Monthly Archives: January 2015
Trials Fusion DLC Hits Next Week; Online Multiplayer Now Live
Ubisoft today announced new DLC for Trials Fusion, as online multiplayer is now available via a free update.
Titled Fire in the Deep, the latest (and biggest) content pack for Trials Fusion will be available January 27 for $5 USD, or free to Season Pass holders. Fire in the Deep introduces eleven new tracks, five new achievements/trophies, twenty-seven track challenges, and several new editor objects.
Today's free update adds three online multiplayer game modes: Online X-Supercross, Private Game, and Private Game with Spectator -- all of which Ubisoft detailed last year.
Water Literally Bounces Off This Laser Treated Metal
What happens when you "create a multifunctional metal surface by producing a hierarchical nano/microstructure with femtosecond laser pulses?" In case the answer isn't obvious to you, you make water bounce right off of metal.
Researches at the University of Rochester in New York have developed a "superhydrophobic" metal off of which water literally bounces. In addition to being incredibly water repellant, the surface is self cleaning, as well. The water applied to the surface takes "away a significant amount of dust particles on the altered surface," according to the team's paper in the Journal of Applied Physics.
Ronin Looks Like Gunpoint Only With More Ninjas
The studio behind Hotline Miami, Devolver Digital, has unveiled its new game Ronin, being created in collaboration with Tomasz Wacławek.
Due out on PC, Mac and Linux later this year, a debut trailer for the turn-based action platformer shows off elements that are clearly inspired by the critically-acclaimed Gunpoint, only with more katanas.
You're cast as a vengeful kunoichi, tasked with taking down five prominent heads of an evil corporation. Weapons as your disposal include razor wire, your katana and a grappling hook. 15 missions will be available at launch.
Seeing as the title will be on show at this week's PAX South, keep your eyes on IGN for more information very soon.
Game of Thrones IMAX Trailer
HBO has released a trailer for the upcoming IMAX showing of Game of Thrones' final two Season 4 episodes and exclusive Season 5 trailer.
At the thirty-three second mark, we also get a quick look at Season 5, as we see Tyrion in a (literal) tight spot.
The Game of Thrones special will run in select theaters across the U.S. from January 29 through February 5.
Season 5 kicks off Sunday, April 12th at 9:00pm ET/PT on HBO.
Jordan Sirani is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Nvidia’s GTX 960 Video Card: Impressions & Benchmarks
Today Nvidia has pulled the wraps off its all-new GTX 960 video card, the latest addition to its lineup of Maxwell GPUs. At $200 MSRP, it sits directly in-between the upper and lower tiers of the Nvidia product stack—and offers all the features of the more expensive cards while costing almost half the price. In other words, this is the card for 1080p gaming at 60fps at an affordable price.
If that doesn’t sound good enough, the GTX 960 is also designed to be overclocked higher than any card that has come before it, and it’s releasing along with a new GeForce graphics driver and a new version of GeForce Experience that lets you enable some Maxwell features a bit easier than in the past. It’s a hard launch for the GTX 960, instead of a paper launch, so by the time you read this, cards will be available from all the usual suspects (Asus, Gigabyte, etc.) at retail and online.
Skyforge Unveils its Gunner Class, Replete With Orbital Strike
Allods Team has revealed the next class coming to upcoming MMO Skyforge is the Gunner.
A new trailer, which you can see above, showcases all of the Gunner's abilities, including a rather impressive orbital strike. A DPS class, the Gunner's role is to hang back and deliver as much damage as possible to wipe out foes.
The developers have been touting the unique class system for a while now –– most notably, how easy it is to change between separate classes when players are out of combat. While other MMOs require players to restart a game in order to try a different class, Skyforge invites them to switch on the fly. At E3, IGN had the chance to play Skyforge with several of the different classes. We found that, despite the ease with which a new class could be used, they all played fluidly.
World of Warcraft Garrisons Unlikely to be in Future Expansions
Blizzard has revealed it has big plans for World of Warcraft's well-received Garrisons feature, but it's unlikely you'll be bringing it with you into future expansions.
Speaking to IGN about how the MMO managed to get its subscriber numbers above 10 million once more, lead game designer Ion Hazzikostas acknowledged the hugely positive reaction to Garrisons is something the developer is really happy with, and the team want to continue to build on this.
"I think there’s no question that we’re going to keep pushing the Garrison feature forward throughout Warlords of Draenor," he says. "Your garrison is your settlement in Draenor and your ongoing efforts against the Iron Horde and your enemies are expressed there. In the 6.1 patch coming up we have some improvements to the Garrison system, followers, new followers, new traits for your followers, new missions and so on but I think as we look into future patches beyond that it’s likely we’re going to grow the Garrison concept further."
Dragon Ball XenoVerse Distorts the Canon so Fans Can Make it Right
Dragon Ball XenoVerse’s story decouples from the cannon and intertwines it with a new customizable character, offering fans new adventures within the familiar Dragon Ball universe, developer Masayuki Hirano told IGN.
“I would like to provide the users with an experience using the Dragon Ball IP they never had before, because our past titles had the same kind of experiences,” says Hirano via translator. “We would like to provide new challenges.”
As past titles have always stuck with Dragon Ball universe canon, Hirano explains that XenoVerse dishes out a new-world set-up with new scenes and story to offer all fans a fresh take on the series, veterans in particular.
Comic Book Reviews for January 21, 2014
It's a big week for Batman and Robin, as both got superpowers... but in separate comics -- Justice League #38 and Batman & Robin #38, respectively -- so no Super Duper Dynamic Duo like we've always dreamed.
Check Out Batman's Superpowers
At Marvel, we got a bunch of spider-comics with the penultimate chapter of Spider-Verse leading the charge in Amazing Spider-Man #19, plus a new costume for Venom in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy #23.
On the indie side, we got the next chapter in the increasingly awesome Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw series, not to mention a ton of great new and returning IDW comics like G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes - Agent of Cobra, Samura Jack, and Galaxy Quest: The Adventure Continues. Never give up, never surrender!
Two Limited Edition Bloodborne PS4 Consoles Coming to Japan
Sony is releasing two limited-edition Bloodborne PlayStation 4 systems in Japan in March, featuring an engraving of the game’s title and protagonist on the hard-drive cover.
Listed on Japan’s Sony Store, the two black and white variants are priced at 47,480 yen (approximately $400 USD) with a March 26 launch date to coincide with the game's roll out in the region. The consoles come packaged with the Bloodborne Collector's Edition, a controller and a headset.