 MHz
1515 MHz
Memory Speed
19 Gbps
14 Gbps
14 Gbps
14 Gbps
VRAM / Memory
10 GB GDDR6X
8 GB GDDR6
11 GB GDDR6
8 GB GDDR6
Single Precision Perf
29.7 TFLOPs
20.3 TFLOPs
13.4 TFLOPs
10.1 TFLOPs
RT Cores
68
46
68
46
Tensor Core TFLOPs
238
163
114
85
TDP (Watts)
320 W
220 W
260 W
225 W
Transistor Count
28.3 B
17.4 B
18.9 B
18.9 B
Launch Price (USD)
$700
$500
$1000 ($1200 FE)
$700 ($800 FE)
Methodology And Test Bench
To test out the RTX 3070, we used the same rig as with our previous RTX 3080 review for a test bench. While we’ve had access to limited resources working from home amid the current conditions of the pandemic in the United States, we managed to put together a decent machine to work. It includes the following specs:
MSI Mag Z490 Tomahawk motherboard
Intel Core i7-10700 (non-K) 8-core/16-thread CPU clocked at 4.7GHz
We included a total of four video cards in our tests: the RTX 3070 (of course), RTX 3080, RTX 2080 Ti, and RTX 2080. Results from the RTX 3070 reflect using the GeForce Game Ready 456.56 driver, while the other three cards were tested using the Game Ready 456.16 driver.
Inside our test bench with the RTX 3070 installed. Don’t mind the cable management.
The focus of this review is on in-game performance with maximum graphics settings at both 4K (3840×2160) and 1440p (2560×1440) resolutions. If Nvidia graphics features were available, like ray tracing and DLSS, we turned them on to show what these cards can do with the bells and whistles they offer. Performance for each card was either measured in average FPS or a total score calculated by the game’s benchmark tools (except for Control, which was done using FRAPS), and results were examined relative to other cards. Exact performance will vary from one user to another, and while we pushed the cards as far as games let us, remember that you can always adjust graphics options to improve FPS output and tweak visuals to your liking.
Benchmark Results
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus pushes video cards to their limits and is one of the better showcases of RTX ray tracing. The game has a built-in benchmark that provides a good stress test, and with it we cranked ray tracing to its max but also used DLSS.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 got an average frame rate of 39.2 FPS, so very slightly behind the RTX 2080 Ti, which got 41.4 FPS–a difference of 5.3%. Compared to its more powerful 3080 counterpart, the RTX 3070 trails by about 24%. At 1440p, the 3070 hits a solid 52.9 FPS average, trailing the 2080 Ti by 5.2% and the 3080 by 21.3%.
Control
Control is one of the marquee games Nvidia’s been using to show off its graphics tech, and for good reason, offering full ray tracing options and DLSS keep up frame rate and maintain image quality. Since there is no in-game benchmark, we created our own gameplay sequence to gauge performance and used FRAPS to get our numbers.
When running 4K, the RTX 3070 got an average of 46.4 FPS, which is just one frame behind the RTX 2080 Ti’s 47.4 FPS–a tiny trail of 2.1% to be exact. And our new card is behind the RTX 3080’s 64 FPS by 27.5%. Switching to 1440p, there’s virtually no difference in performance between the 3070 and 2080 Ti (hitting 82 FPS and 82.3 FPS averages)–that puts the 3070 at 21.6% behind the 3080.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is another Nvidia graphics showcase with vast environments to flex ray tracing but also put DLSS to good use (and a handy in-game benchmark).
At 4K, the RTX 3070 was able to hit an average of 51 FPS, slightly trailing the RTX 2080 Ti’s 57 FPS by 10.5% and the RTX 3080’s 70 FPS average by 27.1%. And at 1440p, the 3070 got an 80 FPS average, which is about 7% behind the 2080 Ti and 20% behind the 3080.
Wolfenstein Youngblood
While Wolfenstein Youngblood isn’t going to blow you away visually, it’s still a good showcase of what the idTech 6 engine is capable of, especially when you throw ray tracing into the mix and use DLSS to boost performance.
Here at 4K, the RTX 3070 pulls slightly ahead with 91 FPS average and overtakes the RTX 2080 Ti’s 89 FPS–an improvement of 2.3%. That puts the new card about 22.2% behind the RTX 3080 as well. For 1440p, the 3070 maintains a marginal lead over the 2080 Ti with averages of 157 FPS and 144 FPS, respectively–marking a 9% increase for the 3070. It also trails the RTX 3080 by just 8.2%, but we’re likely seeing the game get CPU bound at this point.
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV has a free robust benchmark that’s also a decent stress test for video cards. While the game may not have ray tracing, it does sport DLSS, and this six-minute multi-part benchmark contains a good amount of action.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 scored 5645, which is about 6.9% behind the RTX 2080 Ti’s score of 6061 and 22.5% behind that RTX 3080’s score of 7281. When going to 1440p, Final Fantasy XV does not allow for DLSS, so the results reflect performance when using the “High settings” preset. The gap closes slightly with the RTX 3070 scoring 9524, just trailing the 2080 Ti by 4.4% and the 3080 by 16.3%.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
FFXIV isn’t exactly graphically demanding, but it is the hottest MMORPG (or RPG for that matter) on the block. It’s also a good showcase of how games running lower-spec tech may or may not benefit from better GPUs.
When running 4K, the RTX 3070 and 2080 Ti are practically neck and neck, scoring 11017 and 11578 respectively, with the newer card trailing by only 4.8%. That puts our new card about 22.1% behind the RTX 3080’s score of 14138. FFXIV becomes noticeably CPU bound at 1440p with results that show all our video cards performing quite close to each other, making the differences negligible.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 has the potential to push PC hardware pretty hard, especially if you max out every single graphics option available. The game will still look great even if you turn some things down, but we cranked everything to their absolute highest setting to see what these cards can really do.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 was able to average 35.4 FPS, trailing the RTX 2080 Ti’s 37.1 FPS by just 4.6% and the RTX 3080’s 43.1 FPS by 17.9%. Moving to 1440p, the performance gaps widen by just a bit: the 3070 achieved an average of 49.2 FPS while the RTX 2080 Ti and 3080 got 52 FPS and 62.9 FPS–this marks the new card trailing by 5.4% and 21.8% respectively.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
While Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is still visually stunning and a great example of a detailed open world, it tends to be heavily CPU-reliant. Regardless, it’s important to know how high-end video cards handle the game and impact performance.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 was able to average 50 FPS, which is just 3.8% behind the RTX 2080 Ti’s 52 FPS average. This also means the new card trails the RTX 3080’s 62 FPS average by 19.4%. When using 1440p, the 3070 and 2080 Ti are neck-and-neck with only one FPS difference between their averages. The 3070 also only trails the 3080 by 10.3%, which speaks to the CPU-bound nature of the game.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn’s PC port has a few rough patches with bugs and some visual artifacting, though it has seen some improvements. It remains a great graphical showcase when all is working well, and it comes with a nice benchmark tool.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 gets an average of 54 FPS, just a bit behind the RTX 2080 Ti’s 57 FPS average by 5.3%. The RTX 3080 still pulls ahead by quite a bit with a 28% increase over the 3070 but the gap closes when going to 1440p resolution. There’s only a one-frame difference between the 3070 and 2080 Ti, and our new card trails the 3080 by 12.8%.
Forza Horizon 4
A good racing game is always an easy way to flex visual fidelity, and Forza Horizon 4 is an S-tier example with plenty of graphics options and a detailed benchmark tool. And the game performs wonderfully even with every setting set to their highest possible option.
At 4K, the RTX 3070 is able to overtake the 2080 Ti slightly by averaging 78 FPS, marking a 3 FPS gain and small boost of 4%–the gap between our new card and the RTX 3080’s 96 FPS average is about 18.8%. With 1440p, the 3070 maintains its marginal lead over the 2080 Ti (115 FPS vs. 112 FPS), and it closes the gap a bit with the RTX 3080’s 129 FPS, behind by only 10.9%.
Ray Tracing’s Demand Is DLSS’s Opportunity
RTX ray tracing is often touted as the major feature of Nvidia’s video cards, and it’s genuinely exciting when you see a full application of the tech with super realistic reflections, global illumination, lighting, and shadows. But as we’ve seen since its implementation, full ray tracing can be quite taxing for even the best RTX cards. Like our RTX 3080 review, we did a little side-by-side comparison to give a glimpse of much ray tracing impacts performance. Here, we used Control as the example to show the impact on the RTX 3070, too.
Personally, I find DLSS to be the real show-stopping feature to come along with the RTX cards. For those unfamiliar, DLSS (deep learning supersampling) uses the AI capabilities of the GPU’s Tensor core to apply supersampling in real time–meaning, your PC renders the game at a lower resolution, but a higher target resolution is constructed to display the same, if not better, image quality while significantly cutting down on GPU stress. DLSS is what makes 4K with ray tracing even playable, as you can see in the results below.
While ray tracing sure looks sweet, I would be okay by turning it down (or off entirely) to recoup the FPS lost if I’m playing at 4K. And of course, I’d prefer to keep DLSS on to maintain high frame rates at 4K. If you want to get an idea of how 4K with DLSS looks compared to native 4K, check out the screenshots below from Control.
Control at native 4K (DLSS Off).Control at 4K with DLSS On.
Admittedly, the image with DLSS looks just a tad softer, but the boost in FPS is well-worth it, especially when the action kicks up and things start moving fast.
Heat Check
It seems that the Ampere cards have thermal management on lock, which could be attributed to the new push-pull dual fan design. For the RTX 3070, idle temperature sat at 37 C and peak load temperature never exceeded 76 C after all our testing. It’s just a teeny bit hotter than the RTX 3080, which had idle and peak temps of 35 C and 75 C, respectively. These cards are drawing more power than their predecessors yet remain cool under load. For reference, comparison, the RTX 2080 Ti idled around 34 C and peaked at 78 C, while the RTX 2080 would idle at about 33 C and hit peak load temp at 74 C.
Video Card
Idle Temp
Peak Load Temp
RTX 3080
35 C
75 C
RTX 3070
37 C
76 C
RTX 2080 Ti
34 C
78 C
RTX 2080
33 C
74 C
Verdict
The idea of a video card carrying a $500 suggested retail price and performing at or close to the RTX 2080 Ti is pretty wild. Even though it trails ever so slightly in most of our tests, it’s not by much, and likely wouldn’t be all that noticeable when it comes time to the actual gaming experience. There are also a few reasons why we left the RTX 2080 out of the conversation for our comparisons: It’s largely phased out and the RTX 3070 outclasses it every step of the way. However, it does indicate the relative improvement in performance that this wave of new Ampere cards can provide.
The RTX 3080 remains impressive as a $700 MSRP card that shows significant leaps over its predecessors, but unless you’re aiming for top-notch performance at 4K or trying to squeeze out every frame to make use of a high-refresh rate 1440p display, it might be overkill. That’s where the RTX 3070 comes in, making high-end performance somewhat affordable and including all the bells and whistles Nvidia packs with its RTX cards.
With 4K slowly becoming more mainstream (although still not widely adopted), the RTX 3070 can provide playable gaming experiences at that resolution–though a few compromises would be necessary to keep 60 FPS in more demanding games. Otherwise, every modern PC game is going to look and run great with this card, especially when DLSS is implemented.
As great as the RTX 3070 can be, Nvidia hasn’t been able to keep up supply with demand, evident in the rough launch of the RTX 3080 and the very limited availability of cards, even from several board partners. Prices may fluctuate and it’s hard to tell if many interested buyers will even get their hands on one around launch, given Nvidia’s statement about supply not increasing until well into 2021.
If you held out on upgrading to the RTX 20-series, now is a good time to pick up a new video card for high-end performance. Nvidia’s claim of having an edge over the RTX 2080 Ti is a bit of a stretch, but it really depends on which metrics and games you’re looking at. Regardless, that extra money in your pocket that you’ve saved by opting for an RTX 3070 instead of an RTX 2080 Ti is going to be a lot more noticeable than the couple of frames you’ll miss out on. And overall, the RTX 3070 is a killer video card for its market price.
Dave Kosak, the principle narrative designer for Blizzard’s Hearthstone, has left the developer. Kosak worked at Blizzard for 12 years, but has now said his goodbyes.
“After 12 remarkable years and countless adventures, I am moving on from Blizzard Entertainment,” Kosak said in a short Twitter thread. “I will very much miss all of my Blizzard colleagues.”
Big announcement time! After 12 remarkable years and countless adventures, I am moving on from Blizzard Entertainment. The other week I bid a fond farewell to the orc, who is dutifully wearing his mask. I will very much miss all of my Blizzard colleagues. pic.twitter.com/FJmDxFKhqN
He went on to reminiscence about his time at the company, and promise fans that further updates were coming to Hearthstone. The game recently received a new expansion, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire.
Kosak also served as the lead quest designer on World of Warcraft before moving over to Hearthstone. The next expansion, Shadowlands, is due later this year.
Kosak has taken a new job at Deviation Games, where the team is working on, in his own words, “something secret…but amazing.” Hopefully we’ll get more insight into what the team is working on soon.
While Blizzard’s convention, BlizzCon, could not happen this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is planning for a virtual BlizzCon in 2021.
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Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Borat film is a huge hit for Amazon. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” drew in tens of millions of viewers on Amazon’s Prime Video service throughout its opening weekend, the company announced.
That’s a global number, Amazon says. Here in the States, Variety reports that TV analytics provider Samba TV estimates viewership for Borat 2 at around 1.6 million homes, though Amazon apparently disputes that number, preferring less-specific statistics. Samba TV notes that based on their estimates, Borat beat out Disney’s Mulan, though it’s important to note that Disney asked its paying Disney+ subscribers to shell out an extra $30 to watch its latest live-action adaptation.
“During its opening weekend, [Borat 2] was streamed by tens of millions of customers,” Amazon wrote in a press release. “Within the first few hours of the watch party on Thursday night, a million plus fans tuned in to interact live with Borat himself and participate in a dance party with fans around the world.”
“Sacha has masterfully created one of the most well received films of these unprecedented times,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, “showcasing some of the best and the worst of us, wrapped in one outrageous moment after another. But at its core, Borat 2 is a heartwarming story of a father daughter relationship and of female empowerment seen through a hysterical, satirical lens. With the tremendous launch of this global, tentpole movie, it’s clear our customers around the world want content that is both relevant and entertaining.”
Our own review calls Borat 2 an “absurdly timely movie” that’s actually “pretty damn funny” while avoiding the pitfalls that have caused the original film to age poorly.
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Netflix has acquired a new movie starring Tenet’s John David Washington and Oscar-winning Lara Croft actress Alicia Vikander. The streaming network has purchased the movie Born to be Murdered, which follows a couple–played by Washington and Vikander–who go on a lovely vacation in Greece only to get swept into a “violent conspiracy with tragic consequences,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie was filmed on location in Greece in 2019, but it only just sold to Netflix, according to the report.
In addition to Washington and Vikander, Born to be Murdered will feature Boyd Holbrook (Logan, Narcos) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread). The film is produced by Luca Guadagnino, who directed the Oscar-winning 2017 drama Call Me By Your Name, and it’s expected to debut in 2021.
Born to be Murdered was directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, who makes his English-language directorial debut with the project. Filomarino was a second unit director on Call Me By Your Name.
This is the second time Netflix has acquired a movie starring John David Washington this year. The company also shelled out a reported $30 million to buy a black-and-white film called Malcolm & Marie, which also stars Zendaya.
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No Man’s Sky has released a new update for Halloween, and it adds numerous new cosmetic items to the game to celebrate the season. It’ll also enhance the wrecks from the Desolation update with new materials, and bring a few other changes to the space-faring game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The new update notes explain that you can now find Tainted Metal and Quicksilver on abandoned freighters, so it’s worth visiting them and dealing with the alien menaces within to get your hands on some. Watch out, though–the aliens have been mutating, and are stronger than ever.
Tainted Metal can be traded to a scrap dealer for new base decorations and customization options, the wildest of which is the “Horrific Flesh-Helmet”. That’s the in-game name for the item you see below. It’s…well, it’s a horrific flesh-helmet. The mouth moves. It’s a lot.
No Man’s Sky’s “Horrific Flesh-Helmet”
You can also get the Orange Pustule, Detoxified Slime, and Wriggling Companion (a sort-of space squid) for your base, too. New decals and banners based on these horror items are also available.
This is part of Patch 3.05, available to download now, and Hello Games has also released some fixes and tweaks. Here’s the complete list.
3.05 Patch Notes
Derelict freighters have been rebalanced for increased challenge.
Low temperatures are more extreme, security systems are tougher and more efficient at locating intruders, aliens are more aggressive, and all hostile lifeforms are more difficult to defeat.
Added the possibility of looting Quicksilver to derelict freighters. This will be available for the next few weeks.
The scrap dealer on Space Stations now stocks a range of base parts, decals, banners and a Horrific Flesh-Helmet.
The scrap dealer now trades in a new black market currency, Tainted Metal, which can be salvaged from derelict freighters.
The scrap dealer also now stocks Repair Kits.
Added two new player titles, which may be earned via in-game achievements and selected at the Appearance Modifier.
Improved the notification icons shown when entering freighters and derelict freighters.
Fixed an issue that caused hostile creatures to fall through the floor of derelict freighters.
Fixed an issue that caused derelict freighter doors to take too long to open.
Fixed an issue which could cause derelict freighter messages to linger after leaving the freighter without fully exploring it.
Fixed an issue which caused the Lost in Space mission to linger after leaving a derelict freighter.
Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause the guild envoy and scrap dealer rewards for completing a derelict freighter to be the wrong way around in Korvax systems.
Fixed an issue that could cause derelict freighters to despawn if the player attempted to fix or install technology on their ship while at a distance.
Fixed an issue that could cause aquatic fauna to be listed as “extinct” when discovered.
Fixed an issue that could occasionally prevent creatures from spawning where or as often they should.
Fixed an issue that could cause teleporters to display the wrong galaxy name for some early galaxies.
Fixed an issue that prevented the Exocraft mining laser from harvesting resources from terrain deposits.
Fixed an issue that could cause freighter base parts to be unpowered when constructed in specific locations within the freighter.
Fixed an issue that could cause weather effects to occur beyond the planetary atmosphere.
Fixed an issue that could cause frigate expeditions to reward deprecated products.
Introduced a memory-management optimisation and fixed a number of memory-related crashes on console.
Fixed some rare crash issues.
No Man’s Sky recently hit version 3.0 with the expansive Origins update.
Stories Untold, an anthology of four horror-tinged narrative games, has surprise-launched on PS4 and Xbox One. The title, which released on PC back in 2017 before coming to Switch earlier this year, is now available for new audiences to check out.
The four smaller games included are:
The House Abandon
The Lab Conduct
The Station Process
The Last Session
As a remake of an earlier title, The House Abandon is the most well-known game in the collection–a metatextual text adventure with a cool, dark twist.
Stories Untold is from developer No Code Studio, which followed the title up with the brilliant Observation. The studio has focused on scary story experiences across its first two games, both of which were published by Devolver Digital.
Gallery
The game received a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review, with The Lab Conduit and The Station Process standing out as the best parts of the anthology. It’s a good creepy game to play over Halloween. If you want more horror for the spooky season, check out GameSpot’s recommendations.
