With Assassin's Creed Syndicate due on consoles on Friday, Ubisoft offers this Assassin's Creed Syndicate FAQ and Guide as a hub to a number of previously released guides for the new installment in the stealthy action series. This also includes a new spoiler-laden article on how "the present-day story so far" fits together across the series. Word is: "Every Assassin’s Creed game tells two intertwining stories. One is of an Assassin and their adventures in the past, and the other is of a person in the present who’s experiencing that Assassin’s “genetic memories” through a device known as the Animus, or more recently as Helix. While the historical Assassins inhabit mostly self-contained stories that link together across centuries, the present-day storyline has continued in a more or less linear fashion since the series began."

The Digital Eel website has word that Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars is gold, as the new installment in their sandbox starship roguelike has officially reached version 1.0. They don't specify when the patch will hit Steam and officially take the game out of early access, but that should be soon, and they also tell us a new release trailer should come out soon.

With Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide due on Friday, Fatshark offers a cinematic release trailer for their co-op melee combat game, along with the following explanation: "Produced by award-winning Swedish visual effects and animation production studio Bläck, the cinematic launch trailer provides players with an immersive look into the Skaven uprising and the beginning of the game’s story in the city of Ubersreik." Continue here to read the full story.

Here's word from CapCom Unity on the video developer diary 3 for Resident Evil 0: "A third Resident Evil 0 Developer Diary video is now available for public viewing, and once again it is a must-see for series fans. RE0 Director Oda-san and Producer Takenaka-san give us a rare look at some of the game's earliest concept designs--giant-eyed Rebecca, a more sinister Billy, and..."Wesker's Monster"???" The audio is Japanese, with a translation provided through English subtitles. Continue here to read the full story.

Noct is now available on Steam for Windows, Linux, and OS X, offering a top-down, 2D, survival/horror action game from developer C3SK with a soundtrack composed by Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails. They call this an early access release, a change from the previous plan to make a full release by Halloween, which they now say is planned for January. This previously released trailer shows gameplay, and this announcement has an explanation of what's going on:

After our successful closed beta run with you all and careful review of the feedback received, we have decided to shift Noct into Early Access to further our development of nopes. This will allow us to continue our community-led drive to expand the content and narrative aspects of Noct. We want to make the game that you the community, and us, the developers want to play! :)

I've detailed our Early Access battle-plan for Noct here on the front page, which sets us on a course to fully release in January of 2016.
Feel free to shoot us any questions you have here! Mark and I will be more than happy to answer them!

Steam now offers Wurm Unlimited for Windows, an updated Steam standalone release of Wurms Online, an MMOG co-developed by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson. Here's word:

What is Wurm Unlimited?
Wurm Unlimited is your full standalone version of the fantasy sandbox world Wurm Online, the MMORPG where the players are in charge!

A pioneer in the ideas of player influence, crafting and adventure, it is now one of the most deep and feature packed sandbox experiences available.
Whether you enjoy building your home, conquering kingdoms or hunting dragons, Wurm will let you.

Explore the world and make your mark!

In Wurm Unlimited, players can explore an elaborate fantasy sandbox world in the predefined Creative or Adventure modes as well as set up their own game server and invite friends to live and experience the Wurm universe.

• Minecraft snapshot 15w43a.
• Otherland early access update adds over 120 new quests.
• Zombasite version 0.902.

• Back to the Future: The Game on Steam. Save 75%.
• PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate on Steam. Save 10%.

• Vector Strain - Steam Greenlight. "VECTOR STRAIN is an addictive fast-paced retro-styled shoot-em-up with beautiful 3D graphics and an amazing soundtrack. Choose one of the five ships each with its own play style and battle thousands of enemies and challenging bosses throughout five unique stages."

• An In-Depth Look At Automated Tournaments in StarCraft II.
• Experience Space in CERES and win a trip to the Kennedy Space Center.
• Heroes of the Storm World Championship Groups Announced.
• WildStar - Deep Dive: Hoverboard zPrix Invitational.

• Triad Wars on the GeForce website. "On The Road To Open Beta."

• Fallout 4 on PS4 will utilize Vita Remote Play.
• PlayStation 4 sales reach 9 million in U.S.
• Report: Destiny's plot is the product of a last-minute redesign.

• A slew of LTE 4G vulnerabilities endanger Android users and mobile carriers.
• Rovio lays off 216 as employee negotiations come to an end.
• iOS 9.1 release lays groundwork for upcoming Apple TV and iPad Pro.
• Apple releases watchOS 2.0.1 update to fix battery bugs and more.

• “YouTube Red” offers premium YouTube for $9.99 a month, $12.99 for iOS users.

• Batman: Arkham Knight Performance Analysis Update.
• Image too good to be true? DARPA program targets image doctoring.
• Today’s OS X El Capitan update should fix Microsoft Office crashes.

Thanks j.c.f.

• Apple security updates. Thanks Ant.
• New attacks on Network Time Protocol can defeat HTTPS and create chaos.
• Sites cling to a million flawed, fading SHA-1 certificates: Netcraft.
• Malware Disguises as Google Chrome Browser Clone.
• Vulnerabilities Found in HP ArcSight Products.
• 1 in 4 organizations have experienced an APT.
• Flaws in LibreSSL could open web servers to attack.
• A slew of LTE 4G vulnerabilities endanger Android users and mobile carriers.
• Vulnerabilities Found in HP ArcSight Products.
• WikiLeaks publishes e-mail from CIA director’s hacked AOL account.

• Apple tells U.S. judge 'impossible' to unlock new iPhones. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Proposed German law- telecoms must store customer data on airgapped servers.

• Ubisoft Club FAQ…
• A brief history of Stavros Fasoulas. Thanks Janne…

Link of the Day: BRYAN WILSON THE TEXAS LAW HAWK IS BACK, AND HE'S STILL SCREAMING. THANKS NIN!
Follow-ups: DELOREAN DMC-12 Canadian Recall Notice. Thanks Rhialto. And: Nike Finally Reveals Air Mag Sneakers With Power Laces. Thanks nin.

A new trailer from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege runs over a minute and shows off gameplay footage from the coming installment in this tactical shooter series. The included description is not specific to the video: "Team Rainbow is bound to no single nation when combating global terrorism. Representing the best tactical Operators from around the world, they are the united force against a rising tide of global crises. Using the best weapons and gadgets available today, they execute their missions with surgical precision and have unprecedented success in the field. A hostage situation in Courchevel. A bomb disarming in Los Angeles. A terrorist takedown in Hamburg. No matter the situation, Team Rainbow always stands ready." Continue here to read the full story.

If you were hoping for more details on the attribute system in Fallout 4, then you're in luck, as the new S.P.E.C.I.A.L. video is now available with a look at luck, the final (and lucky seventh) attribute to get the spotlight treatment. Word is: "Following total atomic annihilation, the rebuilding of this great nation of ours may fall to you. That’s why Vault-Tec has prepared this educational video series for you to better understand the seven defining attributes that make you S.P.E.C.I.A.L.!" And remember, it's better to be lucky than good. Continue here to read the full story.

Overkill Software has tweaked the new microtransactions in PAYDAY 2 after unhappy reactions from players of their heist game, now offering a random chance to have premium drills drop for free (thanks VG247). The update 84 changelog has word, saying: "Added Drills to the Card Loot Drop reward table. Players can now be rewarded with Drills that can open Safes after successfully completing a heist." Those interested in experiencing how all this works can currently play the game for free during their ongoing Crimefest 2015 event.

A Kickstarter update for Woolfe - The Red Hood Diaries reveals that Rebellion has picked up the rights to this project abandoned after the closure of Swedish developer GRIN (thanks VideoGamer). They say they plan on completing the project, and fulfilling all of the Kickstarter commitments. Here's a bit on what's going on:

In August, GRIN’s founder Wim Wouters wrote a brave and searingly honest statement about the sad closure of the studio and the end of Woolfe as they knew it. If you missed this, then we highly recommend you read Wim’s post before continuing. But in summary, GRIN was unable to continue as a business and had to apply for bankruptcy, and so Woolfe (and everything related to the game) was put up for sale at auction.

It has been a difficult time for those involved with Woolfe and for you, the backers, but today we’re writing to tell you that Woolfe is still alive, and now in the hands of a new owner, Rebellion – that’s us! We’re delighted to add Woolfe’s gorgeous, twisted universe to our burgeoning list of indie games and we hope you’ll join us for the ride.

The Telltale Community blog tells us that the season finale for Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series is coming on November 17th, concluding their episodic game based on the TV series based on the book series. As a way of introducing new players to the game, they are also now offering the debut chapter for free, though this excludes the Windows and OS X versions, so yeah, thanks. They also offer a new TV Cast Featurette from the game highlighting three cast members who lent their voices to the game. Here's word on their plan to complete the series just under a year after it began:

Already into the series? We've got some much-anticipated news for you as well. Today we can announce that the season finale, Episode 6: 'The Ice Dragon', will be released on Tuesday, November 17th across all platforms. That's right, 'The Ice Dragon' will be the very first Telltale Games episode to see a simultaneous day-and-date release on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, AND iOS and Android-based devices.

Continue here to read the full story.

Beyond Sol is now in full release on Steam following a run on early access for this action/strategy game from Praxia Entertainment, an indie developer that includes ex-BioWare developers. A new version 1.01 update is now available for the game, and this post has all the details on what's new and different. Here's the description of the game:

Beyond Sol is a unique blend of action space combat and grand strategy empire building in a procedurally generated open world. Collect resources, build your city, upgrade your ships and weapons, and cultivate relationships or wage wars with rival cities in your quest to dominate the solar system. Play by yourself or invite your friends to your world and play cooperatively or competitively.

This video apparently from Star Wars Battlefront III, shows off gameplay footage from Free Radical's installment that was cancelled prior to the upcoming reboot of the Star Wars action series. As the description notes, this looks much more polished and high quality than previous leaked footage from the game, which was from a pre-alpha version. Speaking of leaks, the description also states "it is believed that this video falls under fair use for research and educational purposes," suggesting this clip may come down at some point. Thanks VG247. Continue here to read the full story.

• Captain Kaon - Steam Greenlight. "Captain Kaon is a ‘Thrust’-inspired twin-stick shooter, a modern homage to a classic. It’s an Amiga-era styled game with ‘50’s sci-fi themes."
• Infinity- Battlescape by I-Novae Studios — Kickstarter. "An epic space sim where 100's of players wage war across a seamless, procedurally generated, true to scale solar system!"

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Release Notes for 10-20-2015.
• Rocket League goes Back to the Future.
• TOXIKK version 0.9 launches with new map. Here's a video of the new map.
• World of Warcraft Patch 6.2.2a Hotfixes- Oct 6 - Oct 19. Thanks Ant.

• Play Indie Games and Meet Developers at This Year’s IndieCade Festival.

• Hard West on Eurogamer (video). "Much more than a wild west XCOM." Thanks nin.

• FORCED Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Halo 5: Guardians Images Being Added To Xbox Live Gamerpic Gallery.

• "Community" Revival Cost Yahoo Millions.

• Official: WD buys SanDisk.
• ABB and Microsoft join forces to launch next-generation electric vehicle charging services platform. Thanks HARDOCP.
• AMD Launches Excavator Based R-Series APUs for Embedded with DDR4 Support.
• Oracle VM VirtualBox version 5.0.8. Thanks Ant.

• '10-second' hack jogs Fitbits into malware-spreading mode.
• SUPERAntiSpyware version 6.0.1208. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• Microsoft wants US government to obey EU privacy laws.
• Not Even Video Games Are Safe From The DraftKings Investigation.
• Faced with an iPhone they can’t unlock, cops again turn to Apple for help.

• Minecraft: Story Mode Episode One: The Order of the Stone on Just Adventure.
• Tales from the Borderlands, Episode 5: The Vault of the Traveler on Game Over Online.
• WRC 5 on GameWatcher.

• ASUS GTX 980 Ti Poseidon Platinum on ocaholic.
• ASUS SABERTOOTH Z170 MARK 1 (Intel Z170) Motherboard on TweakTown.
• Cherry MX Board 6.0 Keyboard on Guru3D.
• Corsair Gaming H2100 Headset on pcGameware.
• Corsair Gaming Strafe RGB on ocaholic.
• D-Link DCS-2630L- A 180 Degree View, HD WiFi 802.11ac Camera on Phoronix.
• The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 on AnandTech.
• Microsoft Surface Book on Ars Technica.
• Microsoft Surface Pro 4 on Ars Technica.
• Netis E1 N300 WiFi Range Extender on eTeknix.
• Noctua NH-C14S CPU Cooler on ThinkComputers.org.
• QNAP TS-251 and TS-451 on Vortez.
• Shuttle XPC Nano Barebone NC01U on Mad Shrimps.
• Thermaltake Suppressor F51 Mid-Tower Case on Neoseeker.
• Vertagear S-Line SL4000 Gaming Chair on eTeknix.
• Zalman ZM1000-EBT 1000 W on techPowerUp.

• Jeb Bush takes aim at taxpayer-funded game projects…

Great Scott! It's Back to the Future Day, or back to the present, I guess. I've seen a lot of complaining about the present-day absence of the flying cars and hoverboards from Back to the Future Part II, but I think we should all be thankful that the movie's depiction of modern fashion wasn't spot-on. Not that I don't know a few people who could benefit from metal hats.

Future Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Stacko. Appy 1000mg. Highwayman.
Links:	11 Things You Probably Never Knew About the Making of Back to the Future. Thanks nin. See Back to the Future's USA Today front page at newsstands today. This dessert from the makers of Hello Kitty poops as you eat it.
Story:	"Force Awakens" Ticket Sales Break Records.
Science:	Scientists may have found the earliest evidence of life on Earth. Dogs 'can trace origins to Central Asia'.
Media:	GTA 5 - Back to the Future [Rockstar Editor]. Teens React to Back to the Future 2 (Marty McFly arriving on October 21st, 2015). The Future Is Now! - 10/21/15 - A Special Message From Doc Brown. ASSASSIN'S CREED UNITY (Honest Game Trailers).
The Funnies:	Brevity.