Capcom has announced a virtual showcase where the studio will provide a new look at 2021’s Resident Evil Village. The event promises a “guided tour” of the game, including a first look at Village’s gameplay.
Viewers can also expect a new trailer and “lots more” news about the Resident Evil franchise, not just this new game. The event is scheduled for 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET / 10 PM GMT on January 21. It will be hosted by Brittney Brombacher of the What’s Good Games podcast series.
Don’t miss the #REShowcase on January 21st at 2:00 PM Pacific! Join Resident Evil producers and our host, Brittney Brombacher (@BlondeNerd), on a guided tour of Resident Evil Village, including a new trailer, first-ever gameplay, and more Resident Evil news! pic.twitter.com/aaZGPfE9cA
January 21 is the day that Bethesda originally planned to host its own reveal event for The Elder Scrolls Online, but the company delayed its show to get out of the way of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Resident Evil Village, which is a direct follow-up to Resident Evil 7, is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. According to a Tokyo Game Show stream, Capcom is also working on bringing Resident Evil Village to PS4 and Xbox One, but has made no concrete promises about either platform.
Intel is going through a senior executive shakeup, with former CTO, Pat Gelsinger, returning to the company to take up the position of CEO.
A skilled engineer at heart, Gelsinger spent many years at Intel before rising through the ranks to the position of CTO. He left the company in 2009 and since gone on to serve as CEO for VMWare. His return to Intel comes at a crucial time for the company, as it continues to struggle with the pressure that AMD is mounting on it.
“My experience at Intel has shaped my entire career, and I am forever grateful to this company,” Gelsinger says in a statement. “To come back ‘home’ to Intel in the role of CEO during what is such a critical time for innovation, as we see the digitization of everything accelerating, will be the greatest honor of my career.”
Gelsinger replaces Bob Swan, who has led Intel since June 2018. Swan was originally meant to act as an interim CEO, transitioning from his previous position as CFO, before being named the permanent replacement months afterwards. The return of an engineering-focused CEO to the company has already been welcomed by investors, with Intel’s stock price increasing by more than 12% since the announcement.
Intel recently revealed its line-up of 11th generation processors for desktop CPUs, with the flagship Core i9 featuring two fewer physical cores than last generation. Despite boasting a high 5.3GHz single-core boost speed, Intel’s processors have been stuck on a 14nm process for years now, something which Gelsinger might be quick to change.
With the launch of Hitman 3, Google’s Stadia platform is finally getting one of its most interesting features: State Share. As proposed in 2019’s pitch for the service, this allows Stadia players to share their game states with others, letting them to hop into the game and take on a Hitman mission with the same loadout, objectives, and difficulty setting.
Game states created with State Share are playable chunks of Stadia games that you can share just like you might a video or screenshot. It’s essentially like handing your save file over to someone else, but instantly. If the other player has access to that Stadia game, they can essentially click a link and jump into the game at the point the share came from, complete with all the same parameters. In Hitman, that means players can share their particular missions, with their difficulty setting, starting location, disguise, objectives, equipment loadout, and smuggled gear. State Share places players at the beginning of the mission you just ran with the same setup you used.
Sharing a game state from the end of a mission includes your rank on the Hitman leaderboard, so anyone playing with State Share can see how they rank against you. It also includes the new Celebration Tag in Hitman 3 that gives you a rank based on how well you fared. The tags include Amateur, Professional, Silent Assassin, and Professional ICA Shadow Assassin, providing another way to compare yourself to anyone you share your game state with.
As IO executive producer Forest Swartout Large explained in an interview with GameSpot, though, State Share with Hitman 3 isn’t just about giving you a chance to show off your assassination skills and challenge others to beat you. Hopping into a game state also lets you experience aspects of Hitman you might not have access to in your own game. If the player sharing their game state has unlocked different weapons, for instance, you can use those weapons when you play the game using State Share. But playing Hitman through State Share won’t affect your game when you go back to it–you won’t make progress on your own Hitman account, and using State Share won’t unlock new weapons and items. You’ll still have to earn those yourself by playing through the game and completing objectives.
Hitman 3 will be the first Stadia game to support State Share when it releases on January 20. Since Hitman 3 is also compatible with the missions released in Hitman and Hitman 2, those games will also include the State Share feature.
While the Hitman games let you drop into missions and share mission parameters, not every game will use State Share in the same way. Hitman places players at the start of a mission, but other games might drop you right at the point where the game state was saved. Stadia product manager Catherine Hsiao told GameSpot that how games utilize State Share is up to developers and will depend on their particular vision for their game.
“For example, a game state could do something like take you to the beginning of a level with a custom character,” Hsiao said. “It could have certain inventories, certain loot drops in a dungeon, certain objectives. It really depends on how the game implements it.
“This works really well with games that have any sort of user-generated content, or where you’re creating something within the world. Then you can actually easily create a state and share it with your friends to be able to play together. If there are certain parts of the game that you really like, you could replay them yourself, or actually share them with others.”
Maybe the most surprising thing about State Share is how easy it is to use. In supported games, you create game states to share the same way you snap a screenshot or save a video–the state is saved along with the captured footage or image. Accessing the State Share is as simple as clicking a link, since Stadia runs out of your browser. You have to have access to the game on Stadia, either through its subscription plan or by purchasing it through the service; if you don’t have the game, the State Share link will take you to the Stadia store page for it.
Hsiao said she expects State Share will make it easier for content creators to interact with their audiences, going beyond just showing off videos or live streams so that they can accept challenges from the fans watching them, or share their own game states so viewers can try out what they’re seeing. And the State Share process streamlines a lot of what members of the Hitman community were already doing among themselves, IO communications manager Travis Barbour said.
“We’ve really been quite happy to see that players have really attached to this idea of being creative and finding groups and styling their way through Hitman,” Barbour said. “They’ve been sharing all of these settings on Discord–you have to choose this location, you have to do this and you have to go there and do that. We see that quite a lot.”
Share State knocks down the barriers that might stop other players from getting involved in these sort of ad-hoc competitions and play sessions, Barbour continued. Where you previously had to find the right Discord servers or forums where players were creating challenges for one another, sharing game states is done with a single simple link.
State Share goes live with Hitman 3’s launch on Stadia on January 20. We’ll have to stay tuned to see what other games support the feature in the future, though.
Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in the 2017 DC movie Justice League, has levelled a variety of accusations over his experiences while shooting that film, and the fall-out continues. Following last week’s reports that Fisher had been written out of the upcoming Flash movie, Fisher has confirmed this is the case.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Fisher stated his role in the Flash would have been much more than the reported cameo appearance. “Despite the misconception, Cyborg’s involvement in The Flash was much larger than a cameo,” he said. “And while I do mourn the lost opportunity to bring Victor Stone back to the screen, bringing awareness to the actions of [DC Films boss] Walter Hamada will prove to be a much more important contribution to our world.”
Fisher went on to accuse Hamada of interfering with the investigation into the alleged abusive behavior of Joss Whedon, who directed the extensive Justice League reshoots, and producers Jon Berg and Geoff Johns. Fisher states that Hamada “disparaged Whedon and Berg in an attempt to cover for Johns,” claiming that Hamada was attempting to protect “his friend.”
This follows comments that Fisher made last week where he called Hamada “the most dangerous kind of enabler,” and claimed that he had been forced out of The Flash. In response, Warner stated that it was Fisher who declined to be involved in The Flash, and that “given his statement that he will not participate in any film associated with Mr. Hamada, our production is now moving on.”
Fisher will appear in the DC universe one more time, in Zack Snyder’s upcoming reworking of Justice League. Snyder left the movie during production but is preparing a version of the project closer in tone to what he originally intended. The new Justice League will be released as a four-part miniseries on HBO Max later this year.
A new update for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 introduces a new slate of playable characters, including Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog. It also includes a new Boss Raid mode, which lets you team up with four other players in co-op. A limited-time demo is now available to play on Nintendo Switch.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 mashes up the two famous puzzle series, and the new update marks the first of a series of planned post-launch content drops coming to the game. The four new playable characters are Sonic, Lidelle, Ms. Accord, and The Ocean Prince., along with a series of new music tracks including the Sonic the Hedgehog theme.
The Boss Raid mode lets you team up online against a CPU-controlled boss. You can also use couch co-op with the Nintendo Switch local wireless multiplayer. Sega says you’ll need to choose a roster of heroes with complimentary skills, popping Puyos and clearing Tetriminos to deal damage to the boss. Higher difficulties will let you take on more bosses in a row, and the bosses pack unique skills that you’ll need to plan around. Defeating them will earn you Item Cards and experience points, with better rewards coming for higher difficulties.
In GameSpot’sPuyo Puyo Tetris 2 review, Heidi Kemps wrote that the game offers lots of value but not much more than the first game.
“There’s no denying that Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 offers a lot of value–and even if you’re just here for simple Tetris or Puyo play, there’s plenty to satisfy,” Kemps wrote. “But as a sequel, the new additions it brings to the table feel rather inadequate, particularly the flawed Skill Battle mode. If you’ve never had a taste of this flavorful mashup before, then Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will certainly quench your thirst for wacky puzzle antics and then some. But if you’re a veteran looking for a truly substantial upgrade to the original game, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 might leave you feeling rather unfulfilled.”
Bethesda had planned a big event for The Elder Scrolls Online for January 21 where it would announce more details on the new Gates of Oblivion expansion. However, the developer has now delayed the event to the following week to get out of the way of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
In a follow-up tweet, the developer said it’s delaying the announcement event due to the recent US Capitol riots and out of an abundance of caution for what could happen on inauguration day. Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20 during a ceremony in Washington D.C.
“Given recent events, we are opting to play it safe. We have players all over the world, but the majority of our employees live and work near the capital,” the developer said.
Developer ZeniMax Online Studios is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, which is relatively close to Washington D.C. Bethesda’s main headquarters is in Rockville, Maryland, which is even closer to the US capital.
The Elder Scrolls Online reveal event will now take place on Tuesday, January 26, starting at 5 PM ET. During the show, ZeniMax Online boss Matt Firor and Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines will discuss what’s next for the ongoing multiplayer game.
Elder Scrolls Online creative director Rich Lambert and “other special guests” from the development team will also be on hand to reveal what’s new in Gates of Oblivion.
Everyone who watches the reveal event on Twitch with a linked account will get the Viridescent Dragon Frog pet for free.
The Viridescent Dragon Frog pet
The Gates of Oblivion expansion is the next “year-long adventure” for the MMO. Little is known, but Bethesda has teased that it will feature an “epic new storyline that’ll take you and your companions to the very edge of oblivion.”
In times of stress, video games have proven to be a healthy distraction. One game that may be especially cathartic is developer Hyper Three Studio’s Tiny Lands, which has a simple setup. Presented with a series of 3D environments, players will need to find five differences in each digital diorama. The low-poly isometric puzzle game also features a soothing soundtrack from composer BigRicePiano, and there’s no time limit to worry about as you explore each of the diverse environments on offer.
Tiny Lands even features various elements such as fire, rain, thunder, snow, and wind in each diorama, and you’ll be able to rotate the levels and zoom in on them to find the small differences between each model. You can see the relaxing game in its official trailer below:
Tiny Lands will be out on Steam on January 22, with a 10% discount on its regular price of $7. A Nintendo Switch version will also be released at a later date.
Steam also just recorded one of its best years ever, as 2020 saw 120 million monthly active players, 62.6 million daily active players, and a peak of 24.8 million peak concurrent players on the digital distribution platform. You can check out highlights of Valve’s full Year in Review post right here.
Samsung announced three new smartphones: the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the company’s newest flagship Android phone, with a 6.8-inch display featuring a Quad HD+ resolution (3,200 x 1,440) and a refresh rate of 120Hz. While in years past you had to choose between either resolution or refresh rate, you can finally have both across the entire Galaxy S21 line.
That said, this XL-sized handset automatically adjusts its frame rate between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on the type of content you’re viewing. The Galaxy S21 Ultra for example will display at 120Hz for gaming, 60Hz for video, and dip as low as 10Hz while viewing static content like books.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra also features a much brighter screen, with a peak brightness of 1,500-nits while also delivering 50% better contrast and a new Eye Comfort Shield feature to reduce eye fatigue.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 line is finally able to push high-resolution and refresh rate at the same time thanks to the new Snapdragon 888 processor. This particular handset is fitted with a 5,000mAh battery, as well as at least 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. Users can bump up the specs to 16GB of RAM, plus 256GB or 512GB of internal storage.
Around the back, Samsung has completely redesigned the Galaxy S21 line with a slimmer camera bump that more seamlessly blends in with the phone’s metal frame.
The number of cameras has increased up to four now, one more than last year. The main camera features a 108MP pro sensor with phase-detect autofocus. It captures extremely high-resolution images with 12bit HDR photos that offer 64 times more rich color data.
What’s more, you also get dual (yes, that’s right) 10MP telephoto cameras. Both of the telephoto cameras feature dual-pixel autofocus and are optically image-stabilized, but one offers a zoom of 3x while the other is 10x. Combined they power the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s 100x Space Zoom feature.
Lastly, there’s a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view and dual-pixel autofocus as well. All four cameras are capable of capturing 4K 60fps footage, and users can even switch between all the different lenses while recording. The new 8K Snap also allows users to quickly shoot 8K stills and video with their phones.
S-Pen fans will be glad to know it’s finally coming to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, though there’s no internal space to hold the stylus. Instead, you’ll have to buy a special case with a stylus caddy that bumps out the left side of the phone by about a centimeter.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is available for preorder now for $1,199 and releases on January 29th. Those that preorder between now and January 28th will also get a $200 Samsung Credit and a free Galaxy SmartTag – Samsung’s Bluetooth locator accessory.
Moving onto Samsung’s more affordable smartphones, the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ offer up a slightly smaller screen experience with 6.2 and 6.7 inch devices, respectively.
Both phones also only feature a Full HD+ resolution (2,400 x 1,080), but you still get a 120Hz experience and the screens are HDR10+ certified too.
As for internal hardware, the two handsets are still powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset with 8GB of RAM, plus either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The Galaxy S21 features a 4,000mAh battery while the Galaxy S21+ has slightly more capacity at 4,800mAh.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ also have one fewer camera than their Ultra brethren and the arrangement is different too. They both have 12MP wide-angle and ultrawide cameras. The 64MP telephoto camera, meanwhile, features phase-detect AF and a 3x OIS optic for 30x Space Zoom.
Pricing for the Galaxy S21 starts at $799 and the Galaxy S21+ starts at $999, both phones are available for preorder now and will arrive on January 29th. Preorders made between now and January 28th come with a $100 Samsung Credit for the Galaxy S21 or a $150 Samsung Credit for the Galaxy S21+, as well as a Galaxy SmartTag.
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Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam
Every once in a while a game comes out that happens to launch in pretty rough shape. Quite often, the game is updated over time and eventually reaches a much more playable state. But those who first picked up the game at launch can be left feeling like they paid full price for a game still in early access.
In the video above, Kurt Indoniva details 11 such games. A few were so bad, their legacy continues to live on–we’re talking games like Assassin’s Creed Unity and Fallout 76, titles that are often used as a comparison point for when new games have rough launches.
Others, such as No Man’s Sky and Star Wars: Battlefront II, have managed to somewhat overcome the memory of what they once were, with their respective studios patching them in experiences that are largely viewed with a positive lens now. And then there are very recent releases, like Anthem and Cyberpunk 2077, which haven’t had the chance to showcase whether they’ll be successful after their disastrous launches.
As you may have noticed, most of the games in this list are fairly recent. 2012’s Diablo III is the oldest of the bunch. This isn’t our way of saying that games only have bad launches now and they all released in perfect condition back in the day–far from that. But the most prominent launch disasters have all occurred within the last decade.
Actor Viggo Mortensen is stepping behind the camera for the first time with his directorial debut, the family drama Falling, and a new full-length trailer is now online. Mortensen, the Oscar-nominated actor who starred as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings series, not only directed Falling, but he also stars in the movie, wrote the script, and composed the music.
Falling tells the story of the drama between a father (Lance Henriksen) and son (Mortensen). Henriksen’s character, Willis, is in the early stages of dementia, so Mortensen’s John comes to stay at the family farm in California to help out. Things don’t go to plan, and plenty of drama ensues. The movie also stars Laura Linney, Terry Chen, Hannah Gross, Bracken Burns, and Gabby Velis.
Falling premieres in US select theatres and on-demand on February 5, following its debut in the UK back in December.
Mortensen told Collider in 2020 that he had been looking to direct a film for a long time, but it didn’t work out until now.
“I’d wanted to try directing a long time ago,” he said. “I have several scripts, but this was the first one I was able to put together. It was the right time, I found the right group of people, and luckily we were able to complete it.”
