Marvel's Avengers – Spider-Man Arrives This Fall/Winter
Crystal Dynamics has updated its roadmap for Marvel's Avengers this year and confirmed that Spider-Man is coming this Fall/Winter. As announced previously, this new Hero Event will be available exclusively on PlayStation consoles with more details to come closer to launch. Spider-Man arrives alongside the first raid, which is focused on Klaue and features Standard (150-160 Power) and Elite (160-175 Power) difficulties.
The raid will have "custom-crafted layouts" and "stronger enemy variety", which includes new foes called Echoes. These are "sound constructs" meant exclusively for this activity. Other changes incoming include improvements to upgrading gear, like being able to take Epic, Legendary and Exotic Gear from 100 Power to the new cap. Resources are also being streamlined with Upgrade Modules meant exclusively for upgrading gear and Polychoron for upgrading major Artifacts.
Players can also expect more "ways" to earn cosmetics by playing the game which includes items that were only available in the Marketplace. Additional quality of life improvements, new Heroes and Villains, and updates on Patrol Mode and the Omega-Level Threat "Cloning Labs" will also be provided. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite – Season 1 is Now Live With New Phalanx Class
Aliens: Fireteam Elite has done fairly well for itself, topping UK physical sales charts at launch. But it's only just getting started as Season 1 goes live today for all platforms. Free for all players, it adds the new Phalanx class, a tanky fighter who uses a shield to block damage and shots. Check out his skills below.
The Phalanx's shield can be toggled freely and absorbs damage from the front, making it idle for narrow paths. This doesn't make you immortal though as acid from Xenomorphs and explosions, along with attacks coming from behind, can still hurt you. While the class is restricted to hand guns and other close encounters weaponry (like the shotgun), their passive allows for increased damage for each attack blocked.
Another useful ability is Shock Pulse which will deploy an electric pulse and stun nearby enemies (which makes it great against Synthetics). You can either increase the damage or the duration that enemies are stunned. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is available now for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC. Check out our official review here.
Ubisoft Appoints New CCO Following Allegations of Misconduct and Harassment Last Year
Ubisoft has been put under immense scrunity following last year's reports of sexual harasment, misconduct, and misrepresentation within the company. Many high-ranking officials were embroiled in the flurry of lawsuits that ensued last year, which led to a plethora of departures within the company's studios.
Igor Manceau has been appointed as the Chief Creative Officer at Ubisoft, a key role within the Ubisoft executive hierarchy that was previously assumed by Serge Hascoet who left following the allegations last year. Manceau has been working at Ubisoft for over two decades now, and recently served as a creative director on Riders Republic.
A press release revealing the promotion states that the reasoning behind this hire is Manceau's consistent efforts of making games more diverse. As spotted by PCGamer, Twitter account ABetterUbisoft also commented on the matter, and are hopeful that this change will be the beginning of better days at Ubisoft's litany of internal studios.
We have the following statement in response to the appointment of Igor Manceau as CCO of Ubisoft.#EndAbuseInGaming #ABetterUbisoft pic.twitter.com/J1dnVzpMWT
— ABetterUbisoft (@ABetterUbisoft) September 7, 2021
Far Cry 6 Overview Trailer Details Yara, Allies, Camp Upgrades, Special Ops, and More
Ubisoft's Far Cry 6 has received a new overview trailer, detailing all of the different aspects of the open world shooter en route to release. Playing as Dani Rojas, a local seeking to escape Yara when "El Presidente" Anton Castillo killed their loved ones, you subsequently team up with the Libertad to exact revenge.
This means teaming up with a variety of different allies from the Montero, a family of tobacco farmers with deep roots in the countryside, to the Legends of 67, ex-revolutionaries experienced in guerrilla warfare. As you venture through the countryside, there will be different camps that can be upgraded and weapons to customize. One new aspect is shields, which can be used to bolster one's defense in combat.
Another interesting feature is Special Operations, which see players venturing forth to "cut off key arteries" of Anton Castillo's global network. A bit more of Castillo's background, including how his family suffered at the hands of the revolutionaries, is also showcased. Far Cry 6 is out on October 7th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. Ubisoft also confirmed that previous-gen owners can upgrade to the current gen versions for free.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 Trailer Briefly Details A Dinosaur Species
Frontier Developments' upcoming Jurassic World Evolution 2 just released a new trailer that showcases a brief footage of dinosaur Mosasaurus. This is a field guide to one of the many species found in the game, so fans can expect more trailers to drop in the coming weeks. Check out the trailer below.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 features 3 types of Dinosaurs – Air, Land, and Marine. Mosasaurus belongs to the Marine category, and is a nimble beast capable of traversing quickly through water thanks to a large-padded tail. The trailer also showcases the dinosaur eating a dolphin, which confirms its carnivorous nature.
Jurassic World Evolution 2 releases on November 2nd, 2021 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC. The game is looking to be shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of this year, and hopefully it meets all fan-expectations. Jurassic World Aftermath: Part 2 was also showcased during this year's Gamescom, with a release date of later this month.
Halo Infinite Special Edition Xbox Series X To Be Restocked This Week
Microsoft unveiled the first special edition of Xbox Series X, which to no one's surprise – was a Halo Infinite themed console. The Redmond-based giant called it "limited edition", so fans were naturally enough curious whether there would be any restocks following the initial drop.
However, GamingIntel has confirmed with multiple retailers such as Amazon and GameStop that the limited edition console will be available to pre-order once again this week. Furthermore, GameStop also confirmed that it would be announcing exact dates and times prior to pre-orders, so fans can prepare accordingly.
Of course, getting an Xbox Series X is a monumental task with the widespread shortage, that is expected to continue going forward. This is especially true for the Halo Infinite console, and scalpers have already listed the console on sites like eBay for prices as high as $1000. Sony is yet to unveil any limited edition consoles of the PS5, but that could change at its PlayStation showcase later this week.
MechWarrior 5 Is Coming To PS4 and PS5, Developer Confirms
A recent blog post on the official PlayStation blog confirms that MechWarrior 5 will be arriving on PS4 and PS5 on September 23. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is already available on PC and Xbox, but this PlayStation release marks the return of MechWarrior on Sony platforms in nearly 20 years.
The blog post details that MechWarrior 5's console port will include some fan-requested quality-of-life features, as well as support for adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. Furthermore, the launch of the game is accompanied by a new DLC pack titled "Heroes of the Inner Sphere."
The port took over a year to develop, and fan-expectations are naturally high with this one. MechWarrior 5 received great critical acclaim with its PC release, so it wouldn't exactly be a surprise if the console version also manages to garner the same acclaim. A point worth mentioning here is that the game's PC and Xbox versions are already available on Xbox Game Pass, while PlayStation players are expected to be paying a full price for the game.
Deathloop – PC Requirements for Minimum, Recommended and Ultra 4K/60 FPS Settings Revealed
Arkane Lyon's long-awaited FPS action adventure Deathloop is nearly upon us and while we know it runs at 4K/60 FPS on PS5, what do PC players need to achieve the same? Bethesda has revealed the PC requirements at last, and noted that 4K/60 FPS on Ultra Settings will require an Intel Core i9-10900K 3.70GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT, 16 GB of RAM and Nvidia RTX 3080 10GB or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB. A solid state drive is also required.
For those aiming at 1080p/60 FPS at High settings, the requirements are a bit more reasonable. A Core i7-9700K 3.60GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM and either an RTX 2060 (6GB) or Radeon RX 5700 (8GB) are needed. You'll still need an SSD though and regardless of configuration, 30 GB of installation space is required.
Check out the full system requirements below. Various settings like Ultrawide monitor support, an FOV slider for 65 to 110 degrees and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution support were also revealed. In terms of advanced settings, players can change the post-process anti-aliasing, sun shadows, ambient occlusion, texture details, water details, camera motion blur, bloom, light shafts and much more. You can also adjust the head-bob intensity and mix different languages for VO and subtitles.
So if you want to have English voice-overs but French subtitles, have it. Subtitle size setting and the option for displaying subtitles for main dialogue, all dialogue or nothing at all are also available. Pre-loads begin 48 hours before launch on PS5 and at 1 PM EDT on September 12th for PC. The title unlocks at 12 AM in one's local time zone on September 14th (while in North America, it's available at 12 AM ET on the same day).
PC players on Steam and Bethesda.net have three specific unlock times based on one's region:
- North/South America: Unlocks at 9:01pm Pacific Time on September 13 (12:01am ET, September 14)
- Australia/New Zealand/Asia: Unlocks at 8:01am Pacific Time on September 13 (12:01am JST, September 14)
- Europe/Rest-of-world: Unlocks at 4:01pm Pacific Time on September 13 (12:01am BST, September 14)
Deathloop is out on September 14th for PS5 and PC.
| Requirements | 4K/60 FPS, Ultra | 1080p/60 FPS, High | 1080p/30 FPS, Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | 64 bit Windows 10 version 1909 or higher | 64 bit Windows 10 version 1909 or higher | 64 bit Windows 10 version 1909 or higher |
| CPU | Intel Core i9-10900K @ 3.70GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT | Intel Core i7-9700K @ 3.60GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Intel Core i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | 12 GB |
| GPU | Nvidia RTX 3080 (10GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16GB) | Nvidia RTX 2060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5700 (8GB) | Nvidia GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB) |
| DirectX | DirectX 12 | DirectX 12 | DirectX 12 |
| Storage | 30 GB (SSD) | 30 GB (SSD) | 30 GB (HDD) |
Life is Strange: True Colors Review – The Power of Empathy
There's nothing else quite like a new Life is Strange game. The series has become an unlikely enduring hit, with its relatable characters, rich settings, and great YA stories providing resonant themes to pretty much everyone. Life is Strange: True Colors pretty much delivers on all the aspects fans expect from a new Life is Strange game – it's got great characters, a wonderfully realized Americana setting, a cool power to put a spin on regular narrative adventure style gameplay, and a central mystery to keep you engaged through it all.
It's also a big departure for the series in more than one ways – this is the first new entry not developed by the folks at Dontnod (who created the original and the sequel). Rather, Deck Nine has taken over for this one. Given those folks were behind the excellent Before the Storm, True Colors was always going to be in good hands – but some caution was warranted, of course. It's also the very first game not to be released episodically, instead releasing as a whole upfront. Given the episodic nature of the other games in the series actually informed the directions the developers took the plots of those games in, that element is certainly lost here.
You can imagine why people may have had cause for concern with True Colors, but it genuinely comes through, and provides an engaging and reenergized adventure that's resonant and affecting in all the right ways.
"Alex's messier and darker past and disposition also make her starkly and uniquely different from Max, helping her not feel like a retread, and more than any other protagonist in the series, Alex feels like she can develop into uniquely distinct personalities depending on what responses and actions you choose for her over the course of the game."
True Colors returns to the original Life is Strange's style of having one setting for the plot, in this case, small mining town Haven Springs, Colorado. Haven Springs is a gorgeously rendered and realized town, and you can almost feel yourself being there tactilely through the senses – you can almost hear the small town chatter as you walk through the streets, you can smell the smell of fallen golden leaves with the onset of Fall, you can feel yourself actually inhabiting it as a real, honest to goodness place. The original Life is Strange game benefitted incredibly from its setting of Arcadia Bay – the iconic town became a character unto itself, and richly informed and benefitted the stories and characters set within it. While it remains to be seen whether or not Haven Springs becomes as iconic and enduring as Arcadia Bay did in the long run, in the here and now, it's a fantastic setting, and a huge benefit to its game (also simultaneously addressing one of the issues with Life is Strange 2 in giving players a constant setting to get attached to).
Equally well realized are the characters themselves – while I will continue to insist that no protagonist the series has had has ever lived up to just how wonderful a character Max was in the original game, Alex is pretty damn compelling herself. Her messier and darker past and disposition also make her starkly and uniquely different from Max, helping her not feel like a retread, and more than any other protagonist in the series, Alex feels like she can develop into uniquely distinct personalities depending on what responses and actions you choose for her over the course of the game, which definitely contributes to giving the player a sense of ownership over her, and over the direction the story takes.
Alex also has the most interesting power a Life is Strange protagonist has had since the original. While the game's "the power of empathy" marketing might have induced cringes among many, True Colors actually pulls it off pretty well. Essentially, Alex is an empath, highly tuned into the emotions of those surrounding her, to the extent that she internalizes them and responds to them as if they are her own. This can naturally get problematic when she is around anyone feeling a surge of particularly strong sentiment, especially negative sentiment – the exact fears and thoughts and insecurities and anxieties and angers of those people can threaten to overwhelm her and her consciousness, and often causes her to have breakdown episodes, or act in less than spurious ways.
In terms of gameplay applications, True Colors is pretty smart in how it handles this power. People who are feeling strong emotions have auras surrounding them, and Alex can at any point choose to focus on them and home in on what they're feeling and thinking. This gives Alex snippets of their stream of consciousness, so she actually knows what others are thinking. And this can, in turn, help inform the player in what dialog options they want to choose when they engage with them.
"True Colors returns to the original Life is Strange's style of having one setting for the plot, in this case, small mining town Haven Springs, Colorado. Haven Springs is a gorgeously rendered and realized town, and you can almost feel yourself being there tactilely through the senses – you can almost hear the small town chatter as you walk through the streets, you can smell the smell of fallen golden leaves with the onset of Fall, you can feel yourself actually inhabiting it as a real, honest to goodness place."
In this regard, the power in True Colors comes close to replicating the brilliance of the time travel of the original game. One of the reasons Life is Strange's time bending powers were so beloved was because they had such a meta implication on the game's structure and how it was played. While Life is Strange was a Telltale style narrative adventure game, it allowed players to see what the consequences to their actions and dialog choices would be, and then choose otherwise – essentially, a player could make an informed choice before they committed to anything. In the game's most memorable moments, that power was also taken away from the player, lending even more weight to their actions then.
True Colors' power isn't as good, but it does achieve something similar. Having an idea of what others are thinking or feeling helps the player decide how they want to deal with them – and also raises some interesting implications about emotional manipulation within the context of the story, and of Alex's powers.
There are other aspects to Alex's powers too. Going back to the other characters, they feel even more richly fleshed out than the norm for this series because now you are literally privy to their thoughts, and you can put yourself in their heads. This, again, contributes to one of the richest casts and settings the series has ever had, and helps draw the player in and instantly engage them – aided, of course, by remarkably strong and authentic writing, where people feel like actual people, and talk like actual people, rather than video game characters. The one exception to this I will say is their thoughts, which are presented less as thoughts and more as dialog for the benefit of anyone listening in – but of course, writing thought authentically wouldn't really be conducive to the gameplay mechanics of how the game leverages empathy, so you can see why that concession was made.
"Other characters, they feel even more richly fleshed out than the norm for this series because now you are literally privy to their thoughts, and you can put yourself in their heads. This, again, contributes to one of the richest casts and settings the series has ever had, and helps draw the player in and instantly engage them."
It's for the best that the characters and setting are so enriched and compelling, because True Colors does repeat a mistake Life is Strange 2 made – which is, it lacks a central and compelling mystery from the get go. This is actually an important point – one of the reasons the original Life is Strange is so arresting from the get go is that from the very first moment, a broader mystery outside of the main narrative is presented to the player, in the form of Max's visions, and the news she keeps hearing of serial disappearances around town. That central mystery, and the great setting and characters, was a one-two combo that instantly drew the player in. True Colors definitely benefits from really strong characters and a great setting – but it lacks a central mystery for much of its opening, with a narrative "hook" so to say only appearing towards the end of the first chapter. Again, this isn't much of an issue – as mentioned, the characters and setting are great enough that they have pulled you in with just how remarkably cozy and authentic they all feel – but it's definitely a step down from having all of that, and an instant mystery to keep player curiosity piqued.
Even with that, however, True Colors is definitely a great game worth going through. It's the most polished game in the series yet, it looks absolutely gorgeous, the VA and music are on point (as is always the case), the gameplay formula has been polished to a sheen (and players actually get more to do than ever now, with some fun mini games to engage in peppered in), and the sheer number of accessibility options on offer to ensure everyone can come along for the ride are admirable. Sure, the lack of a central mystery, or the prescience of these games' illusion of choice, can definitely be held against the game in the end – but honestly, I think Haven Springs is worth a visit, warts and all, and that those who do visit will find a lovely, affecting, and engaging story that is absolutely among the strongest showings this series has ever had.
This game was reviewed on Xbox One.
The Artful Escape Review – Finding Yourself
The Artful Escape is an unexpectedly powerful experience, a marvelous coming of age story about one man's quest for his identity and his place within the world, and his own life and community, as viewed by him, and not as defined by others. It's supremely well accomplished in almost everything it sets out to do, from the stunning and jaw-dropping art style to the psychedelic vistas it has its players traverse over the course of its short run time; from the surprisingly sharp writing that breathes life into its characters, to just how incredibly well realized the settings that said characters inhabit are.
Everything just coalesces to form an extremely coherent and singular vision for what the game, as a story and as an experience, sets out to do, to the extent that it's hard to separate any one of its triumphs from the others. Yes, the settings for the game are imaginative and jaw-dropping; but they wouldn't have the potency they do without the incredibly strong art style backing them up. The art style wouldn't amount to anything except pretty pictures without the substance from the story and context backing it up. The story and content would fall flat without engaging execution to invest the player. It's a game that entirely understands how every part contributes to a whole, and how that whole is greater than the sum of their individual parts might suggest, and ends up delivering an extremely resonant experience.
The setup is simple – you play as Francis Vendetti, who's the nephew of a folk music legend, and who, as a result, has spent his entire life under the shadow of his now deceased uncle and the expectations to follow in his footsteps. But Francis isn't his uncle – he knows that much, but he doesn't really know who he is, or what he wants the world to perceive him as. The latent conflict and struggle of this minor identity crisis – does Francis want to be taken seriously as a folk musician like his uncle was, or does he want to blaze bis own trail, and find his own voice and persona? – is at the heart of The Artful Escape's central conflict, and is what sees Franchs whisked away to a literally transcendental experience that crosses the traverses of space, time, and other dimensions.
"The Artful Escape is an unexpectedly powerful experience, a marvellous coming of age story about one man's quest for his identity and his place within the world, and his own life and community, as viewed by him, and not as defined by others."
This setup only lands because of how incredibly strongly written the game is. From the first scene, there's something authentic about the voice of Francis, and of others he meets, strangers and acquaintances alike. People in the game speak like you'd expect people to, rather than as instruments in service of a larger story – and that's a marvelously hard feat to achieve when the game ends up getting as "out there" as it does not a couple hours into it. But even when Francis is surrounded by scenes that are viscerally incomprehensible (but beautiful in their psychedelic unknowability) to the senses, what grounds it all is how well he, as well as other characters he comes across, are written.
These characters also help bring the game's rich settings to life. From the small town you start out in, which draws a marvelous and convincing atmosphere that pulls you into the cozy proceedings, to the dimension hopping spaceship that is inhabited by creatures of all forms and persuasions, every setting feels rich and thoroughly fleshed out, even when, again, things are getting crazy. You might find yourself in an alien vista surrounded by Eldritch monstrosities jamming to your music, but it never feels absurd or breaks the suspension of disbelief, because it's all done so well that it feels utterly believable within the confines of The Artful Escape's conceit.
Obviously, for a game which is as about music as The Artful Escape is, the music itself is important – and this game understands that, as the music in the game is without exception pretty damn great. It's actually embedded into the gameplay itself – in the platforming segments, holding down a key to constantly be shredding your guitar changes the landscape around you, causing new paths to open up, hazards to be covered up or sidestepped, and just visually, causing massive changes to the environment around you. Even when you're not out in a platforming segment, in fact, you can hold down that key most of the time, and your surroundings respond – usually by getting lit up like a Christmas tree, but it's always a thrill.
"You might find yourself in an alien vista surrounded by Eldritch monstrosities jamming to your music, but it never feels absurd or breaks the suspension of disbelief, because it's all done so well that it feels utterly believable within the confines of The Artful Escape's conceit."
Music also informs other gameplay segments in the game – for instance, there's the set piece "bosses" where you have to follow their lead in what notes you play, and create your own rhythm out of them (the repertoire of musical inputs you have expands from one key to five for these). In general, with how good the music is, and how the game wraps it into its gameplay and story alike, it's safe to say that the big name music performances included within aren't wasted in the slightest.
Arguably the biggest failing The Artful Escape has its performance. In general, the title does hold its own as far as frame rate goes, though once you get out of the quaint starting areas into the more crazy ones, slowdown and frame rate drops are unfortunately not that uncommon during the platforming segments. This doesn't really break anything – as a platformer, this game is extremely forgiving, so it's not relying on frame-perfect inputs or anything – but it really is a shame because the fluidity in the game's animation, and how it synchs up with the tempo of the music, is definitely disrupted as a result.
The Artful Escape is a short game – it's actually the perfect length for what it is, and doesn't need to be longer or shorter. It has the presence of mind to understand that its pitch perfect pacing, and the strength of the crescendo it achieves as the player nears its climax, would both be undermined if it ended up padding itself out (similarly, a shorter game wouldn't have the chance to properly flesh itself, its characters, settings, and conflict out enough for the resolution to land). But what it does mean is that there are those who might find it to be a hard sell. Now personally, I find the asking price to be fair, and the experience you get out of it to more than justify the cost – but that's ultimately a decision you need to make for yourself. It absolutely does help that the game will be on Game Pass at launch, so subscribers to that can check it out without any further cost.
However and whenever you get around to trying The Artful Escape out, I think you're going to find it to be an experience that is patently worth it. It looks and sounds gorgeous, has wonderfully resonant themes and characters, and is a joy to behold and engage with. This is a journey of self-discovery everyone should take.
This game was reviewed on Xbox One.