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Archived News:
2K Games and Firaxis announce the release of
Alien Hunters, a new
DLC pack for XCOM 2, the
strategy sequel that features, well, alien hunters. This requires the base game
to play, and here's word on what it adds: "Transform the soldiers of XCOM into
an elite alien hunting squad with impressive new weapons and armor to face off
against new alien Rulers that will pursue your squad across an entire campaign.
Additional cosmetic upgrades to soldiers and the Avenger are included, as well
as a new epic mission where Central Officer Bradford leads a squad with the
guidance of an old friend."
This trailer shows off
what to expect. Continue here to read the full story.
Blizzard announces more than 9.7 million players checked out the
Overwatch beta, making the recently concluded testing of their multiplayer
shooter their biggest-ever open beta. They offer more stats on the success of
the testing, thankfully not in infographic format. Here's word: Blizzard
Entertainment today announced that more than 9.7 million players around the
world played its upcoming team-based shooter Overwatch® during the Open Beta for
PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and Windows® PC, making
it Blizzard’s biggest open beta ever. By the time the Open Beta came to a close
on May 10, participants had joined forces for more than 4.9 billion minutes
(over 81 million hours) across more than 37 million matches of intense
competitive action, incredible teamwork, and all-out fun.
“We're thrilled that such an incredible number of players from around the globe
got a chance to check out Overwatch during the Open Beta,” said Mike Morhaime,
CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Our mission was to make sure as
many console and PC gamers as possible could experience the full game ahead of
its launch—the response was overwhelming, and we hope that everyone had a
blast.”
Steam News announces
everyone can play Call of
Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer for this weekend until Sunday at 4:00 pm
EDT. Here's word on the free weekend, the corresponding sale, and the game:
Play Call of Duty:
Black Ops III Multiplayer for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM
Pacific Time. You can also pickup Black Ops III at 40% off the regular price!*
Also, save 25% off the Digital Deluxe Edition
If you already have Steam installed, click here
to install or play Call of Duty: Black Ops III Multiplayer. If you don't have
Steam, you can download it here.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 combines three unique game modes: Campaign,
Multiplayer and Zombies, providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call
of Duty ever. The Campaign has been designed as a co-op game that can be played
with up to 4 players online or as a solo cinematic thrill-ride. Multiplayer will
be the franchise’s deepest, most rewarding and most engaging to date, with new
ways to rank up, customize, and gear up for battle. And Zombies delivers an
all-new mind-blowing experience with its own dedicated narrative.
*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
Also on Steam News is
word of a free weekend for
Empyrion - Galactic Survival
that's underway until Sunday afternoon. Here's word: Play
Empyrion - Galactic Survival
for FREE starting now, through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time.
Plus, save 40% on Empyrion -
Galactic Survival as part of this week's Weekend Deal*!
If you already have Steam installed, click here
to install or play Empyrion. If you don't have Steam, you can download it
here.
Empyrion - Galactic Survival is a 3D open world, space survival adventure in
which you can fly across space and land on planets. Build, explore, fight and
survive in a hostile galaxy full of hidden dangers.
*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time
Steam News announces the
release of FINAL FANTASY
X/X-2 HD Remaster, offering the chance to re-experience two highly
regarded installments in the role-playing series. The bundle is 20% off for the
next week, and here's word: "FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster celebrates two of
the most cherished and beloved entries to the world-renowned franchise,
completely remastered in gorgeous High Definition & now available on PC /
Windows!"
The
SMITE forums announce a "Double Everything Weekend" in SMITE starting
tomorrow, offering double experience, worshipers, favor, and fantasy points in
Hi-Rez's MOBA. In addition, they are also offering free access to all gods all
weekend on both PC and consoles. In one last bit of related news,
Dark Horse comics announces plans to publish a SMITE graphic novel on
December 28th.
A new trailer from
One Piece Burning Blood shows off multiplayer play in the upcoming fighting
game, focusing on the game's Pirate Flag Battle. The clip also shows off three
DLC characters that are being offered as a preorder bonus for those who buy the
game before its release next month. Here's word: One Piece fans, are you
ready to ignite the flames of battle? BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.
today reveals a new trailer for One Piece: Burning Blood ahead of the game’s
release later this month. Today’s trailer highlights multiple online play modes
within One Piece: Burning Blood, giving fans a closer look at Pirate Flag
Battle, which allows players to join a pirate crew and sail across the seas to
claim victory at different famous locations in a massively multiplayer online
territory building campaign. The trailer also shows off Ranked Matches and
Player Matches where players can challenge friends or other online-players in
drag-out fights and battle for victory in order to ascend online ranks for
bragging rights.
In addition to the online modes, today’s trailer also highlights three DLC
characters, Gear 4th Luffy, Afro Luffy and Kung Fu Luffy. These playable
characters will surely please and excite One Piece fans and are available as
part of the One Piece: Burning Blood pre-order bonus. One Piece fans who
pre-order the game will be able to fight as these exclusive characters featuring
brand new move sets.
Publisher GAMESinFLAMES announces plans for a western launch of Crush Online,
a MOBA from Korean developer JoyImpact they say will have a strong focus on PVP
battles. This trailer
offers a look, and those interested should head over to the
game's website to register interest in
the closed beta. Here's more on the game: The world of Gaia is home to
three realms, each populated by thousands of players fighting an endless
territory war. These nations, along with a comprehensive guild system, are the
groundwork for truly grand military clashes. Guilds and nations can ally with
each other in exciting Castle Sieges to gain control of a nation and lord over
its subjects, while entire nations may scheme with and against each other to win
epic wars where not just glory, but also valuable treasure and powerful ability
enhancements are at stake. Players can choose their avatars from a number of
distinct, fully customizable classes, each with tons of different weapon setups
and compete with other players and NPCs in tactical and challenging fights. It’s
not just a match – it’s war!
Continue here to read the full story.
KingsIsle Entertainment confirms for
Gamasutra the site's report that the Wizard101 developer has laid off
staff. The original report said this was approximately half the studio, which
would be around 80 jobs lost. Here's the official statement on the topic:
To verify, many talented employees were released as part of a reduction
in force today at KingsIsle Entertainment, and we wish them the best. This
coincides with a couple of unreleased mobile games being cancelled. The strategy
is to refocus our efforts on our MMO games and polish our more promising mobile
projects, many of which are still slated for a 2016 release. Fans of our MMOs
should know that Pirate101 is soon to receive an update and will be going to
Test Realm most likely next week. Wizard101 has new content updates in the works
for both Summer and Fall 2016.
-
Win That War! by Insane Unity — Kickstarter. "Win That War! is a
real-time strategy game for PC that throws you way back to the old strategy
classics, adding a touch of arcade feel and a dash of self-mockery. Its
unique aesthetics are a nod to 1960’s American sci-fi." A playable demo is
offered, and here's a
trailer.
Trion Worlds announces that early access to
Atlas Reactor will begin
today on
Steam, offering the access to the closed beta testing of this multiplayer
strategy game. This kicks off with a free weekend at 8:00 pm EDT today to allow
everyone the chance to see the state of the game, and this will conclude at 3:00
am EDT on Monday, at which point everyone who so desires can buy into early
access. Here's word: Trion Worlds today announced that Atlas Reactor, its
competitive team tactics game currently in closed beta, is now available in
Early Access form on Valve’s Steam digital distribution platform. To kick it
off, Trion is holding a free weekend beginning at 5:00 p.m. PT today and ending
Sunday, May 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT. During the free weekend, anyone can play Atlas
Reactor, with access to all current freelancers. Trion today will also offer a
preview of the game’s spectator mode, and during an upcoming livestream will
tease a new freelancer, who will become available next week.
As part of Early Access, Steam users can jump into Atlas Reactor this afternoon
and join the tens of thousands of gamers already participating in the closed
beta. For a limited time, Trion’s Atlas Reactor can be purchased for as little
as $19.99, and those purchasing the game will receive all freelancers forever.
“We’re proud of all the progress we’re making on Atlas Reactor and excited to
see how the Steam community reacts to the game,” said Peter Ju, executive
producer on Atlas Reactor.
AMD announces the release of new version 16.5.2 Crimson Edition reference
drivers for AMD graphics cards. These are non-WHQL certified drivers, and there
is a list of known issues, but they provide support for tomorrow's release of
the new DOOM along with a new Crossfire profile for Battleborn. Word is: "Radeon
Software Crimson Edition is AMD's revolutionary new graphics software that
delivers redesigned functionality, supercharged graphics performance, remarkable
new features, and innovation that redefines the overall user experience. Every
Radeon Software release strives to deliver new features, better performance and
stability improvements." Thanks Mashiki.
Riff Racer - Race Your Music is now out of early access
on Steam, and officially
available, offering an arcade stunt-racing game for Windows that creates race
tracks on the fly based on your music tracks or any of the 25 included
tunes.
This post outlines all the changes in the new version, which include new
features as well as bug fixes, and
this trailer offers
a look. Here's word: Riff Racer brings a fresh twist to music gaming. FOAM’s innovative MEGA
engine takes any piece of audio and analyses it down to its core components and
creates a unique stunt filled racing experience from it.
Not a rhythm game, but a challenging arcade racer where you race the song
itself and score for how well you stay in Sync.
Action on track is synced to the audio - players literally have to race the
music to stay in time and score points.
Verses, choruses and drops become checkpoints, and the environment, colours
and cars are styled to the genre of music you're playing.
Experiment with your music collection and find out which songs make the best
racetracks!
Score big for staying in sync, whilst performing stunts, jumps, drifts and
rolls!
Continue here to read the full story.
Battle.net announces
that beta testing of World of Warcraft Legion "begins soon," offering the
chance to help steer the future of the MMORPG. They outline the process for
selecting testers, and offer
patch notes for the beta to get an idea of what to expect. Here's the deal:
The Legion beta test includes the new Demon Hunter class, the starting
experience for the Broken Isles, the new level-up and max-level zones, the new
Artifact system, and much more. Beta testers will be able to create characters
using level 100 templates, so they’ll be primed and ready to explore the newest
content. Be sure to check out the beta
patch notes for more
details on what to expect.
There’s no NDA (non-disclosure agreement) for the Legion beta test, so those
invited to play are free to discuss their experiences as well as take
screenshots, share videos, and stream game content. Please keep in mind that the
expansion is still in development—we’ll be making changes to the game as the
beta evolves, and what you’ll see during the beta test is not necessarily
representative of the final game.
Paradox Interactive now offers
a second video developer
diary from Hearts of Iron IV, focused on the naval, land, and air
power in the World War II RTS sequel. The game is due on June 6th, the
anniversary of D-Day, and here's word on the new diary: With the release
of Hearts of Iron IV only weeks away, the developers behind Paradox’s newest
grand strategy wargame want to imprint on your mind the scale of the task that
lies ahead for desktop generals around the world.
The newest video developer diary emphasizes how Hearts of Iron IV will be the
total strategy game for a total war. Victory will depend on your armies, but not
on them alone.
Hearts of Iron IV is the latest version of one of Paradox Development Studio’s
most popular series. Take control of any nation in the world and guide it
through humanity’s most trying hours. With a new and improved battleplan system,
you will be able to direct sweeping movements of troops through steppes, deserts
and jungles. Area and mission based systems take the micromanagement out of
naval and air combat.
And, as you would expect from a Paradox game, history is only a rough guide. You
can rewrite the past through your daring charge to Berlin through Denmark, or a
desperate assault on the Japanese home islands.
Continue here to read the full story.
- ADATA SP550 240GB SATA SSD on
Modders-Inc.
- Fractal Design Define R5 on
Overclocked Inside. German.
- JBL Under Armour Bluetooth Wireless Headphones on
TweakTown.
- LUXA2 Lavi S Over-Ear Wireless Headphone With External Speaker on
Nikk Tech.
- Samsung Galaxy TabPro S Tablet on
TechSpot.
Mentioning my goal yesterday of having my next PC be near-silent set me off to
see if I could quiet this one down in the meantime. What was getting to me was a
little higher pitched than typical fan noise, so my initial thought that this
might be coil whine that I was not going to be able to do anything about.
Looking at some diagnostics and monitors, however, showed me these two little
"assistant fans" on my ASUS Sabertooth motherboard were working their little
asses off, and sure enough, reducing their speed made all the difference in the
world. The funny thing is these hardly make a difference in temperatures, so
slowing them down seems harmless, and I compensated by cranking all three of my
case's 120 MM fans to 100%, which increased their noise not at all, so now all I
hear is the gentle whoosh of the larger fans. I did have a funny moment when I
grew concerned that my USB 3.0 chipset was running 10 degrees hotter than my
CPU, but then I realized that 46ºC is only around 115ºF, which is obviously nothing
to worry about. I just checked and it's currently at all of 40ºC while the mildly overclocked CPU is at 30ºC, so this PC is just one cool cat. I should
probably just
switch these things to the more American-friendly Fahrenheit, but Celsius seems
so much more cool and sciencey that it would feel like a downgrade.
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