1TB PS4 lands in the US, but it’s in an ugly ‘Black Ops 3’ bundle

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but orange and grey is so last season, every season. The 1TB PlayStation 4 officially arrives in North America on November 6th in a specially designed Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 bundle that includes the game, Nuk3town bonus map, console and matching controller. It costs $450 in the US and CAD$550 in Canada, and pre-orders are available today. Seriously though, we won’t judge anyone for snagging this thing — 1TB is a lot of storage, after all.

The 1TB PS4 launched in Europe in July, minus the Black Ops 3 artwork. It costs £350 in the UK, the same price as Microsoft’s 1TB Xbox One. In the US, the 1TB Xbox One runs $400.

Sony and Activision, the publisher behind Black Ops 3, announced a partnership at E3 2015 that makes the PS4 the “new home of Call of Duty.” For years, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Xbox One received special treatment within the Call of Duty franchise, often launching betas and DLC weeks before any other platforms.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Sony rolls out ‘Dungeon Defenders 2’ as a paid alpha on PS4

Dungeon Defenders 2 will be free when it launches as a full game on PlayStation 4, but fans who want to play it as soon as possible, pre-alpha bugs and all, can pay for the privilege starting next week. The pre-alpha version of Dungeon Defenders 2 — that’s a version that the developers are still building — will be available for purchase on PS4 on September 29th in three packages: $15, $25 and $75. These are three bundles offering different in-game goodies for die-hard (or simply curious) fans, and they’re identical to the ones offered on Steam Early Access.

Sony has been toying with the idea of paid early access on PS4 since July 2014, at least. At the time, SCEA VP of Developer and Publisher Relations Adam Boyes had the following to say: “That’s one of the massive conversations we have internally. That, at what point does [a game meet standards of release]? We still at some point ensure that we’re being mindful of the consumer. We don’t want somebody to stumble across that title and expect a full product and have a negative experience.”

Microsoft unveiled its own paid alpha system at E3 2015 with the Xbox Game Preview program. That one is specifically designed to support Microsoft’s independent-development support system, ID@Xbox. Steam was one of the first distributors to jump on the paid alpha business, with its “Early Access” system. Steam Early Access, along with the community-voted Greenlight service, contributed to an influx of games on the service.

Source: PlayStation Blog

The best of the Tokyo Game Show (so far)

How does lining up for 40 minutes to play five minutes of a new game sound? It’s definitely a trade-off, but it’s often (usually) worth it. At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, we saw a giant 20-foot griffin thing play ball, nothing from Microsoft and a lot of games that are unequivocally geared toward Japanese gamers. Anime tie-ins and Dynasty Warriors-esque crowd-em-ups aside, there was still plenty for us to play. These are the ones that left an impression.

Phoenix Wright is back, or at least, back in court. The next game takes him outside the usual settings of a Japanese courtroom in favor of a fictitious Asian country that hates attorneys — poor Phoenix — but loves clairvoyants. Yep: The new courtroom-based innovation this time around centers on watching these visions and (courtesy of the “five senses” that are conveniently displayed in writing on top of the murder scenes) finding contradictions to their commentary. The game has the same graphical polish as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies​, but backgrounds seem a bit more detailed, with little hints of movement that help to make them appear less flat.

Dark Souls 3

Five minutes of playtime. Six deaths. And that’s only because I was excessively cautious for the first three minutes. Dark Souls 3, while not exactly easier, is meant to be more accessible for first timers. I repeat: That doesn’t mean it’ll be any easier. New Battle Arts for each weapon will allow you to execute more heavily powered attacks, although these will be as limited as any other resource. While I didn’t play long enough to determine whether there’s an easier learning curve versus the last two installments, the game certainly looks equal parts moody and beautiful. If the other Dark Souls titles didn’t quite do it for you, then you’re probably going to feel the same here. The formula doesn’t appear to have changed much, but for those of you clamoring for another brutal challenge, it looks like you’ll get it.

Gravity Rush (PS4)

Gravity Rush was one of the early few original titles on the PS Vita way back when. And it was a whole lot of fun. Now, like Tearaway, it’s expanding onto Sony’s flagship console. Yes, a sequel is also on the way, but now the original will benefit from a leap in resolution to make the art direction and character design really shine. The question you’re probably asking: How do the controls fare? To be honest, I found them easier than on the Vita. Since the screen isn’t attached to your gyroscopic controls, it means it’s much easier to swing around and target tricky foes. It also looks substantially better too. But will you buy it again? Well, that’s a trickier proposition.

The Tomorrow Children

This is a very strange game. It’s as if all the fun (and intermittent progress) boils down to the eventual fights with giant alien-looking titans. Gathering resources and, well, doing things to gain experience all felt a bit dull to me. Though I only borderline-enjoyed my demo, it’s fascinating to think about where it’ll all go: There are plans to allow players (who appear when they interact with the environment, then disappear again) to vote for a city mayor in their particular domain. That person would then be able to make decisions as to the future direction. Or at least a color scheme for their tiny town. (Yes, you can paint up a storm if you’re willing to pay for all the necessary paint.)

The only way to win a gold PS4 bundle is to eat a lot of Taco Bell

If you like to fill your pie hole with Big Boxes from Taco Bell, you could leverage your habit for a new console. Starting September 24th, the fast-food chain is giving away 6,000 limited-edition gold PlayStation 4 bundles. To get a chance to win, though, you’ll have to have to suffer through enjoy any of the restaurant’s Big Boxes before November 4th. One bundle will be given away every 10 minutes, and the package includes a gold DualShock 4, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and one year of PlayStation Plus. Of course, if you really want to win one, you’ll have to buy a lot of fourth meals.

Via: Forbes

Source: Sony