‘Dangerous Golf’ swaps fairways for chaos on June 3rd
If you think golf sims are too gentile, Dangerous Golf trades hushed tones and sedate play for exploding golf balls and wanton destruction. The title is the debut from Three Fields Entertainment, a new company from the co-founders of Burnout developer Criterion Games. In a tweet, the company revealed that it will arrive June 3rd on the Xbox One, PS4 and Windows PCs.
For the latest videos of our first game #DangerousGolf coming June 3rd, pls subscribe https://t.co/S9M78a4xnT
— Official TFE (@3FieldsEnt) May 3, 2016
While the game appears to be pure anarchy, you do actually try to get a ball in a hole. But to maximize points, you need to also destroy things like champagne bottles, statues and dishes, or try to make Happy Gilmore-style trick shots. Instead of fairways and greens, you smash firebomb golf balls at “courses” like a medieval castle, gas station and kitchen. If none of this makes any sense, check out a pair of new gameplay videos and a trailer, below.
Via: Polygon
Source: Three Fields Entertainment (Twitter)
‘Persona 5’ gets a new trailer and release date in Japan
Persona, one of the most stylish and contemporary JRPG franchises, is almost ready to make its debut on the PlayStation 4. Developer Atlus held an event today in Japan for the next instalment, Persona 5, dropping a new trailer and plenty of tantalizing gameplay details. More important, however, is the game’s new release date: September 15th, 2016. For now that’s strictly a Japan date — there’s no word on when a localized version will launch on the PS3 and PS4 in the West. Still, it’s a promising development given the game has been delayed multiple times.
The new trailer is a visual treat, showing the protagonists as they live their dual-lives as high school students and dungeon-crawling heroes. The overall structure is the same as previous Persona games — you’ll be able to explore Tokyo and hang out with your friends to improve various social links, before diving into an alternate, monster-ridden world in order to progress through the main storyline. It’s an eclectic mix, but one that has earned prior entries Persona 3 and Persona 4 plenty of critical acclaim.
(Atlus also teased some downloadable content which will let you dress the Persona 5 cast in the Persona 3 and Persona 4 school uniforms.)
Put simply, Persona 5 looks brilliant. At least in Japan, Final Fantasy XV will have some tough competition when it arrives on September 30th.
Source: Atlus (YouTube)
Traveling the world in Uncharted 4’s ridiculous photo mode
Aside from minor tweaks for brightness and contrast, everything in this National Geographic-inspired gallery was captured entirely within the photo mode of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. While the images don’t contain any story spoilers from the first 11 chapters of the game, if you’re looking to go in completely blind, you should avert your eyes.
Amazing visuals are part of the Uncharted series’ DNA, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is no exception. The difference here is that the previous three installments didn’t feature a photo mode when they debuted on PlayStation 3. And to be clear, this isn’t even the first PS4 game with a photo mode — that would be Infamous: Second Son — but this is the first one that I want to keep playing. That’s because taking screenshots here is as fun as working through the narrative itself.
Photo mode lets you pause the game at any time and play with camera settings like depth of field, motion blur, film grain and an assortment of filters. Imagine putting a DSLR and Adobe Lightroom into a video game and you’re basically there. I found the opportunity to use almost every option at some point, all in ways that complemented the shot’s composition. Yep, even the “blorange” filter, which, as the name implies, blows out the blue and orange hues in a given scene.
Photo mode has been included in each of developer Naughty Dog’s PS4 releases so far (including Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection of new-gen remasters), and lead programmer Christian Gyrling says it’s something the studio values for several reasons. For one, it gives people a different way of playing rather than just guiding Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake around ancient ruins in search of long-lost treasure.
The problem is, I’m kind of addicted to it. If the in-game list of statistics kept track of how much time I spent adjusting stuff like field of view and camera angle instead of just overall play time, I’d probably be embarrassed. That leads me to the second reason Naughty Dog puts this feature in its games: Gyrling says that it allows players to further appreciate the work that went into making the game.
I’m inclined to agree. Making progress in the game has been a little slow for me because I’m dropping into photo mode seemingly every time I enter into a new area or spot something cool. The game’s absurd vistas seemingly stretch on for miles, and there’s so much detail at every turn that I can’t help myself.
While I’d love to have a completely user-controlled camera in photo mode and be able to position it anywhere I want, Naughty Dog says that isn’t feasible. Things like mountains or other environmental objects were designed to be seen exclusively from the perspective of the gameplay camera to maintain the illusion that you’re in a living, breathing world.
“If you have a free-form camera,” game programmer Artem Kovalovs says, “you would be able to move the camera to see places that were never actually created, and be exposed to things like holes in the environment [and] ugly seams.” In other words, it’d be like looking at a Hollywood studio’s backlot. The camera limitation isn’t all that restricting, though, as I was able to get creative with the field of view and zoom levels to achieve some truly gorgeous shots. All it takes is a little patience.
Despite the amount of freedom and options photo mode offers, though, Naughty Dog says there are still elements the team wishes it could have included. Chief among them: a Vine-style short-video tool that would allow you to capture an animation and play it back from any angle — something like what last fall’s Tearaway Unfolded offered. Kovalovs says that would have taken a “very large” engineering effort and simply wasn’t doable.
So does photo mode cheat and pump extra processing power into the game’s graphics when you access it? According to Naughty Dog, no. “We don’t do anything special in photo mode outside of making sure everything is visible when you move the camera around,” Kovalovs says. “We didn’t write new rendering techniques specifically for photo mode.”
Based on what I’ve seen, he’s right. Shadows are still a little fuzzy around the edges (a typical tough spot to smooth out on consoles). Conversely, straight lines — another difficult thing to render smoothly — on overhead power wires and the like are free of jagged edges. In short, the game simply looks great at seemingly every turn.
“We don’t expect our artists to make things that will only ever be seen in photo mode,” Kovalovs says. “On the other hand, our artists tend to go crazy with the details regardless.”
‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ outsold almost every game in January
Rockstar Games is reaping the rewards of keeping GTA Online fresh with things like heist missions and holiday-themed events for these past few years. Grand Theft Auto 5 was the number two selling game last month amid slowing console hardware sales, a bizarre fact considering it debuted almost two-and-a-half years ago. September 2013, to be exact. Of course, that evergreen gateway to GTA Online‘s multiplayer has also benefitted from a staggered release starting on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, later coming to PC and then PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Regardless, how crazy this is wasn’t lost on the NPD Group’s David Riley:
“This is the third consecutive January where Grand Theft Auto V was a Top 5 title. Astonishingly, the game has moved up in ranking placement from fifth place in January 2014, to third in January 2015 and to the second-best selling game in January 2016.”
In January alone, Rockstar’s (online-and-off) crime simulator outsold last fall’s heavyweights Star Wars Battlefront, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege and Fallout 4. And it handily beat out Lego Marvel Avengers, which released last month and sits near the bottom of the sales charts.
The only game it couldn’t topple was Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. But hell, when publisher Activision reports that after less than two months at retail its futuristic shooter was the top-selling console title (PDF) in 2015 even a juggernaut like GTA is going to have a hard time closing that gap. I’d be remiss to not mention that Minecraft did something similar last August, however, taking silver over GTA 5‘s fourth place finish. Still, this is incredibly rare.
The NPD Group famously doesn’t record digital sales data from the likes of Steam or PlayStation Store, but Rockstar parent company Take Two Interactive recently revealed that to date, GTA V has sold over 60 million copies worldwide across all platforms.
The average is going to be a little off considering the game sold over 11 million copies in its first 24 hours, but it’s like Rockstar has moved two million copies per month, every month, since its initial release.
Now, if only we could get some news on that single-player expansion…
‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ outsold almost every game in January
Rockstar Games is reaping the rewards of keeping GTA Online fresh with things like heist missions and holiday-themed events for these past few years. Grand Theft Auto 5 was the number two selling game last month amid slowing console hardware sales, a bizarre fact considering it debuted almost two-and-a-half years ago. September 2013, to be exact. Of course, that evergreen gateway to GTA Online‘s multiplayer has also benefitted from a staggered release starting on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, later coming to PC and then PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Regardless, how crazy this is wasn’t lost on the NPD Group’s David Riley:
“This is the third consecutive January where Grand Theft Auto V was a Top 5 title. Astonishingly, the game has moved up in ranking placement from fifth place in January 2014, to third in January 2015 and to the second-best selling game in January 2016.”
In January alone, Rockstar’s (online-and-off) crime simulator outsold last fall’s heavyweights Star Wars Battlefront, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege and Fallout 4. And it handily beat out Lego Marvel Avengers, which released last month and sits near the bottom of the sales charts.
The only game it couldn’t topple was Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. But hell, when publisher Activision reports that after less than two months at retail its futuristic shooter was the top-selling console title (PDF) in 2015 even a juggernaut like GTA is going to have a hard time closing that gap. I’d be remiss to not mention that Minecraft did something similar last August, however, taking silver over GTA 5‘s fourth place finish. Still, this is incredibly rare.
The NPD Group famously doesn’t record digital sales data from the likes of Steam or PlayStation Store, but Rockstar parent company Take Two Interactive recently revealed that to date, GTA V has sold over 60 million copies worldwide across all platforms.
The average is going to be a little off considering the game sold over 11 million copies in its first 24 hours, but it’s like Rockstar has moved two million copies per month, every month, since its initial release.
Now, if only we could get some news on that single-player expansion…
‘Destiny’ sequel set for next year
Destiny‘s Valentine’s Day event is well under way, but developer Bungie is taking an extra step toward proving its devotion to fans. The long-rumored (and apparently delayed) sequel to the sci-fi online shooter is slated for release next year, corroborating earlier reports from Kotaku.
And sooner than that, the game is getting a larger update this spring with a “significant” Light level increase and a bunch of new loot and challenges for folks who’d rather not duke it out adversarially in the Crucible. The Bungie blog post also mentions another big expansion is coming this year. So, after a stretch of silence and a new CEO, perhaps Destiny players can grind easy knowing their guardian will be getting some new adornments perhaps rather soon.
Source: Bungie
‘Metal Gear Online’ adds a bit of sabotage next month
Despite what you might think, Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima‘s unceremonious departure from publisher Konami won’t affect how Metal Gear Online plays out. To wit, the company’s bolstering the amount of post-release add-ons for the adversarial multiplayer suite next month as part of a “commitment” to the game’s fans. A trio of new maps and a playable version of the eye-rollingly-designed sniper Quiet will be available in March for $4 in the “Cloaked in Silence” pack, while a quartet of emote packs will sell for $2 each.
There’s also a free game type dubbed “Sabotage” en route that sadly does not involve aviator sunglasses or giant mustaches, but instead has you destroying or fultoning an enemy missile (like the bear above) before time runs out.
Oh, and unlike what Activision is doing to last-gen Call of Duty players, these add-ons will be available across all platforms.
With this, in addition to the “Outer Rim” expansion inbound for Star Wars Battlefront, it looks like March is officially the month of content updates for last fall’s big multiplayer games. Or not — the online-only Tom Clancy’s The Division launches next month, too.
Source: Konami
‘Metal Gear Online’ adds a bit of sabotage next month
Despite what you might think, Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima‘s unceremonious departure from publisher Konami won’t affect how Metal Gear Online plays out. To wit, the company’s bolstering the amount of post-release add-ons for the adversarial multiplayer suite next month as part of a “commitment” to the game’s fans. A trio of new maps and a playable version of the eye-rollingly-designed sniper Quiet will be available in March for $4 in the “Cloaked in Silence” pack, while a quartet of emote packs will sell for $2 each.
There’s also a free game type dubbed “Sabotage” en route that sadly does not involve aviator sunglasses or giant mustaches, but instead has you destroying or fultoning an enemy missile (like the bear above) before time runs out.
Oh, and unlike what Activision is doing to last-gen Call of Duty players, these add-ons will be available across all platforms.
With this, in addition to the “Outer Rim” expansion inbound for Star Wars Battlefront, it looks like March is officially the month of content updates for last fall’s big multiplayer games. Or not — the online-only Tom Clancy’s The Division launches next month, too.
Source: Konami
Firewatch Photos will print and ship your in-game snapshots
In-game photo modes are cool and all, but beyond sharing your Driveclub or Arkham Knight snaps via social media, there isn’t much you can do with them. Well, in the PC version of Firewatch (out this week, and on PlayStation 4) you can go a step further and have them printed and mailed to you from the folks at developer Campo Santo and publisher Panic. There’s an in-game disposable camera, you see, and photographing artist Olly Moss’s gorgeous landscapes is highly recommended; $15 nets you a set of 4″ x 6″ prints and they’ll ship free “almost anywhere.” TechnoBuffalo notes that after finishing the game you’re presented with a link to an online store to place an order for your shots; that publication’s photos are embedded below.
The reason the feature isn’t available on PlayStation 4 yet? Firewatch Photos is a network service, and Panic’s Cabel Sasser tells Polygon that consoles need to be “extra vigilant” about network access. “We are actively investigating what it would take to make this happen on the PlayStation 4,” Sasser says. “Sony wants it and so do we!”
Polygon‘s piece also explores the origins of the mode and how deep the thought process was for the feature. A line of dialogue was rewritten and re-recorded to reflect the fiction’s photo processing store after the original bits of script was already in the can, for instance. What’s more, the idea of getting physical copies of the photos came up as an off-handed idea amongst the team.”When there’s an idea that immediately excites us both — like the idea behind Firewatch in the first place — it’s hard to stop us from doing it,” says Sasser. Sounds like PS4 support is a matter of “when,” not “if,” in this case.
Via: Polygon
Source: TechnoBuffalo
‘Titanfall 2’ will have a real single-player campaign
Respawn hasn’t said much about its Titanfall sequel beyond plans for multi-platform support, but some details are starting to trickle out… and they’ll be good news for fans of the robot-slash-infantry shooter. In a chat with Forbes, head writer Jesse Stern notes that Titanfall 2 will have a real, honest-to-goodness single-player campaign when it arrives either late this year or early next. That’s not completely shocking given that the team didn’t have the resources to flesh out its solo game the first time around. Still, it’s reassuring if you were frustrated by the original’s barely-there offline experience, which really just amounted to AI matches with a sliver of story in between.
Also, the interview is a friendly reminder that Titanfall won’t be limited to the video game world. Lionsgate quietly revealed in July that it’s working with Respawn on a TV series, and the show is still in development. However, it’s a daunting challenge — as Stern says, a sci-fi series involving giant robots could be “very expensive.” Assuming the project comes together, you could be waiting a while to see the IMC and Militia fight outside of a video game.
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Forbes
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