The new ‘Need for Speed’ looks like a movie shot on film
The new, simply titled Need for Speed (out this week on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) is as close as you’re going to get to an art-house, video game version of The Fast and the Furious. The series has had players recreating cop chases from movies since 1998’s Hot Pursuit, but this is the first time the game actually feels filmic. It isn’t going to stand toe-to-toe with Microsoft’s Forza series or Sony’s ill-fated, but gorgeous Driveclub because it doesn’t have to — visually, they aren’t even competing against each other. NfS doesn’t run at 60FPS like Forza Motorsport; it doesn’t feature those meticulously detailed cockpits either. What’s more, car models aren’t nearly as detailed as Driveclub‘s. But whatever NfS lacks in “perfection,” it makes up for with killer arcade-like handling and a visual style guided by a clear aesthetic: Make a racing game that looks like a movie shot on film.
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Cult horror game ‘White Day’ is coming to PSVR
The first-person horror game White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is being ported to Sony’s PlayStation VR headset. To call White Day a sleeper hit would be an understatement. It debuted in Korea in 2001, offering a chilling (and very jump scare-y) story set in a high school populated by ghosts. Although White Day was scheduled for translation into English and a western release in 2004, that never materialized. Sonnori, the game’s developer, fell off the map, and the game seemed destined to be forgotten. Fast-forward five years or so, and thanks to a rough English translation, its popularity began to rise.
Source: YouTube
Game streamer Hitbox takes on Twitch with 4K eSports broadcasts
Pop quiz hotshot: Name a game broadcasting service that isn’t Twitch, YouTube Gaming or MLG.tv. Give up? You’re forgiven. Vienna-based Hitbox.tv is relatively new to the space and its looking to make a name for itself by offering features that the competition doesn’t. Like streaming eSports events in 4K at 60FPS starting this fall, for instance. As Twitch expands into more and more non-gaming avenues, Hitbox thinks it can serve the core crowd that might feel alienated by those moves. The Austrian company has picked up some new investments recently — most notably from the folks behind World of Tanks, Wargaming. A canned statement from the latter says that forthcoming games will “integrate game data” into broadcasts and that it should be pretty easy to do so. Hitbox also offers a wide-open revenue split system that every broadcaster has access to, rather than Twitch’s curated Partner program highlighting its top broadcasters.
Source: Hitbox.tv
Volkswagen also lied about its gas-powered cars
Volkswagen admitted in September that it used defeat devices aimed at fooling emissions tests in 11 million of its diesel vehicles — but now its gasoline models are implicated in the scandal as well. On Tuesday, Volkswagen reported that it understated the level of carbon dioxide emissions of about 800,000 vehicles, including gasoline-powered models. This is the first confirmation that some of Volkswagen’s gasoline-run vehicles do in fact exceed carbon dioxide emissions. The company didn’t provide details in today’s revelation, but it said the conclusion comes after conducting internal emissions tests.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Epic Games’ new PC shooter is called ‘Paragon’
Thought the new Unreal Tournament was Epic Games’ only upcoming PC shooter? Think again: today the company quietly announced Paragon — but truth be told, we know almost nothing about the new title. Epic is giving the game a slow reveal, teasing a new playable “hero” character for the game each week until December 3rd. Unfortunately, the game’s reveal doesn’t explain what the what kind of game Paragon actually is.
Via: Polygon
Source: Epic Games, YouTube
Konami reportedly closes the LA studio behind ‘Metal Gear Online’
In case it wasn’t already evident that Konami is scaling back its video game efforts, the company just dropped a big hint. Both Eurogamer and numerous developers understand that Konami has closed the Los Angeles studio responsible for Metal Gear Online, cutting “over 20 jobs” at the same time. Reportedly, the company had already shifted MGO development to Japan shortly before Metal Gear Solid V arrived in September — the LA crew was mostly left to provide support and dream up ideas for games that would never be made.
Source: Eurogamer, George Broussard (Twitter)
Playdate’s Halloween Horror Hangover: ‘The Park’ and ‘NOCT’
Thought our week of spooky Twitch streams was over? Not quite: there are just too many deliciously creepy games out there to cram into just two Playdate streams, so we’re giving you a bonus — Engadget’s Halloween Horror Hangover. Join us as we explore the terror of losing a child in an seedy amusement park (in the appropriately named The Park), right here at 6PM EST (3PM PST), at Twitch.tv/joystiq or on the Engadget Gaming homepage. Not scary enough? Fine: we’ll also be checking out the terrifying, monochrome monsters of NOCT.
Here’s a sneak peek at the new ‘Warcraft’ movie trailer
Legendary Pictures today released a 16-second clip of the trailer for Duncan Jones’ upcoming World of Warcraft movie. The trailer itself will debut this Friday at Blizzard’s BlizzCon event while fans will have to wait until June 10th to see the movie in all of its CGI-dominated glory.
Via: Verge
Source: Legendary Pictures (YouTube)
PlayStation Now adds 105 games, including 21 from Capcom
PlayStation Now is Sony’s game-streaming subscription service, and its library basically just doubled in size. With today’s addition of 105 titles, PlayStation Now offers more than 250 subscription games for the PlayStation 3, PS4, Vita and PS TV, all of which should keep you occupied through 2016 at least. Today’s game dump features 21 Capcom titles, including six Resident Evil installments, Ultra Street Fighter 4, Mega Man 9 and 10, Dead Rising 2 and Asura’s Wrath. Other new games available via PlayStation Now include Guilty Gear Xrd – SIGN, Proteus, Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark, Double Dragon Neon, Dragon’s Lair, Karateka, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Penny Arcade Adventures 1 and 2, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD, Starwhal, MX vs. ATV Alive and Fatal Fury. PlayStation Now subscriptions start at $20 per month in the US (£13 in the UK).
Source: PlayStation Blog
Sony’s pricey noise cancelling PS4 headset launches next month
Sony already offers a varied range of official accessories for the PlayStation 4, but in-ear headphones have mostly been shunned in favor of on-ear headsets. The good news is that if you’ve been waiting for a pair of branded buds, the company is finally ready to step up to the plate. With its new In-ear Stereo Headset, Sony will debut its noise-reducing AudioShield technology, adding more immersion to your gaming sessions, while filtering out any unwanted background noise during your daily commute.
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Source: Sony Europe Blog
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