Monthly Archives: June 2015

Microsoft Partnering with Valve VR

During today's Microsoft Xbox press conference, Xbox general manager Kudo Tsunoda revealed the company will be partnering with Valve to pursue virtual reality on WIndows 10.

Earlier this week it was announced that Microsoft is partnering with Oculus VR.

We'll have more on Microsoft's push to engage the virtual space as it becomes available, but for everything Microsoft coming out of E3 2015, check out the IGN E3 Hub.

Brandin Tyrrel is an Associate Editor at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrandinTyrrel.

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Rare Replay Is a Different Type of Remastered Collection

Rare turns 30 this year, and to mark the occasion it’s looking back, collecting together 30 of its most iconic games into Rare Replay. When I first heard about it, it sounded like one of those compilations where a bunch of games are thrown onto a single disc, but it’s a very different type of collection from the others I’ve played. Tellingly, the project hasn’t been outsource, with a third-party porting over titles. Rare is in total control, not only selecting the games but combining them into an experience full of the character and charm associated with its original output. And there’s more than just the games themselves, with additional challenges, cheats, and behind-the-scenes extras, creating a premium box-set experience.

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Gears of War 4: First Gameplay Details

During the Microsoft E3 press conference, developer The Coalition debuted the first demo for Gears of War 4, coming Holiday 2016, giving us the first look at gameplay from the Xbox One shooter.

Check out the first images and details below.

The debut demo began with two Gears -- JD and an unnamed woman -- walking through an abandoned, battered town at night, lit only by their flashlights and the two moons in the sky. A heavy storm swept through destroying enormous structures and obscuring their path, as well as blowing vehicles across the environment. The partners sprinted for shelter, narrowly missing lighting strikes.

Inside their shelter, organic matter infesting the walls shorted out JD's flashlight and covered him in a glowing substance. The partners evaded the organic pods while fleeing from an unseen foe, revealed to be a scorpion-like monster with projectile attacks. The Gears fought off more with Gnasher shotguns and Lancers before JD was nearly eaten by one of the creatures.

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Introducing Rock Band 4’s Freestyle Guitar Solos

Harmonix's freestyle guitar solo feature is probably the most interesting, innovative thing we'll see in Rock Band 4. When we learned about the flexibility with vocals and drums, it left us wondering what sort of personal stamp we could put on our guitar play -- and it's a modified, improved version of the frantic shredding from earlier Rock Band games, now with a little more sense and science behind it.

In Rock Band 4, guitar solos are not the same old, totally open-ended shred-fest they used to be. The chaos of hitting random buttons and strumming like crazy is gone, replaced by a system that rewards players for performing their solo in a specific way. At the same time, it doesn't compromise creativity, and playing a Rock Band 4 solo feels really, really good as a result.

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Gears of War Ultimate Edition for Xbox One Is Official

A remake of the Gears of War is coming to Xbox One on August 25 as Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Microsoft has officially announced.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition's week-long public beta begins today. The remaster runs 1080p at 60 frames per second and includes 90 additional minutes of content previously exclusive to the PC version.

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The re-release had been rumored for some time, with footage leaking online and testers getting suspended from Xbox Live. Additional information surfaced online today, thanks to a leak from the official Russian Gears of War website.

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New Version of Minecraft Demonstrated for Microsoft’s Hololens

At Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference, Mojang demonstrated a new version of Minecraft built specifically for Microsoft's augmented reality HoloLens technology.

Using the HoloLens headset, players can play Minecraft on any flat surface in their house - be it their bedroom wall or coffee table.

During the live demonstration, a member of the Mojang team was able to walk around a table and view his Minecraft world from different angles. He was also able to look inside buildings, zoom in and out, and grab the world in order to life it up and look inside the caverns beneath it.

It was also revealed that the HoloLens version of Minecraft will support voice commands, for example players can say "lightning strike" in order to send down a bolt of lightning to a chosen destination.

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