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Archived News:
SEGA announces Shenmue I and II will be rereleased for PC, Xbox One, and
PlayStation 4 this year, offering the chance to revisit these action/adventure
games first released for Dreamcast around the turn of the millennium.
This trailer offers
a look at the game, saying the prerelease footage represents a work-in-progress.
There's already
a Steam page
for this, but it does not say whether to expect this for macOS and Linux, or
just Windows. Here's the announcement: SEGA® Europe Ltd. is proud to
announce that the pioneering epic saga Shenmue ™ I & II is to be re-released for
a new generation. Get ready to go on a thrilling voyage across faithful
recreations of Japan and Hong Kong, China, in a timeless tale of revenge and
mystery when Shenmue I & II launches both physically and digitally on
PlayStation® 4 and Xbox® One with a PC release on Steam in 2018. Check out the
announcement trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihC52HOx7zA
Since their original release, Shenmue I & II have established a passionate
following and are revered as one of gaming’s greatest series of all time. These
revolutionary masterpieces deliver a gripping story of retribution as Ryo Hazuki
sets out to avenge his father’s death and attempts to unravel the secrets behind
a mysterious artefact known as the Dragon Mirror.
Shenmue I & II comes complete with the original feature set that defined modern
gaming, including enthralling jujitsu combat, investigative sleuthing, and RPG
elements in addition to memorable mini-games. Shenmue I & II is set within
engrossing real-time open worlds that feel truly alive thanks to day-to-night
cycles and weather changes, with a population of civilians who follow their own
schedules.
This is the definitive version of these all-time classics and will be the best
Shenmue experience to date. The re-release will stay true to the originals with
modernised features including fully scalable screen resolution, choice of modern
or classic control schemes, PC graphics options, an updated user interface and
the option to enjoy either the original Japanese or English voiceovers.
The physical and digital editions will be available to pre-order from first
party stores, Steam and US and EMEA retailers soon. For all the latest
information on Shenmue I & II, head over to:
https://shenmue.sega.com/
For more information about SEGA and any of its products, please visit
www.sega.co.uk. You can also follow us on
Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Continue here to read the full story.
Hazelight
Studios Tweets about the sales success of A Way Out, saying the
prison break game has now sold over one million copies on all platforms.
Kotaku says this already exceeds publisher projections for the project,
saying a leaked marketing document discovered last year showed Electronic Arts
expected the game to sell an oddly specific grand total of 894,000 copies. They
note a warning that EA would "need to watch out for controversy" surrounding
game director Josef Fares, but it's not like he's running around
throwing shade at dead people or anything.
Well, I've given up trying to pin down whether to expect any more last vestiges
of winter, as I won't be surprised if we get snow in July at this rate. But
yesterday was warm, and it's beautiful out there today, so I will be thankful
for that. Unconfidently, we've made plans to head out to a cookout today, which
is at least as reliable an indicator of spring as the first robin sighting. It's
certainly about time here. Hope it's nice where you are too.
R.I.P.:
Milos Forman Dead: Oscar-Winning Director Was 86.
How The Makers Of Mafia III Lost Their Way on Kotaku is a story about the
struggles of developer Hangar 13 which includes word that a new BioShock
game is secretly in development. This is mentioned in a few places, starting
with word that some of Hangar 13's staff "moved to the top-secret studio next
door to work on an unannounced new BioShock game." Here's a bit more on this
hush-hush project: In the midst of all this confusion, some employees of
Hangar 13 couldn’t help but look with envy at their neighbors. Next door, a
small group of people were working on a project code-named Parkside, quietly
recruiting from across the video game industry for a game so secret, they
wouldn’t even tell their colleagues at Hangar 13 about it. Word got out, though,
that it was in fact a new game in one of the most interesting shooter franchises
of the past decade: BioShock.
“If anyone from Hangar 13 tried to strike up a conversation with them, they’d
say, ‘Oh, we can’t really talk about it,’” said one person familiar with the
studio. “It was all very tight-lipped.”
A
post on Major Nelson's Blog from Rare outlines plans to bring some
desperately needed new content to Sea of Thieves to give the game's pirates more
to do. They promise a series of free updates starting next month with the
release of The Hungering Deep, which will bring a hangry new AI threat to the
high seas. Here's a bit: Our first content update, The Hungering Deep,
will release in May and bring with it a new AI threat to the world. Crews will
have to work together to discover and defeat this threat as part of a unique
event. We will also be introducing a number of new mechanics to assist players
on this adventure, and there will be unique rewards that players can earn as
part of this event. Beyond this, we will begin our weekly events programme
during May, where we introduce new mechanics and give players fun new ways to
play with weekly events and rewards.
In the summer months, we’ll debut two more content updates with Cursed Sails,
which will include a new ship type, and Forsaken Shores, which will introduce
players to a perilous new part of the world to explore. Similarly to The
Hungering Deep, both of these updates will also include new gameplay mechanics
for players, new AI threats to challenge and new unique rewards to claim.
As we’ve always said, we never wanted to do anything to separate our players, so
we’re pleased to confirm that all content updates will be available to all our
players, at no additional cost.
With Sea of Thieves being a game that grows and evolves, we’ll be listening to
you, our community, throughout. As such, we’ll always be looking at whether our
current plans are meeting your needs. Based on feedback since launch, we have
changed the priorities for both Pets and Ship Captaincy which we had previously
announced as things we would look to add in the few months after launch. These
are on the back burner for now whilst we add to the game in other areas. Expect
our plans to continue to be fluid, but always with the goals listed above as our
guiding principles.
Re-Logic announces the cancellation of Terraria: Otherworld (thanks
DSOGaming). They are quite apologetic about the news, and they conclude with
word on what they've learned and where they are going from here: So, what
now? Next Steps for Re-Logic & Lessons Learned
- In hindsight, it goes without saying that we never
should have spoken publicly about this game as early-on as we did. We will
fully own that error in judgement. Moving forward, we will be far more
judicious about only sharing information on projects in which we are fully
confident in regards to timing, etc. We can only apologize for all of the
emotional rollercoaster this caused.
- Trying to outsource development of such a critical
title for our company – even if just in part – was not the way to go. Moving
ahead, our focus for the core development of new/future titles will be more
inward and will seek to utilize our own people. We will share more
information there just as soon as we have it.
- Re-Logic has possession of the game (design, code,
art, sounds, etc.) as it exists today, and there are still a ton of amazing
ideas under the hood here – many of which have never been publicly shared.
These are ideas that we have not and will not forget and that you will very
likely see implemented in our future titles.
- Active development of Terraria continues - 1.3.6
is still very much in active development. We know that we have not shared a
lot in the way of spoilers there – but rest assured that the team has been
working tirelessly on our next PC wave.
- This keeps our partners at 505/Pipeworks wholly
focused on Console/Mobile/Switch – and there is still a TON to get done
there, so that should be good.
Thanks so much to you all for your amazing support of Terraria, Terraria:
Otherworld, and our company. It is that support that drives us every day to do
amazing things for you and we look forward to sharing more of what is to come
very soon.
A new
Star Citizen: Around the Verse video has the latest newscast for Star
Citizen, the crowdfunded space game (thanks
DSOGaming). This includes the low-key news that another free fly session
begins today (the tomorrow they refer to in the clip from yesterday), giving the
chance to sample the game for free all weekend. Here's word: We have a
free fly coming up. Yes we do, starting tomorrow, through the 16th, you can get
into Star Citizen alpha 3.1 and fly some of our most popular ships for free!
That will be the fun opportunity to jump in the cockpit and see what 3.1 has to
offer.
Continue here to read the full story.
The
Star Wars Battlefront II Blog details plans for a Night on Endor
update for the Star Wars action sequel that begins on April 18th. This will
include the opportunity to live the dream of hunting down Ewoks as well as the
Kafkaesque nightmare of awakening to find you are one of the hunted varmints
yourself. Here's word on the event, and the return of Crystals: Beneath
the evening skies of Endor, the might of the Empire means little to the Ewoks as
they fight for control of their home world. In Ewok Hunt*, Star Wars™
Battlefront™ II’s exciting new mode, spears and blasters battle for dominance as
a squad of stormtroopers are ambushed by a tribe of Ewoks descending from the
trees to channel their hidden fury. Available only for a limited time, Ewok Hunt
lets you stalk your Imperial enemy under the cover of night, or desperately
fight to hold off the pint-sized throngs until you can escape.
The Battle Begins
In the new mode, you start as an Ewok or in a group of stormtroopers. The ambush
begins as the Ewok attacks the unsuspecting stormtroopers, using spears,
Wisties, and whatever abilities they can muster to take down the intruders. Each
stormtrooper defeated spawns as another Ewok. If the Empire’s forces have been
completely eliminated, the Ewoks win and their celebration can begin.
However, the stormtroopers’ superior training and firepower are more than a
match for the frantic Ewoks. Armed with an arsenal of weapons as well as
flashlights to cut through the darkness, players must hold back the Ewok ambush
if they have a hope of surviving until an extraction team can arrive.
Continue here to read the full story.
A new teaser trailer
for Underworld Ascendant offers a first look at the upcoming Ultima Underworld sequel
in the works at Warren Spector's Otherside Entertainment. There is also a
30 second
version of the clip which we guess is a teaser teaser. That is not the only
workout they are giving YouTube today, however, as they also offer
a new video developer
diary titled "Crafting An Immersive Sim." Here's word on the diary, which
hears from several members of the team and shows off gameplay footage:
Explore the Improvisation Engine behind Underworld Ascendant, a series of
interwoven systems that OtherSide Entertainment has carefully crafted, allowing
players to express creativity through playstyle choices in this breathtaking and
dangerous fantasy realm.
Continue here to read the full story.
A new trailer offers the
first look at gameplay from This Is the Police 2 in a clip titled "A Tooth for a
Tooth." The clip shows off the game's new turn-based combat system, which they
describe like so: Back in the big city, Police Chief Jack Boyd, the
protagonist of This Is the Police, was too deeply mired in bureaucracy to pay
much attention to field tactics. But in Sharpwood, a cold frontier town where a
young woman named Lilly Reed has recently become sheriff, you'll need to take a
new approach: you'll have to take your cops under direct control during
particularly difficult and dangerous missions.
In such situations, the game will switch to a new turn-based combat mode system.
Gather a team of your finest police officers (or use your drunk and stupid bums
- you don't always have the luxury of being choosy!). Take up advantageous
positions and don't forget: the police are supposed to arrest suspects, not kill
them. You'll have to carefully study the terrain, constantly adapt your plans,
stealthily approach your suspects and use non-lethal weapons and equipment.
Unless, of course, you bartered them for a dozen cans of tuna. Sometimes
gunfights are almost impossible to avoid, but be careful: This Is the Police 2
doesn't have hit points. A single bullet can cost a cop their life.
Continue here to read the full story.
AMD announces their second generation Ryzen CPUs, saying they are already
accepting preorders
for the new processors, and they offer the following details on why you may be
interested: One year after the first release of the award-winning AMD
Ryzen processors, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) announced pre-orders begin today worldwide
for the eagerly anticipated 2nd generation AMD Ryzen desktop processors, with
disruptive levels of compute performance at each of four price points1.
Delivering high-performance computing and innovative new features, 2nd gen Ryzen
desktop processors are built to create faster and smoother computing experiences
for PC gamers, creators, and hardware enthusiasts.
“Second generation Ryzen desktop processors take everything that made the
original Ryzen so groundbreaking and makes it better – great performance
combined with advanced technology to deliver an amazing experience for the most
demanding users,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager,
Computing and Graphics Group, AMD.
2nd Generation AMD Ryzen Desktop Processors Lineup
This 2nd gen Ryzen desktop processor lineup includes two 8-core, 16-thread
models and two 6-core, 12-thread models, all offering major upgrades and
advanced AMD SenseMI technology2.
MODEL CORES THREADS CLOCK SPEED MAX BOOST/BASE (GHZ) Smart Prefetch Cache TDP
COOLER SEP (USD) AVAILABILITY
Ryzen™ 7 2700X 8 16 4.3/3.7 20MB 105W Wraith Prism (LED) $ 329 Apr 19
Ryzen™ 7 2700 8 16 4.1/3.2 20MB 65W Wraith Spire (LED) $ 299 Apr 19
Ryzen™ 5 2600X 6 12 4.2/3.6 19MB 95W Wraith Spire $ 229 Apr 19
Ryzen™ 5 2600 6 12 3.9/3.4 19MB 65W Wraith Stealth $ 199 Apr 19
For the first time, the entire line of 2nd gen Ryzen desktop processors
include a world class AMD Wraith cooler inside the retail box. The AMD Ryzen 7
2700X CPU PIB includes the new Wraith Prism cooler, which offers improved
thermal performance over the Wraith Max, a more compatible fan profile, and
enhanced lighting capabilities with per-RGB controls.
All 2nd gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors are supported by the new AMD X470
chipset, the most advanced, optimized, and efficient chipset to-date for socket
AM4. This chipset comes with a free download of the new AMD StoreMI storage
acceleration technology to combine the speed of an SSD with the capacity of a
hard drive into a single, fast, easy-to-manage drive.
Funcom offers a new trailer from
Conan Exiles, their upcoming survival game set in the Hyborian Age. This is due
for release on May 8th, so they say that the clip shows the game in its final
form. They offer a
countdown to launch developer blog discussing the game's journey through
early access. Here's a bit on the plan: After 14 months of Early Access, Conan Exiles finally receives its full
launch on May 8th, becoming available all over the world digitally and in
physical retail. Today, Funcom kicks off the countdown to launch on
www.conanexiles.com and fires off a
brand new trailer that captures how the new Conan Exiles will look and play on
May 8th. Funcom has also released a
blog
post today detailing exactly what’s coming to the game at launch. And
there’s a lot.
“We wanted to make sure leaving Early Access is something more than just
removing the Early Access label and saying we’re done,” says Funcom CEO Rui
Casais. “Besides being the first time it’s available on PlayStation 4, the
launch of Conan Exiles brings with it a massive expansion of the game world,
game-changing new features such as monster invasions known as the purge and an
entirely new action-oriented combat system, as well as many other major
additions that truly makes this the ultimate vision of Conan Exiles. If you were
ever on the fence, or you are just discovering it for the first time, May 8th is
the time to join the adventure.”
Continue here to read the full story.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment announces MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE, a fighting game
coming to the west later this year via Steam and consoles. They consistently present the title that
way, which follows their fetish for capitalization, and we're guessing the title
is a translation of something that makes sense in Japanese.
This trailer offers a
first look at the game, and the announcement fills in details: Leading anime video game developer and publisher, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
America Inc. today announces MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE™, a new 3D arena-based
fighting game based on the popular manga and anime franchise from Weekly Shonen
Jump®. This new title will be coming to the Americas for the PlayStation®4
computer entertainment system, Xbox One™, PCs via STEAM®, and Nintendo Switch™
in 2018.
MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE takes place in a world where most of the population has
superpowers known as Quirks, and where heroes and villains are commonplace. One
day, Izuku Midoriya, a bullied middle school student without a Quirk attempts to
save his childhood bully Katsuki from a villain. In recognition of his good
deed, the world’s greatest superhero, All Might, bestows upon Izuku his own
Quirk known as “One For All”.
Pick your side and choose between hero or villain in the fight for justice.
With fan favorite characters, players will be able to choose up to two sidekicks
to create the ultimate team. The two sidekick characters will provide crucial
combo opportunities with their specialized moves, providing dynamic fights full
of hard-hitting action. The explosive powers each character wields will wreak
havoc on their opponents and the environment around them. The best players will
use the environment to help defeat the opposition.
“MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE is an electric combination of stellar graphics,
intense gameplay, and a collection of popular characters,” said Randy Le,
Associate Brand Manager at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “All based
around the hottest new anime and manga franchise coming out of Japan that fans
have been craving.”
MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE will be available in the Americas on PlayStation®4
computer entertainment system, Xbox One, PCs via STEAM, and Nintendo Switch in
2018.
Continue here to read the full story.
Blizzard announces the release of The Witchwood, a new expansion for
Hearthstone, adding 135 new cards to the game and kicking off the year of
the raven. Here's word: The hunt is on as Hearthstone® players set out to
lift the malevolent curse twisting The Witchwood™, the newest expansion for
Blizzard Entertainment’s smash-hit digital card game. The Witchwood unleashes
135 hair-raising new cards and marks the beginning of a new Hearthstone Year:
The Year of the Raven.
A vile magic has taken root in the woods surrounding the city of Gilneas, and
the lycanthropic townspeople ready themselves for a showdown with whatever lurks
in the dark heart of the forest. As players venture deep into The Witchwood,
they’ll encounter uncanny new cards and gameplay mechanics, such as the eerie
new Echo keyword. Echo cards can be cast multiple times in a turn, as long as
players have enough mana to pay the price. In addition, rumors tell of two
powerful Legendary minions—Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane—that present
grizzled deck-builders with a unique challenge: use only odd- or even-cost cards
in exchange for a game-changing Hero Power boost.
“The Witchwood brings a spooky Azeroth fairytale to life in a uniquely
Hearthstone way,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard
Entertainment. “We can’t wait to see players sink their teeth into all the new
cards and start shifting their deck-building strategies around Echo and the
other new mechanics.”
In two weeks, the adventure will continue with the addition of Monster Hunt, a
free new single-player mode that will take players into the forest to strike at
the source of The Witchwood’s wicked curse. Stay tuned for further details about
Monster Hunt very soon.
Happy Friday the 13th! Happy? Okay, how about wishes for a lucky one? That makes
sense. I actually already had a minor bit of bad luck today with a coffee
incident, a throwback to my battles with the coffee maker from years ago. I just
use a manual pour-over drip method, so there's less that can go wrong, but today
my filter failed and left me with a pot full of grounds and hot water. It just
took a little juggling with a Pyrex bowl to get the mix poured through a fresh
filter and we were good to go. This was pretty easy, especially compared with
some of the kitchen-flooding escapades from the past, but that's one of the
reasons I ended up adopting such a simple coffee brewing procedure. Anyway, I think it's fair to say that I'm ahead of the
game if this turns out to be the worst bit of bad luck I can complain about.
Here's hoping you're equally fortunate.
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