Monthly Archives: April 2016
Doom Open Beta and DLC Announced
UPDATE: Bethesda has provided us with a clarification on the open beta timings: It will start at 12am EST (5am BST) on April 15, and end at 11.59 EST on April 17 (making it 4.59am BST on April 18).
Id Software's new Doom will receive an open beta, starting next week, April 15. Publisher, Bethesda has also announced that the game will receive free DLC, plus three paid content packs after launch.
The open beta will run from April 15-18, and will not require a code to join. Like the recent closed beta, it will be multiplayer-focused, allowing players to try out Team Deathmatch and Warpath modes on the Heatwave and Infernal maps.
For a taste of what that might be like, try this on for size:
Reports Say No European Card Orders of the Vive Have Shipped Yet
It looks like there's some trouble surrounding the European launch of the HTC Vive.
According to Eurogamer, customers in Europe are saying that if you've ordered a headset using a credit card, your order hasn't shipped yet. However if you ordered via Paypal, it should have arrived.
Users in this Reddit thread are saying there has been no word from HTC when orders will ship, or when they will be charged for the headset, as many transactions are still pending.
Gears of War 4 Release Date and Cover Art Announced
Gears of War 4 will launch globally on October 11 as an Xbox One exclusive, and its cover art has been revealed.
Microsoft announced the release date on its blog, while Entertainment Weekly showed off the windswept cover art, featuring the new game's core squad, JD, Kait and Del (plus a rocky cameo from a Marcus Fenix, too):
The Gears of War cover art, as revealed by Entertainment Weekly.
Livestreaming Now Part of Free Forge Game DVR App
Free PC game capture app Forge now includes livestream integration with both Twitch and YouTube.
This means gamers who have the app installed can stream their games directly to either service, without the use of any extra hardware. The app, which started its public beta in February, also collects and records gameplay clips to share on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
CEO Jared Kim said Forge's mission "is to make sharing moments from games as simple as possible." The process is bound to a single keystroke, meaning you can start streaming by hitting F8.
Quantum Break Pirate Detection Gives Players Eye-Patches
If Quantum Break's PC version thinks you're playing a pirated copy, your character will be wearing an eye-patch in game.
According to Eurogamer, developer Remedy had hinted this might be the case on a FAQ page. The issue "Jack looks like a pirate" is met with the response "DRM might've accidentally triggered. Reboot the game and eat a lot of vitamin C."
Yarr, me hearties.
Hitman Patch Improves PC Performance, Adds Vampire Magician Pack
Update 1.03 is out for Hitman, bringing with it a new challenge pack and a number of improvements, particularly for the PC.
The Vampire Magician Challenge Pack adds 10 new challenges that have been inspired by the community. Elsewhere in the Paris Showstopper mission on PC, a few things such as character infinite loops and bugs involving the phone have been fixed.
The patch has also improved load times, especially for the Paris mission, and more work is being done to improve the times further along the road. An issue with scoring has also been fixed where players would get a zero second time and a score of 210,000.
PC players will now be able to override the default memory safeguards and use any resolution and graphics quality settings. If you've got a 3GB graphics card, your resolution cap has been increased from 1920x1200 to 2560x1600.
Gears of War 4 Will Have Split-Screen in All Modes
Rod Fergusson, head of Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition, has confirmed that the upcoming Xbox One exclusive will offer split-screen play in all modes.
Speaking to The Game Informer Show (and reported by Gamespot), Fergusson said, "any way that you can play Gears of War 4 you can play it split-screen."
However, Gears 4's usual 60 frames per second multiplayer will take a hit - in split-screen. the game drops to 30 FPS. Campaign mode will run in 30 FPS as standard.
Dear Esther Is Finally Coming to Consoles
After four long years, Dear Esther is finally coming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The current-gen versions are set to come with a new director’s commentary mode, whereby any future replays can be accompanied by titbits of information direct from the original team.
No exact release date has been mentioned, but you can expect it to arrive at some point during summer.
Dear Esther sees the player exploring a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides as a troubled man attempting to piece together a chain of events which culminate in his wife’s death. Developer The Chinese Room is quick to point out Dear Esther is “The spiritual prequel to Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture.”
Infection Mode Coming to Halo 5: Guardians
Halo's own spin on a zombie multiplayer mode, Infection, is making a comeback in Halo 5: Guardians.
Developer 343 industries offered a sneak peek at the multiplayer mode via a livestream about upcoming update Ghosts of Meridian, which is scheduled to roll out later this month.
Infection didn't make it to Halo 4 but was a fan-favourite in Halo 3 and Halo Reach. The game mode involved a team of uninfected players fighting off a team of "zombies", who added new players to their ranks with every kill.
This new mode follows other free game mode additions for Halo 5: Guardians such as Grifball and Warzone Firefight, the latter of which 343i promises will include "the most on-screen enemies in the history of the franchise".
Blizzard Adds Replacement for Controversial Overwatch Victory Pose
The "Over the Shoulder" Victory Pose for Overwatch's Tracer character - which sparked controversy last week - has now been replaced with a new version of the same basic concept.
You can see the new version of the pose below, as posted by NeoGAF user SteveO409:
Tracer's new "Over the Shoulder" pose.