Razer’s second OSVR devkit is now available for pre-order
If you’ve been looking for a lower-cost alternative to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that doesn’t skimp on hardware, you’re in luck. Razer has officially started taking pre-orders for the OSVR HDK2: its second generation Open-Source Virtual Reality hardware development kit. The company announced this upgrade last month at E3. It features a higher resolution 2,160 x 1,200 low-persistence OLED 441 PPI display, a winder, 110-degree field of view and a 90Hz refresh-rate — specs on par with what you’ll find in other commercial VR headsets.
Razer is pitching the HDK2 as a competitor to HTC and Oculus’ headsets at a fraction of the cost. The new OSVR rig will set you back $399, compared to the $799 and $599 pricetags affixed to mainstream hardware — but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a better value. For one, we found that both the HTC and Oculus rigs have a better build quality than Razer’s HDK2. There’s also a small gap in accessories and features: the single-point tracking of the OSVR headset’s IR camera tracking can’t quite live up to the room-scale VR offered by the HTC Vive.
On the other hand, Razer’s kit is technically a development kit — one that’s not only affordable, but now features display specs that match consumer hardware. It’s not the best option on the market, but it’s definitely the most affordable for gamers and developers on a budget. Plus, it comes with two free games: Decent: Underground and Radial G: Racing Revolved.
Via: VRFocus
Source: Razer
Amiibo support is coming to ‘Animal Crossing: New Leaf’
Animal Crossing and Amiibo seem like a match made in heaven: cute characters, and collectable toys. Sadly, the duo’s first pairing turned out to be a shallow, dull board game without much replay value. Fans longed for a full Animal Crossing toys-to-life experience — and this year, they’re going to get it. Sort of. This fall, Nintendo will be updating the 3DS’ 4-year-old Animal Crossing: New Leaf with Amiibo support.
Starting this fall, players with a New Nintendo 3DS or a 3DS NFC Amiibo reader will be able to use the figure and cards created for Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival in 2012’s New Leaf. Using an animal card will let you invite a character to live in your town, while Amiibo figures from other Nintendo series, like Splatoon, appear to unlock special in-game items. It’s the kind of natural integration we’d expect from a newly released title — so it’s doubly impressive this functionality is being baked into a such an old game. The update is free, and should be available to 3DS owners later this year.
Source: Nintendo
The first episode of ‘Life is Strange’ will soon be free
The first episode of the narrative adventure game Life is Strange will be free to download across platforms from tomorrow. Publisher Square Enix says the change is indefinite. It’s clearly a move to get more people interested in the episodic game, and if you get hooked on episode one, you’ll be able to pick up the other four parts for $16.99 (the full season pass previously cost $19.99).
Life is Strange won multiple awards including a BAFTA for Best Story, and featured among our favorite games of 2015. Its developer, Dontod Entertainment, says it’s “really glad” that Square Enix has made the decision, “so more players can begin their journey and see why people have fallen in love with the game for themselves.” You’ll be able to get episode one gratis from July 21st on Mac, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Source: Life is Strange
Japan’s delayed ‘Pokemon Go’ launch will feature sponsored ‘gyms’
Server problems, earnestly waiting for the start of Japan’s school holidays, or perhaps signing the dotted line on a sweet, sweet fast-food sponsorship deal? Whatever the true reason for the pause, Japan appears to finally be getting in on the Pokemon Go boom. A leaked internal email across Japanese forums has delayed the launch until tomorrow, at the same time confirming TechCrunch’s report of McDonald’s-sponsored gyms and in-game locations. Apparently, the leak first scuppered a July 20th morning launch in Japan, pushing it back later in the day.
According to TechCrunch sources, the companies (Niantic, McDonald’s and The Pokemon Company) have decided to cancel the launch until tomorrow, citing that the hype generated could overload the game. No offense, everyone, but that’s still happening everywhere else in world. Nikkei also reported that the game would launch tomorrow, although it’s recently corrected its article to suggest later in the week. In short, no-one knows.
McDonalds’s Japan has recently seen sales soar following its recent Pokemon-themed Happy Meals, while Nintendo saw its share price double. Which is even crazier, given that it didn’t even make the Pokemon smartphone game. The leak detailed some issues that the companies need to tackle — including Pokemon / McDonald’s gyms with poor connectivity, and pesky customers taking up space without buying more burgers or matcha flavored McFlurries. If the game does actually arrive tomorrow, I’ll buy myself McDonald’s, in the name of Pokemon Go journalism.
Source: 2ch (Japanese), TechCrunch
The fourth ‘Kentucky Route Zero’ chapter is finally here
Kentucky Route Zero’s fourth chapter is really, actually, truly here. Seriously. Following a two-year-plus gap since the adventure game’s third installment, you can finally grab the penultimate episode from your digital distributor of choice (including Steam, GOG, Humble Store and itch.io). “This has been a challenging process for us, but we’re excited about the work and [are] eager to share it with you,” developer Cardboard Computer writes.
When my coworker Jessica Conditt spoke with developer Jake Elliott earlier this year, he hinted that episode four would shake things up quite a bit. Entirely new settings with new characters are on tap alongside some new gameplay elements. That’s in addition to a bunch of backend improvements.
“It’s hard, having been close to it for so long, this time there’s some anxiety about whether it’s going to land the way that we hope it will,” Elliott said. “That anxiety has had a lot more time to build than it had with the other ones.”
If you’re brand new to the series, Eurogamer reports that the entire series is currently half priced — $12.49 — through July 26th.
Via: Eurogamer
Source: Cardboard Computer
The new ‘Overwatch’ hero is causing all kinds of trouble
Online shooter Overwatch is dominating the conversation surrounding video games lately, but not for the reasons developer/publisher Blizzard probably wants. First with the good news: healing sniper Ana is finally available for PC players. And, well, that’s where the favorable bits end. Ana’s appearance has caused some problems both on PlayStation 4 and PC.
On Sony’s latest console, following the update that added the maternal support character into the fracas, players have seen a number of issues crop up. Experience levels, rankings, cosmetic skins and in-game currency bought with real money have disappeared, according to IGN’s sources. From the looks of it, this is a separate problem from the similar one that reared its head last week. A Blizzard customer support agent told IGN that it’s a platform-specific bug and that the development team was working with Sony to resolve it.
On the PC side of things, Ana caused a different kind of trouble. The patch that brought her out of the game’s beta servers was pushed live during the ESL Atlantic Showdown tournament, which caused the action to be delayed by about a half an hour according to Mashable. The patch apparently altered how a few of the competing teams played, with D.Va and Zenyatta getting some love from a few teams thanks to post-patch changes.
The patch caused issues for viewers as well, with the commentators being unable to join the server. Asa result, anyone watching the stream wasn’t able to catch the final moments. More than that, the subsequent game was delayed because one of the teams couldn’t keep a steady server connection either. Hopefully Blizzard takes a look at what tournaments are active next time it pushes a patch.
Source: Mashable, Battle.net, IGN
‘Rock Band Rivals’ rocks out with two new game modes
Rock Band Rivals was announced last month during E3 as the first paid expansion for Rock Band 4. It quickly generated buzz ahead of its October release, but there were scant details as to what the expansion would actually provide. Now the cat’s out of the bag and Rock Band Rivals sounds a lot like something die-hard fans of the rhythm game series are going to want to get in on.
Rock Band Rivals will add two important new chunks of content to Rock Band 4 for $29.99: a story-based career mode and a series-first asynchronous multiplayer mode with both cooperative and competitive options. While regular asynchronous online multiplayer is hitting Rock Band 4 in a free update planned for December, half of Rock Band Rivals is meant to be a “counterpart” to online play.
Rather than playing with friends at the same time, you can team up with other players to create in-game groups called “crews.” You and other crews will compete in challenges each week, where victories or failures contribute to the entire group’s success as a whole.
It sounds like a much-needed extra dimension for online play, and should offer a new reason to get back on board with competitive gaming via Rock Band 4, if that’s what you’re interested in.
If you’re more about going solo (and who isn’t?) the new Rockudrama mode allows you to tell your band’s story, much like VH1’s popular Behind the Music series. It combines live-action footage and Rock Band gameplay that create a “documentary” of your group’s rise to stardom. It’s silly and over-the-top, but it adds a layer of personality to a game that was otherwise lacking any real way to “own” your fictional band. Your performances will affect Rockudrama’s commentary and even your outcome, so if you want to go down in history you’ll have to play like you’ve already made it.
Rockudrama will come packed with new venues, though there won’t be any additional songs to play unless you preorder the entire expansion. In that case, you’ll get 10 tracks, including Sia’s “Chandelier” and Semisonic’s “Closing Time.” If you preorder through Amazon, you’ll also receive “One More Time” from Maroon 5 and “3AM” from Matchbox Twenty.
Rock Band Rivals will be available for $29.99 for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players as a digital download, but if you don’t already own Rock Band 4 (which is required) you can purchase a bundled digital version of the original game and the expansion for $59.99. Alternatively, you can pick up PDP’s upcoming Fender Jaguar guitar controller bundle for $89.99. If you’re brand new to this entire Rock Band business and need a guitar, drum set and microphone too, you can pick up everything from PDP in a tidy little bundle for $199.99. In the immortal words of Freezepop, it’s time to “get ready 2 rokk.”
Via: Polygon
Watch the first trailer for Telltale’s new ‘Batman’ game
It’s the Caped Crusader, but now how you’ve seen (or played as) him before. Telltale Games has released its first trailer for BATMAN, an adventure game series about the iconic superhero in Gotham. Unlike the well-received Arkham games by developer Rocksteady Studios, this episodic series will be focusing on the double life of Bruce Wayne and his vigilante alter ego. The trailer starts with his reliable butler, Alfred, asking Bruce to “step out of the shadows” and ensure “there is room for Bruce and Batman” inside the suit. We then see Batman taking out some thugs and catch a glimpse of the Batmobile screeching through a dimly lit street.
Telltale is known for its tight writing and difficult decisions, and it seems the new BATMAN series will be no exception. Harvey Dent (aka Two Face) is running for Mayor and some typically shady types claim their money can seal or destroy his campaign. How you interact with them and secondary characters, such as Gotham Gazette reporter Vicki Vale, seem to be at the heart of this five-part yarn. Plenty of fan favourites will be making an appearance too — in the trailer we see Catwomwan, Falcone and Commissioner Gordon, to name a few. There are plenty of Bat-gadgets too, as well as iconic locations such as the Batcave and Wayne Manor.
The first episode in the series, Realm of Shadows, will be out on August 2nd on every platform imaginable, including PC, PS4, Xbox One, iOS and Android. A disc-based version with a code for the season pass will arrive on September 13th in North America and Europe on September 16th.
Source: Telltale Games
‘Rise of the Tomb Raider’ comes to the PS4 on October 11th
Rise of the Tomb Raider has spent much of the last year as one of the best Xbox One exclusives out there, but soon PlayStation 4 owners will get in on the fun. As part of a 20-year Tomb Raider celebration, it was just announced that Lara Croft’s latest adventure will come to Sony’s console on October 11th. As is often the case with delayed releases like this, the game will feature a bunch of extra content to help make up for the wait.
Most significant among the new stuff here is the inclusion of a virtual reality mode. A new DLC story chapter called “Blood Ties” will work with the PS VR system; it’ll also work as a standalone chapter without the VR headset. There’s also a second new story mission called “Lara’s Nightmare” and a co-op addition to the game’s “endurance” mode. That co-op mode lets two players team up and try to survive as long as possible to get onto the game’s leaderboards.
Another new addition to the game is an even harder difficulty level for the single-player campaign known as “extreme survivor.” All of the game’s checkpoints have been removed, so the only way to survive is to find enough resources to light campfires where you can save your game.
There are a few other extras included, mostly just new visual outfits to pay homage to the way Lara Croft has evolved over the years. Somewhat hilariously, you can replay the main story with five different low-fi polygon-based character models, which will surely look goofy as hell next to the more realistic, high-resolution characters and environments.
Naturally, all of the game’s previous DLC is included, as well — that includes another three-hour story mode expansion, and a bunch of custom outfits and weapons. And if you bought the season pass for Rise of the Tomb Raider on the Xbox One or PC, you’ll get all of this new content for free, as well.
Source: PlayStation Blog, Xbox Wire, Tomb Raider Blog
‘Gravity Rush 2’ hits PlayStation 4 this December
Gravity Rush 2 is coming to the US and Europe this year. The sequel to the physics-defying hit will launch on December 2nd in the US and UK, and November 30th in Europe.
The original Gravity Rush launched on PlayStation Vita in 2012, and was recently remastered for PlayStation 4. The new title features the same core mechanic — the ability to manipulate gravity to traverse stages and defeat enemies — with a few twists. You’ll now be able to pick between different “gravity styles,” which alter the physics to make the pull of gravity weaker and stronger.
It’s also on a far grander scale than the original. That’s in part thanks to the switch from targeting a handheld to a full-fledged console: Gravity Rush 2 is a PS4 exclusive. Sony says the new game is more than twice as large as its predecessor, has three times the missions and will run between 20 and 40 hours.
Source: Sony (US), (EU)
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