Meet AMD’s newest graphics card, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and Radeon RX 6800.
AMD came out swinging throwing down the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT’s big specs that includes 16GB of DDR6 video memory, 2015MHz Game Clock and 2250MHz Boost Clock, and 128MB Infinity Cache. With all this power the AMD Radeon RX 6800XT aims to deliver 4K gaming at the highest settings and it will compete directly with the Nvidia RTX 3080.
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT will be $649 and the Radeon RX 6800 costs $579, both cards will release on November 18th.
The Pathless, which is hitting PS5 on launch day, Nov. 12, alongside PS4, PC, and Apple Arcade, will be getting multiple physical editions, as well as a vinyl soundtrack release. It’s also now available to preorder digitally across all platforms.
Publisher Annapurna Interactive and developer Giant Squid have teamed up with iam8bit for one of the two physical releases for the game, available for preorder starting today and set for release on Dec. 8. They include:
The former can be preordered via iam8bit, while the physical PS5 edition can be bought from various retailers via Skybound Games.
Additionally, Annapurna and iam8bit have collaborated for a vinyl soundtrack for The Pathless, featuring Journey and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate composer Austin Wintory’s score. The vinyl includes 2 xLP gatefold jacket, cleansed blue and cursed red vinyl, album art by Elaine Lee, mastering by Townsend Mastering, and can currently be preordered from iam8bit.
Call of the Sea was one of the more intriguing reveals at Microsoft’s third-party showcase back in May. It’s a first-person puzzle/adventure game set on a tropical island, in which you play a woman in 1934 investigating clues left by a previous voyage that caused her husband to go missing. Call of the Sea promises “an emotional, charming character study of a woman on a journey of self-discovery.” That woman, aka Norah, the protagonist you play as, is voiced by Cissy Jones, who you’ll remember from her award-winning performance as Delilah in 2017’s fantastic Firewatch.
Take a look at the opening 18 minutes of the game running on Xbox Series X in the video above. Call of the Sea is due out before the end of 2020 for Series X, Series S, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Raven Software co-founder Brian Raffel has revealed details on the development of the classic shooter, Heretic, including a comment from id Software’s John Carmack that helped the team home in on the game’s signature style.
IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey sat down with Raffel to discuss Raven Software’s broad history in the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, along with discussions on Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Hexen, Heretic, Soldier of Fortune, and more.
Heretic has long been described as ‘medieval Doom’ or ‘fantasy Doom,’ and those are apt descriptions. When asked where the idea for Heretic came from, Raffel said, “The big story there is, [id] wanted to work with us. They wanted to do a fantasy game. It didn’t start out to be a ‘Doom fantasy.’ We started… typical D&D players, we first started designing the game and we got super deep into all this… you know… your Strength, Wisdom… all the usual stuff. And, of course, it’s a credit to John Carmack, here. He said, ‘Just do it like Doom, and add the fantasy flavor.'”
The fantasy setting isn’t the only notable departure from the Doom formula, however, as the game’s protagonist could also fly, a power Doom Guy could only dream of. “I have to call out Chris Rhinehart, who was one of our programmers at the time. Kind of a funny story about the flying… it’s so true, so many of these stories are these ‘happy accidents…’ Chris came up with the idea of moving the horizon line just up and down. It wasn’t a real calculation of flying, it was a hack… That was such a big event for us, and that gave us our unique flavor.”
While Heretic did get several follow-ups, whether they carried the Heretic or Hexen name, Raffel did comment on the possibility of a modern series entry or reboot. “Never say never… We get a lot of requests for it, for sure and, of course, I’d always love to do it. That’s for another day, I guess… We’ll see.”
In addition to his roles as Producer and Creative Director, Raffel humorously noted id Software co-founder John Romero bought the team at Raven their first work refrigerator, which was a big deal for them. “People don’t understand what game development was back then, but it was five guys in a basement. You go to Sam’s Club and get a case of Coke and chips, and you just sat at your desk all day… Those were fun days.”
For more interviews with the best, brightest, most fascinating minds in the games industry, check out be sure to check out every episode of IGN Unfiltered, which includes talks with The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley, Master Chief co-creator Marcus Lehto, 343’s Bonnie Ross, Valve’s Robin Walker & Chris Remo, Respawn’s Stig Asmussen, and so many more.
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Brian Barnett writes wiki guides, deals posts, features, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).
Hot on the heels of its Ryzen 5000 series CPU announcement earlier in October, AMD has now revealed the full range of graphics cards that will make up its RX 6000 line. Dubbed Big Navi, these new GPUs are directly competing with Nvidia’s latest RTX 30- series, with the RTX 3070 launching soon.
AMD’s latest range starts with the new RX 6800XT, a massive card that features 16GB of GDDR6 memory, 72 compute units, a base clock of 2015MHz, and a boost clock of 2250MHz. It’s also less power hungry than Nvidia’s RTX 3080, requiring only 300W (a difference of 20W). The RX 6800 keeps the same 16GB of GDDR6 memory, but drops compute units down to 60 while also reducing base and boost clocks to 1815MHz and 2105MHz respectively.
AMD’s own benchmarks positions the RX 6800XT as a direct competitor to the RTX 3080, while the RX 6800 is compared to the older RTX 2080Ti. In both sets of results below there are instances where Nvidia’s cards are ahead, AMD is confident that its cards either match or better its competition in the majority of cases. AMD omitted any comparisons to the RTX 3070, but given its delayed launch date that isn’t too surprising.
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Last and rounding out the 6000 series is the RX 6900XT, AMD’s answer to the massive RTX 3090. It also keeps the same 16GB of GDDR6 memory as well as the base and boost clock speeds of the RX 6800XT, but increases total compute units to 80. This gives the RX 6900XT more focused gaming performance when compared to the RTX 3090, despite AMD’s own benchmarks showing mixed results in a direct comparison.
The entire range of cards is out soon, too. The RX 6800XT launches on November 18 for $649, while the RX 6800 will retail for $549 and launch on the same day. The flagship, the RX 6900XT, launches on December 5 for $999.
AMD is also launching software features for the 6800XT that allow for one-click overclocking and more optimized memory delegation when using the new GPU with AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 CPUs (similar to DirectX 12’s DirectStorage feature that will start being supported next year). These two features allow performance gains of up to 13% in some titles, according to AMD.
AMD has chosen to keep the same memory across its entire range of cards but also not go with the faster GDDR6X memory that Nvidia decided on for its RTX 30-series line. AMD says that with its own Infinity Cache technology, it’s able to boost memory bandwidth performance and address the bottlenecks created by increasing resolutions to 4K without having to resort to more expensive memory. This means that all of AMD’s cards feature more memory than most of Nvidia’s line, with the RTX 3070 featuring 8GB, the RTX 3080 with 10GB, and only the RTX 3090 beating the lot with 24GB.
The biggest omission from the event was AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s Deep-Learning Super Sampling technology, or DLSS. This allows Nvidia GPU to render games at lower internal resolutions and upscale them using AI, producing nearly indistinguishable difference and increasing performance significantly. Speaking to The Verge, AMD says that it is currently working on a super sampling solution that it will make open-source when ready, while also ensuring that the feature will have widespread support when it launches. That won’t be this year, but AMD hopes it will be soon and also support both the Xbox Series X and PS5.
AMD is set to have a busy November, with both the RX 6800XT and RX 6800 launching on November 18 for $649 and $549 respectively. The flagship, the RX 6900XT, launches on December 5 for $999. AMD is also launching its Ryzen 5000 series CPUs starting on November 5.
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Bugsnax has been confirmed as PlayStation 5’s first PlayStation Plus game in November 2020 alongside Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition for PS4.
Announced on PlayStation.Blog, Bugsnax will be available to all new owners of PlayStation 5 on its launch day of November 12, 2020, and will be available until January 4, 2020. It’s important to note that Bugsnax for PS4 will not be available as a PlayStation Plus title.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition will both be available on PlayStation Plus from November 3 to November 30, and will be playable on PS5 via backward compatibility.
Sony has also once again confirmed that its PlayStaion Plus Collection will be available with the launch of the PS5 and will give PlayStation Plus subscribers access to some of the best PS4 games with “benefits such as increased loading speed and improved or more stable framerates with PS5’s Game Boost.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Fallout 4
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
Monster Hunter: World
Mortal Kombat X
Persona 5
Resident Evil 7 biohazard
These games will be an added benefit of the existing PlayStation Plus subscription and will come without an additional fee. Once a game is redeemed, it can be kept for as long as your subscription is active.
It also appears that the game list for the PlayStation Plus Collection has changed a bit from its announcement, as games like Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition have been added.
IGN serves a global audience, so with Come Play opening in theatrical release this week, we are publishing our review from Rosie Knight 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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Come Play began life as a short horror film and after watching the feature-length version it’s clear that it should have stayed that way.
Oliver (Azhy Robertson) is a young autistic boy who lives with his struggling parents. Played by Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr. respectively, Sarah and Marty are Hollywood’s version of struggling A.K.A. they live in a huge house and seem to be doing fine unless the narrative calls for it. Why the creative team decided to make Oliver autistic is baffling, especially as their idea of what it is to be autistic is as dated as the ’80s inspired tone they’re trying to emulate.
Like every other child (and adult) in 2020, Oliver uses his tablet and phone religiously; he also occasionally uses it to communicate. But in Come Play it’s used as one more way to show that he’s “different.” He also has no friends because apparently, the filmmakers think autistic people are incapable of making them. That combined with his mother’s terrible parenting means that Oliver is an easy target for Larry, a monster that lives in his tablet — no, we don’t find out any more about that — and communicates via flashing lights and a Babadook-lite digital book.
The strangest thing about Come Play is that for a film that (quite cleverly) utilizes technology as a tool for horror it feels painfully outdated, not just in its representation of Oliver but also in its understanding of children, parenting, and horror. Jacobs’ mother is a classic “tired” mom, but her treatment of Oliver leans into abuse and neglect. There’s no explanation or understanding of why the parents would have never come up with a more sustainable way to communicate with their non-verbal son than an app they only keep on his phone and only his phone. Sign language? Makaton? Dynavox? The fact he can write but almost never uses that to communicate? It’s a huge issue with the script that doesn’t work on a logical or narrative level.
There seems to be a struggle between the urge to make a zeitgeisty horror — technology is bad, kids who use tablets need to go outside — and the want to make the monster a metaphor. But whatever Larry is an analog for is lost on this reviewer. There were a few worrying moments when he seemed to represent Oliver’s autism, but luckily that was more like bad storytelling or misdirection than a commitment to an unforgivable trope. If Larry really is just meant to represent loneliness then it’s a confusing representation because while loneliness does kill, Come Play doesn’t have the range to explore what that would really mean for the story.
Now that we’ve got that riveting narrative out of the way, we can talk about Come Play’s biggest failing: it’s boring. The realm of PG-13 horror can be truly terrifying with films like Lights Out, A Quiet Place, Insidious, and Mama putting the fear in film fans of all ages. Come Play wants to be more like the former than the latter selection, aiming for a family horror movie that will insert Larry into the nightmares of children and adults alike. But aside from the horrors of the bad parenting decisions, the scares are few and far between no matter what your age.
Come Play struggles to build tension in any legitimate way and the at first innovative way of finding Larry (through a tablet or phone camera) soon becomes tiresome. Do you really want to watch an entire movie through an AR app? I’m usually a fan of a film where you rarely see a monster but there’s not enough tension or fear built in to make you scared of what you can’t see. Also, the monster we’re supposed to be afraid of is old news now, the ghoul of creepypastas from years gone by. When Larry finally does show himself he is actually pretty spooky-looking, but the reveal is a cheap one that doesn’t hold any impact. And it’s so late in the film that you’ll likely be wrapped up in queries about just what’s going on or why you should care.
Robertson does a good job with what he’s given, although the film leans heavily into outdated stereotypes about autism that likely would have been far better handled if they’d cast an actor on the spectrum. Gallagher Jr. is sweet as a barely-there dad who is definitely the parent Oliver should be living with. Jacobs is very good as an abhorrently horrible mother, but Come Play doesn’t have the powerful writing or performances of The Babadook which delved into mental health and motherhood in a much more substantial way. Here it’s unclear whether Jacobs’ is meant to be a hero, villain, or just an Everywoman; but to any disabled viewers watching she’ll strike fear in your heart as an example of just how awful those who are meant to care for us can be. Oliver is a sweet, thoughtful child, and Sarah’s exasperation at his existence makes no sense in the context of the story or what we’re shown of her quiet and kind son.
Mobile developer King has announced Crash Bandicoot: On The Run!, a new mobile runner starring the freshly-revitalized Crash Bandicoot. Hot off the heels of Crash Bandicoot 4, this new title will look a lot like a classic Crash title, but Crash will run automatically and you’ll control him with swipes.
Crash will have to deal with various enemies who try to impede him, including Neo Cortex, Nina, and Fake Crash (who looks a lot less funky than he did in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped). There will be levels based on the Crash Bandicoot platformer series, and it seems like this won’t be an infinite runner, so you can reach the end of levels.
The game will have crafting and base-building elements, so you can work towards goals outside of the levels. What exactly these systems will look like is unclear, however. There are also unlockable challenge runs that can be found by heading down hidden paths.
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Asynchronous multiplayer is also offered, so you can compete with your friends on the same levels to see who’s the better bandicoot.
Crash Bandicoot: On The Run! is targeting a Spring 2021 release, so it’s still a few months away. You can pre-register on Android and iOS now, which will unlock a Blue Hyena skin in the game when it launches.
Microsoft’s new gaming strategy isn’t focused on Xbox hardware alone. Microsoft is releasing its games on PC, too, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now reiterated Microsoft’s stance on bringing its first-party games to PC and explained why the company isn’t focused on one platform in particular.
Spencer told GameReactor, “If we are shipping a first-party game, it’s coming to PC. If we are shipping a first-party game on PC it’s coming to Steam and our own store.”
This is a big change for Microsoft, as the company did not previously release all of its games across console and PC. Microsoft was criticized in the past for its stance on PC gaming, and Spencer acknowledged that this criticism was valid.
“If I rewind five years ago, I would say over and over, that we are committed to PC and then get a bunch of eye rolls, and rightfully so, for we weren’t doing much,” Spencer said. “But I think now when you look at what our standing is on Steam and Game Pass on PC, we have shown that our commitment over time has paid off. PC customers may or may not love what we do, but they know that when we are shipping things, we’re gonna do our best effort on PC as well as on Xbox.”
The term “Xbox” no longer means a gaming console, according to Spencer. Instead, “Xbox” pertains to any place where Xbox games are available–and this can include console, PC, or mobile.
“When we say ‘playing on Xbox’ it doesn’t mean an Xbox console,” he said. “It means somebody who is logging in and playing a part of our ecosystem, whether first-party or third-party. And it could be on an Android phone. It could be on a Switch. It could be on a PC. That’s how we think about it.”
In the interview, Spencer acknowledged that having games that are exclusive to one platform can help improve sales of the hardware in question, but other data shows this may not be true.
“I think exclusive games for closed platforms are a marketing tool to drive adoption of those closed platforms. And do they work? There is data that says they do, and data that says they don’t,” he said. “Let’s take this holiday, obviously, PlayStation and Xbox are shipping new consoles. We are both going to ship as many consoles as we can, and I am going to predict that we are both going to sell every console we build in 2020. And if I had another exclusive game, all I could do would be to sell out more quickly, right.”
Microsoft’s next consoles, the Xbox Series X and S machines, are scheduled for release on November 12 worldwide.
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With many of the questions coming from other writers both professional and aspiring, it’s no surprise that Hutchison was asked about her process. Here’s the general outline:
It varies, but here’s my general pattern: -Vomit Draft -Intense Full revision (scene by scene, in order) -Slightly less intense full revision (same) – Intense rewrite “problem” scenes with light rewrite “good” scenes x/however many it takes -Medium/light full pass -Proof x/2 https://t.co/qtTpQMsKOv
I absolutely do. But I usually have an outline/cards, so I have a sketch of the previous scenes. But it’s a great way to combat writers’ block. https://t.co/aMGqlNHlmx
She also spoke about writing characters and character-focused work, after defining it as one of the things she is most proud of in her work.
It’s a blend for me. I have a direction and I get into the characters head and “they” guide me. It has to feel authentic to them, but I also can nudge them in a direction to start. I just can’t force them. https://t.co/6Pe9ox8Tzp
Where are they from? What are their values when it comes to how they present themselves? Education? Family? General philosophy on life (laid back, uptight, etc)? What do they want to communicate and how do they want to be perceived? https://t.co/LyV1Q3FBcf
Hutchison also spoke of the occasional challenge of bringing TV characters to life as a collaboration between writers, actors, and the many other people involved in the production–especially when actors get attached to the characters they play.
I think at it’s heart, it should be a collaboration. And the director is also a part of this conversation, so all those talks should happen with all present. Questions are great! Actors have a very specific insight into their characters. I love having those talks. https://t.co/ckiOYrAyX8
My big thing is when an actor is snide or assumes the writer is stupid or hasn’t considered all angles. We know the characters too. We live with them constantly and discuss all possible trajectories and emotions. And we also have an idea of the big picture.
Lord of the Rings fans stressing about the upcoming TV adaptation may be relieved at the fact that Hutchison–one of the writers on Amazon’s TV show–lists Peter Jackson’s trilogy as one of her favorite movie-going experiences.
LoTR was so amazing to experience in the theater when they first opened. 💜
I really never get tired of the moment before the opening crawl of a Star Wars film, just as the music hits and everyone completely loses their shit because STAR WARS.
The full thread is currently available on her Twitter, though people looking for new tidbits on the Lord of the Rings show have already been warned that they shouldn’t go trawling through the writers’ Twitter profiles for clues. Fans of Hutchison’s other work on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul can find answers specifically about those shows as part of the Q&A, however, as well as plenty of interesting information about the writing process as a whole.
The Lord of the Rings show is expected to air sometime in 2021. The final season of Better Call Saul is also expected sometime next year.
