‘Skyrim Special Edition’ is the remaster you asked for
The rumors are true: We’re getting a prettier version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Developer Bethesda ported the original game to this round of modern consoles as part of the development process for last year’s wildly popular Fallout 4, so it was just a matter of time before we actually saw it. And guess what? Mods are coming with it, thanks to Bethesda’s framework that allows players to use fan-made customizations on consoles. This new version of the game looks really well-improved in the visual department too and you can check it out in the trailer embedded below.
Does mod support mean that we’ll see the game’s dragons replaced with My Little Ponies? It certainly sounds like it. Let’s hope that Bethesda has that pesky piracy situation under control soon. Time to get those vocal cords ready for all the shouting (FUS RO DAH) you’ll be doing come October 28th when it launches for new-gen consoles.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
‘Fallout Shelter’ heads to PC in July, ‘Fallout 4’ gets new DLC
Fallout Shelter has evolved past its mobile confines and it’s set to hit PC in July, Bethesda announced today at E3. Plus, Fallout Shelter will get an update in July that introduces quests and adds a new combat system, characters, foes and locations. Hey, we told you Fallout Shelter was getting more like Fallout 4.
Fallout 4 is also getting bigger and badder with three new pieces of DLC: the Contraptions Workshop, Vault-Tec Workshop and a Nuka-World theme park experience. The game has already received three bits of downloadable content with the Automatron, Wasteland Workshop and Far Harbor expansions, all of which were included in the game’s $30 Season Pass. The add-ons announced at E3 aren’t included in the original Season Pass.
Fallout 4 introduced mods on PC — and console. Mod functionality hit Xbox One earlier this year and the it’ll hit PlayStation 4 later this month. A few unscrupulous players on Xbox One ended up stealing some Fallout 4 PC mods and hosting them on the console as original work. Bethesda has provided instructions for content creators who want to issue DMCA takedown notices for intellectual property infringement.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
‘Prey’ reboot arrives in 2017
Yes, the Prey franchise is still alive — but you’ll want to forget that ill-fated sequel from years ago. Bethesda used its E3 event to unveil a series reboot, simply called Prey, that shares little (if anything) in common with either the 2006 original or the since-discarded follow-up. Arkane’s shooter puts you in the shoes of Morgan Yu, an experimental subject plunked aboard a space station and tracked down by invading aliens. You’ll have to use weapons, tools, and “mind-bending abilities” to win. Bethesda is only committing to a 2017 release window, but the new Prey will ship for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Source: Bethesda Softworks (YouTube)
Try the first level of ‘Doom’ for free this week
The new Doom has launched to rave reviews, but today at E3 Bethesda announced it was looking to get even more people into the game. To that end, the first level of Doom will be available for free on Steam, Xbox One and PS4 this week only. The company said it was meant to be in the spirit of shareware demos that were so popular on the PC way back when the first Doom was popular, but this teaser is a bit more restrictive, since it’ll only last for a week. Still, it’s a better demo than most games offer these days.
For those already playing Doom, Bethesda also said that more DLC was coming soon, including new maps and multiplayer modes, including classic deathmatch. But if you need more friends to play the game with, just point them to the free demo this week and see if you can get them hooked — it should be available starting as of tonight.
Play ‘Fallout 4’ in VR next year
Bethesda is building a version of Fallout 4 for the HTC Vive headset, and it’ll be ready next year. “If you thought that survival mode was an intense way to experience Fallout”, Bethesda marketing chief Pete Hines said at the company’s E3 press conference, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
The company is showing off a small section of gameplay at E3. It’s also got Doom in VR, which offers “a virtual tour of hell.” It sounds a lot like an environmental demo, rather than an actual game. We’ll bring you impressions of both once we’ve had a chance to check them out.
‘Dishonored 2’ gameplay teaser reveals new powers, casual time-travel
Finally, Bethesda gave us a real look at how Dishonored 2 will play. With a now grown-up Emily Kaldwin, players will get a chance to play as both her and the last game’s protagonist, Corvo. Aside from gameplay changes, it will also offer different shades of the story depending on who you play with. But that’s just the start. The game has really cranked up the detail of the world, aiming to better convey the backstory and fiction that also embodied the first game. To that end, it’s got a new game engine as well: The Void engine. (It’s a Dishonored thing.) And then there’s the new power set.
While the “domino” power looks like it could create some fun permutations with other powers, it’s the introduction of a time-traveling component to both solve puzzles and get past enemies that looks the most intriguing. It’ll be interesting to see how Bethesda handles time-travel quirks in a game when there’s so much mischief to wrought.
Players will be able to pick and choose between two warring factions (or even neither of them), while the game also seems to have a bit more pace to it compared to its predecessor. We hope to have more details later this week here at E3. And yes, there will be limited edition versions of Dishonored 2 — and preordering the game will get you the remastered version of the original.
NASA and the UAE team up on space exploration
NASA wants whatever help it can get for its journey to Mars, and it’s willing to forge some unusual partnerships to make that happen. Case in point: the agency has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates that will have them cooperating on space exploration. The deal lets them share everything from data and research facilities to aircraft and spacecraft. Mars exploration is the initial focus of their cooperation, but they’ll look at other areas where they can work together.
The deal makes sense despite the UAE’s relative lack of experience with space travel. The UAE gets the prestige of directly contributing to one of humanity’s greatest exploration missions. For NASA, this offers chances to both reduce its reliance on Russia and stretch its budget a little further. Whatever the motivations, the pact will pay off if it helps bring humans to other worlds.
Source: NASA
Here’s everything we saw at Bethesda’s E3 event
Bethesda’s big E3 show is over, and it was pretty great. We got a new Quake, lots of Fallout goodness (including Fallout 4 in VR!), a first look at the upcoming Prey reboot and a ton of detail on Dishonored 2. Oh… and a Skyrim remaster.
While our very own Tim Seppala and Jessica Condit run like excited children towards that Fallout VR demo, you can check out all of the trailers from the press conference below.
Deal: Going on holiday? Get money off these Lumsing chargers that will have you powered up in no time
If you are heading off on holiday this year then you’ll want to make sure you’ve always got enough power on your phone to catch that selfie of yourself on the beach or next to an amazing landmark.
Lumsing has teamed up with Pocket-lint to bring you a number of deals on its range of chargers, wall plugs, and cables to make sure you are simply connected this summer.
Technology should make our lives simpler, not more complicated and with so many changes and so many new devices, it can be hard to remember which one to pack.
For that long trek into the unknown, or maybe just where you can’t guarantee a plug socket, Lumsing offers a range of portable battery packs to suit all needs. Whether it’s the Grand A1 series range that offers up to a whopping 13,400mAh worth of power to charge an iPhone 6 six times or an even bigger portable battery charger like the company’s Harmonica series, powering your devices on the go has never been easier.
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If you can get to wall plug socket, then the company’s USB wall plug offering might be for you. For those that can’t live without their range of gadgets to take on holiday for yourself, your partner, and your family, will like the Intelligent 5-Port USB Wall Plug charger. It has five separate USB charge ports that can be used simultaneously meaning you never have to fight again over who’s gadget gets to get charged first.
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And if you’re struggling to cope with having to take that cable you’ve neatly tidied by your bedside, Lumsing have you covered on that front too. It offers a range of different cables for iPhone and Android users in a plethora of styles and colours.
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Facebook invokes first US Safety Check for Orlando mass shooting
Unfortunately, Facebook has had reason to use Safety Check in the US for the first time. The social network switched on its tool for reassuring friends following the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida. While Facebook has already called on Safety Check since expanding its scope to include human tragedies (it used the check after an overpass fell in India), the American use reflects improvements made to the emergency system in the following months. It’s now faster to invoke checks, the company says to Mashable, and there are tests under way that would let users trigger checks of their own. Let’s just hope the feature isn’t needed again for a long, long while.
Source: Mashable
