PS5 Pre-Order Registration Page is Now Available

ps5

The PlayStation 5 isn't available to pre-order just yet but Sony has opened up a registration page for the same recently. The company noted that there will be a "limited quantity" of PS5 consoles available for pre-order "so we will be inviting some of our existing consumers to be one of the first to pre-order one from PlayStation." However, these are on a "first-come-first-serve basis" so you'll still need to pre-order quickly once the invite comes through via email.

Sony also revealed a few additional details in its adjoining FAQ. Essentially, this isn't a guarantee for pre-ordering the PS5. Quantities are limited to one console, either the regular or Digital Edition, per PSN ID. Accessories-wise, one can pick up two DualSense wireless controllers and charging stations, two Pulse 3D wireless headsets, two media remotes and two HD cameras.

With this registration page going live, it could only be a matter of time before Sony formally announces pre-orders being available. This may coincide with the announcement of a release date and price. Until then, the PS5 is still slated to release this holiday season. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PS5, Xbox Series X Runs at 4K, 120 Hz

call of duty black ops cold war

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been officially revealed, taking place during the early 1980s and offering more player choice in its campaign. While there are no doubt some feathers ruffled about the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions costing $69.99, they will feature a number of enhancements. As VentureBeat reports, the next-gen versions will run at 4K resolution and support 120 Hz refresh rates.

Treyarch co-head Dan Bunting said that, "We want to make sure that the framerate is responsive, and that it feels like there's nothing on the technical side preventing you from having a good time." No loading screens and seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes thanks to the consoles' solid state drives are also being touted. Real-time ray tracing is also being employed in the global illumination system, which results in visuals like bouncing rays of light, more accurate shadows and so on.

Raven Software vehicle artist Katie Sabin said that, "With the power of the next-gen systems, we'll be able to add even more detail and put even more love into everything we create." If that weren't enough, lighting director Alberto Noti says that images of assets from the 1980s have been used for more realism, which are being displayed with the help of 4K and HDR.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out on November 13th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC with the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions arriving later. Multiplayer will be revealed on September 9th so stay tuned for more details.

Gotham Knights Combat Has Range Of Combo Options, Will Be "Comfortable" For Modern Third Person Action Fans

gotham knights

After years (and years) of teasing, we finally got the unveiling of WB Games Montreal's Batman game. While the fact that the game was not Arkham branded had leaked quite some time ago, it was still a little surprising. Ultimately, it seems as if the Arkham brand is going to be taking a bit of a nap for awhile (even though Rocksteady's Suicide Squad game is set in the same universe, technically) in favor of Gotham Knights. The game will see you take the role of 1 of 4 Batman allies as they must tackle a new and dangerous Gotham without Batman. But will it feel familiar to the beloved Arkham games? Well, it seems like that's a maybe, but they have gone in a slightly different direction.

In an interview with IGN, Creative Director Patrick Redding was asked if the game played like the Arkham titles. He didn't quite give a definite yes or no, but said those familiar with the beat'em style would find it familiar, but it would also be comfortable for those more familiar with the third person action games of today, with lots of combo options for both melee and ranged attacks.

"We have gone through and iterated on control schemes quite a bit over the course of the whole project, but it'll be comfortable to people who are familiar with third-person brawler type experiences.

"The way you're accessing some of your special moves and things like that can vary I'm sure, but in terms of having both attack and defensive choices, having a range of combo choices, having variations in strike types and attack types, being able to combo in your ranged attacks as well as your melee attacks – all of that is there, and I think will be comfortable for people who have played modern, contemporary third-person action-adventure style brawlers."

It's hard to parse there, but we already know that Gotham Knights will differ from the Arkham titles due to the level systems, and it sounds like this will be a little different than the free flowing combat Arkham was known for. We did get a look at the gameplay, and it does seem more of its own thing. A new day for some new knights.

Gotham Knights is set to launch in 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC. The game is also said not to be designed as a live service game, which you can read more about through here.

Chorus Will See Gameplay Debut At Gamescom Opening Night Live

chorus

It was earlier in the year when we got our first look at Chorus. The game will be a crossgen title space combat title with a unique name and look. While coming to both current and new generation systems, developer Fishlabs are definitely pushing the next generation versions as the most definitive with reduced loading for its open world elements. And we'll be getting a look at it soon.

As announced on his official Twitter, host Geoff Keighley revealed that the game's global gameplay debut will be at Gamescom Opening Night Live. It's referred to as the "next gen space combat shooter," so it's likely that the footage shown will be from next generation consoles. We'll finally get to see the game in action, and we get what looks to be a very small tease of it below.

Chorus is set to release in 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. Gamescom Opening Night Live will occur tomorrow, August 27th.

PS5 Will Have WiFi 6 And Bluetooth 5.1

ps5

It can be hard to believe sometimes since we still lack some basic and important information, but we are, in fact, a few months away from the launch of a new generation of consoles. Both Microsoft and Sony are going headfirst into the holidays, and there's all kinds of stuff to get excited for: the SSDs, the resolution and ray-tracing abilities and for the PS5 specifically there's also the much talked about DualSense and its haptic feedback. But there's actually more subtle things under the hood to get excited about, too, such as some quality of life improvements.

Brazilian site Tecnoblog unearthed the PS5's wireless specifications, which you can see below. There are two very big upgrades here. The first is that the system will have the most up-to-date to date WiFi version, which is WiFi 6. It offers a maximum download speed of 9.6gbps. To compare, the original PS4's maximum speed was 300mbps, while the fifth generation PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro chips were a maximum of 3.5gbps. That's, of course, maximum download based on theoretical circumstances, but in general, it should still boost the speeds by some degree.

The other thing is Bluetooth. The PS5 will be almost entirely up-to-date with Bluetooth 5.1 (5.2 just came out, so they missed the most recent version by just a tad). The original PS4 shipped with only version 2.1 and the PS4 Pro had Bluetooth 4.0. Hopefully, that will lead to more Bluetooth devices being compatible with the system than ever before.

You can see the full spec sheet below.

PS5 wifi bluetooth

The Initiative's Game "Isn't Really Perfect Dark" But Takes Elements From It – Rumour

the initiative

Earlier today, we got an alleged hint at what the new studio from Microsoft, The Initiative, is working on. If this rumor is to be believed, the studio is working on reviving one of Rare's IP with Perfect Dark. It seems, though, that the game may not be all that familiar to fans if further elaboration on said rumor is also true.

VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb, who was the originator of the above mentioned rumor, took to his official Twitter to clarify some things. Earlier he had said the game may not be exactly Perfect Dark, it could instead just be something set in that universe. He has elaborated on that more by saying the game in question is not actually a Perfect Dark game at all, and will only borrow elements from that series. He likened it to Apex Legends and its relation to Titanfall.

If you are unfamiliar, Apex Legends technically takes place in the same universe as Respawn's Titanfall franchise. But ultimately, there's little plot relation between the two, and it's more of a relationship of Apex Legends borrowing things from Titanfall here and there. The games are also radically different, so unless you knew the deeper lore and nuances of Titanfall, you'd never even know they were related.

So, whatever this game is may not even resemble Perfect Dark. In fact, it seems as if it may not even be set in the same canon as those games. It could just be taking smaller elements from it here and there. The Initiative has been hiring some top talent, so whatever it is, the game will have a lot to live up to, but odds are we also won't see if for a couple of years yet, either. We will just have to see how it all pans out.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Confirmed for Gamescom Opening Night Live

crash bandicoot 4 it's about time

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is not far from launch, and over the last few weeks, we've seen quite a bit of gameplay footage of the upcoming platformer. Soon, we will be seeing more. 

Geoff Keighley recently took to Twitter to confirm that there will be "a new world premiere" for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time at Gamescom Opening Night Live tomorrow. What that entails remains to be seen, but new gameplay footage seems like a pretty safe bet. 

Gamescom Opening Night Live is certainly looking like it's going to be a packed show. It will be over 2 hours long and feature 38 games. New gameplay for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will be shown off, while we will be getting updates on the likes of Little Nightmares 2, Destiny 2, and Mafia: Definitive Edition as well. Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will also be at the show, while we can also expect the reveal of Fall Guys: Season 2. 

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will launch for PS4 and Xbox One on October 2, though recent leaks have suggested that a Switch version could be in the works as well.

Fall Guys is the Most Downloaded PS Plus Game of All Time, Sells Over 7 Million Copies on Steam

fall guys

Mediatonic's weird but lovable multiplayer game Fall Guys launched earlier this month for PS4 and PC, and immediately saw rapturous success, amassing over 8 million players on PS4 and selling over 2 million copies on Steam in a matter of days. It seems its momentum isn't slowing down, with the game crossing more significant milestones on both platforms.

Publisher Devolved Digital recently took to Twitter to confirm that Fall Guys has now sold over 7 million copies on Steam. On top of that, it has also become the most downloaded PlayStation Plus game of all time. Both of those are incredible achievements, especially given the short window from launch the game has managed them in.

Fall Guys is currently available on PS4 and PC, but the developers have expressed interesting in launching it for other platforms as well. You can read our review of the game through here.

It has also been confirmed that Season 2 of Fall Guys will be unveiled at Gamescom Opening Night Live tomorrow.

Gotham Knights is a Self-Contained Story, Not a Live Service Game, Says Developer

gotham knights

With Gotham Knights being a full-fledged action-RPG that is also placing quite a bit of emphasis on co-op gameplay, it seems all the elements are in place for it to become yet another live service title. But developers WB Games Montreal have assured that that is not going to be the case.

Speaking in an interview with IGN, senior producer Fleur Marty said that Gotham Knights is being specifically designed to not be a live service title.

"This is very much not designed as a game-as-service," she said. "There is an ability tree, which is different for each of the characters, and then there's gear that you craft – and so choices that you're going to be making – but that does not mean that this is a game-as-service."

When asked if this means Gotham Knights is going to be a single, self-contained story, she said, "Yes, absolutely." Marty further added that the entire game is playable solo, and solo players can play it offline. She added that single player gameplay won't lock players out of anything in the game.

"You can also completely experience in solo if you want to, you're not going to miss out on anything," she said. "If you're playing single player, you can be offline if you want to. We think that teaming up and living that dynamic duo fantasy can be also a really great experience for players, but we won't force it on them."

Gotham Knights will release in 2021 for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. In this same interview, the game's creative director also said that the game wouldn't have any level gating. Read more on that through here.

Gotham Knights Won't Have Any Level Gating, Creative Director Says

gotham knights

Gotham Knights was recently revealed, with WB Games Montreal finally pulling back the curtain on their mysterious new game- which they had teased to death over the past couple of years. During its reveal, quite a few gameplay details were revealed, and one in particular was met with some healthy skepticism by audiences.

Gotham Knights is being billed as a full-fledged action-RPG, complete with extensive progression, levels, damage numbers, and what have you. That is a space that tends to go hand-in-hand with things such as bloat and artificial gating in the AAA space- so is that something players will have to watch out for in Gotham Knights as well? Not according to creative director Patrick Redding. 

Speaking in an interview with IGN, Redding confirmed that the entire open world of Gotham Knights will be accessible to players right from the get go, and that there will be no level-gating to block off any content or areas.

"It is one open world city, right from the start," Redding said. "And no, there's no level gating whatsoever."

So what exactly is the purpose of having enemy and player levels? According to Redding, the levels are more about representing a range of challenge across a variety of activities and enemies in the open world, though he assures that it will never be a case of players running into high level enemies or quests and being forced to grind before getting to a level where they can take on those activities.

"It's true that, as you are getting more powerful in your progression, you're gonna see a sliding scale in terms of not just the level of the enemies, but even some of the types of enemies that you're going to be coming up against," Redding said. "But it's not a grind, it's not a situation where you'll say, 'Oh, God, I have to go grind this type of mission in order to level up to this, and then I can get this.'"

"It's really that, when you encounter open-world crime activities (and other activities that involve the AI), you're going to see a range, right?" he continued. "You might see guys that are a little bit weaker than you, and guys that are a little bit stronger than you. And how you approach each of those situations, it presents you with some choices that you're going to have to make. Like, 'Is this a situation where I'm going to maybe swap out a piece of equipment, because I think I'm going to handle it better that way.? Do I want to take a more stealthy approach?' All of those are options that are available to the player and, and the level of your enemy is just one factor in deciding that."

Gotham Knights is due out some time in 2021 for the PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For everything else you need to know about the game, head on over here.